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Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Complementary Programs

Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies

The Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies (CLACX) offers graduate students from different departments and schools at Vanderbilt the opportunity to complete a Certificate in Latin American Studies. The certificate allows students to document their regional specialization, and is awarded in conjunction with their M.A. or Ph.D. The certificate also encourages graduate students to study outside of their disciplinary specialization.

Acceptance into this program requires the approval of the student’s primary adviser and the Director of the CLACX, Celso Castilho.

Graduate Certificate in Latino and Latina Studies

CLACX also offers a Graduate Certificate in Latino and Latina Studies. This certificate focuses on cultural production and political and socioeconomic experiences of people inculcated with the U.S. experience, self-identifying as Latinos and Latinas, and communicating primarily in English and sometimes in Spanish. The certificate will examine this enduring and dynamic population that crosses and re-crosses borders constructed by geography, linguistics, class, race, and gender. This program of study is designed to accommodate a range of voices and multiple manifestations of Latino and Latina identity and cultural expression in historical and contemporary contexts to fill in this vital but often overlooked component of our national identity and discourse. Any student enrolled in a graduate program at Vanderbilt is eligible to apply for the Certificate in Latino and Latina Studies.

Acceptance into this program requires the approval of the student’s primary adviser and the Director of the CLACX, Celso Castilho.

Graduate Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies

Vanderbilt University’s Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies offers an interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program. The certificate program provides graduate students across campus with access to interdisciplinary scholarship in the robust field of gender studies; supplies them with a valuable professional credential; and strengthens their ability to compete for jobs as well as national fellowships and postdoctoral awards.

Graduate Certificate in Diaspora Studies

The Program in African American and Diaspora Studies offers a Graduate Certificate in Diaspora Studies that is designed to complement students’ disciplinary training, expose them to the interdisciplinary trends in the academy, and broaden their career possibilities. The Diaspora Studies certificate provides graduate students with access to interdisciplinary scholarship in the dynamic and continually evolving field of studies in the African Diaspora globally. The certificate also gives students a competitive edge and interdisciplinary training for the robust career outlook for specialists in pan-black studies as well as in the search for postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities and social sciences.

Joint-Ph.D. Program in Comparative Media Analysis and Practice (CMAP)

The Joint-Ph.D. program in Comparative Media Analysis and Practice (CMAP) advances the critical investigation of modern media culture and the innovative making of digital objects. Open to Ph.D. students from all units of the university, the program adds intellectual perspectives and project-driven learning experiences in an interdisciplinary and collaborative framework. It enhances the preparedness of Ph.D. students with diverse backgrounds for academic or non-academic careers alike. Students completing the program will receive a “Ph.D. in Spanish and Comparative Media Analysis and Practice” or “Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese and Comparative Media Analysis and Practice.”