Academics

Latina/Latino studies graduates have gone on to pursue advanced degrees and find employment in a wide variety of fields. 

What skills do you gain from a degree in Latina/Latino studies? 

The skills you gain with a degree in Latina/Latino studies are highly transferrable across a range of industries and professions.

  • academic advisor sean engages with prospective students

    Deeply critical and analytic thinking

  • Clear, concise, and compelling communication
  • Courage to disagree and think independently
  • Commitment to community and justice
  • Insight into the complexity of solving problems
  • Skill in asking probing and relevant questions
  • Knowledge of Latina/Latino communities and history
  • Experience understanding ambiguity
  • Aptitude for sorting and condensing information
  • Intercultural knowledge and understanding

Explore our undergraduate program

What jobs can I do with a Latina/Latino studies degree?

Latina/Latino studies majors pursue careers in the following fields:

  • woman shares information with student

    Community/Social Service Centers

  • Nonprofit Organizations
  • Social Work
  • Child Welfare
  • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
  • Employment/Human Resources
  • Environmental Advocacy
  • Healthcare organizations, Advocacy Groups, and Hospitals
  • Labor Unions
  • Law Firms, Legal Aid
  • Libraries
  • Mental Health
  • Schools, Colleges, and Universities (Academic Advisors, Counselors & Career Coaches, Secondary Education Teachers, Professors)
  • Youth Outreach and Mentoring

Read alumni stories

Career Resources

The University of Illinois and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offer a variety of career counseling services that you can take advantage of as a student.
Career Center LAS Career Services Paul M. Lisnek LAS Hub

Graduate and Professional School School Preparation

A bachelor's degree in Latina/Latino studies provides an excellent foundation for graduate school. 

Our graduates pursue advanced degrees in:

Graduating student holds up diploma
  • Political Science
  • Administrative and Policy Studies
  • Public Affairs
  • Public Policy
  • Urban Planning and Policy
  • Caribbean Studies
  • Critical Ethnic Studies
  • Law
  • Criminology and Criminal Justice
  • Public Health
  • History
  • Latin American and Latino Studies
  • Library and Information Science
  • Sound Studies
  • Education
  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Early Childhood Special Education
  • Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
  • School Counseling
  • Higher Education (Student Affairs, Administration and Policy)
  • Marketing
  • Organizational Communication
  • Social Work
  • Mental Health Counseling

Resources for graduate school

Antonio Ortega

Alumni spotlight: Antonio Ortega ’14 – Instructional Technologist, School of Professional Studies, Northwestern University

Being a first-generation college student, I remember electing Latina/Latino Studies 100 as one of my initial courses during my first fall semester at the University of Illinois. I was so enthralled by what I was learning. The history of the Latino/Latina population in the United States. Subjects and topics that were never discussed in my elementary and high school history classes. The history of “mi gente.” I was so fascinated that I chose Latino/Latina Studies as my second major to go along with my History major. I became an elementary school teacher in the South side of Chicago and took...