Undergraduate Minor Portuguese & Brazilian Studies

If you have any questions regarding the language placements tests, please contact:

For information about transfer of credit, please visit our placement page.

The Portuguese minor is designed to give students pursuing other majors the opportunity to engage with and reflect upon Luso-Brazilian literary, philosophical, and visual cultures.

Required for the minor are five courses (15 credits) focusing on the Lusophone world at the 2020 or 2800 level and higher.

Required courses: one advanced language course (2020), one Perspectives course (2800), and one course at the 3000 level.

Students may apply up to two courses from abroad or from another institution toward a Portuguese minor. Courses from an institution other than Cornell may be counted toward the Portuguese minor, provided that 50% of the content of these courses, again, deals directly with the Lusophone world (Merely being taught in Portuguese is not, on its own, a sufficient criterion for a course taken abroad to count for the Portuguese minor.) Remember that you cannot apply more than two courses taken abroad to the Minor.

The minimum grade for a course to be applied to the Portuguese minor is B-.

Inquiries of a general nature can first be directed to the Undergraduate Coordinator, Cal Hile. Students who wish to minor in Portuguese are advised to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Cecelia Lawless, who admits students into the minor and assigns a faculty adviser after taking into account a student’s interest, preparation, and career goals.

Cecelia Lawless is available on Thursdays 3:00 - 5:00pm or by appointment in K112 Klarman Hall.

Please refer to the Portuguese section of the Romance Studies Course Offerings list. See our departmental course roster here.

Cornell offers great opportunities to study abroad in Brazilian cities such as Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. For details on undergraduate study abroad in Brazil, consult with Cornell Abroad.