How many Latino studies programs are there? Tracking departmental growth, stagnation, and invisibility 1960–2020

Abstract

This study provides the first systematic analysis of the founding and growth of Latino studies programs across the country. Drawing on a unique data set compiled from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), we show that even though Latinos now constitute close to 20% of the US population, less than 4% of all four-year colleges and universities have an established Latino studies program. Most Latino studies programs/departments in existence today were founded in the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of the Chicano and Puerto Rican youth movements. Since then, the rate of new program establishment has fallen considerably, despite substantial growth in the Latino college student population and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs). Of the small number of programs founded since 2000, we find that nearly half have one or fewer core faculty allocated to them, and most are at private schools. Beyond tracking growth rates, we also provide insight into how Latino studies programs represent themselves on their websites and find a significant decline in racial and social justice discourse in recently established programs. Overall, the data shows that Latino studies departmental/programmatic growth is tenuous at best. Implications for understanding Latino public knowledge, the Latino academic pipeline, and the future of ethnic and racial relations more generally are discussed.