Latin American Studies (RSL) M. A. is a cross-faculty interdisciplinary degree program offered jointly by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne.

RSL M. A. (Verbund) provides students with in-depth knowledge of the cultural and economic area of Latin America from the 15th century to the present day. The program aims to provide students with a region-specific and practice-oriented qualification profile through the acquisition of knowledge from the humanities, social sciences and economics. They should be able to use primary sources and data and apply current research approaches in order to understand the societies of the continent in their complexity, to clear up intercultural misunderstandings, to accompany knowledge transfer mechanisms on both sides and to develop (development) policy concepts.

The program is based on a balanced combination of different disciplines and region-specific research within Latin American studies and the social and economic sciences. Building on the basic knowledge acquired in the joint Bachelor's degree program, students in the RSL M. A. (joint) are enabled to independently acquire facts and theories as well as to work independently on regional issues in the respective subject areas and across the individual disciplines. The promotion of critical and analytical thinking as well as personal responsibility, dialog and teamwork skills are an elementary component of the graduates' profile. Following a relevant Latin America-related Bachelor's degree, the RSL M. A. (Verbund) serves to deepen academic knowledge and language and cultural skills with special consideration of methodological and theoretical issues as well as the development of professional skills. Graduates are able to apply the knowledge they have acquired and independently carry out research or application-oriented projects in their subsequent professional career or doctorate. In addition, they have learned to formulate and represent subject-related positions, to exchange research results, ideas, problems and solutions with experts in the field and to take on responsibility in working teams. Graduates of the RSL M. A. (Verbund) degree program also have the skills to pass on and present knowledge and results in a way that is appropriate for the target audience.

Structure of the degree program

The RSL M. A. (Verbund) degree program is divided into two pillars: Latin American Studies and Business, Economics and Social Sciences. Latin American Studies is divided into three components: Literary Studies, Language Practice and the study of Iberian and Latin American History. In the area of literary studies and language practice, students choose between Spanish and Portuguese at the beginning of their studies. In the Economics and Social Sciences pillar, students choose between the two profiles Social Sciences and Economics at the beginning of their studies. Furthermore, the degree program is complemented by the supplementary area. This area enables students to set their own individual focus according to their personal career goals. This includes job-related skills and language skills, mobility modules for exchange semesters or the integration of internships in Latin America, Portugal and Spain into the individual curriculum.

With regard to the degree course, the Spain - Portugal - Latin America working group/the Latin America Center acts as an interface between the participating institutes, seminars and faculties and serves as a contact for course-related matters - in particular content-related questions about the degree course.