Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS) is one of the oldest and strongest interdisciplinary programs on campus and in 2006 was designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Resource Center. With over 75 affiliated faculty spanning the disciplines and schools, the Center offers a lively intellectual environment for those with an interest in the region. The Center sponsors visiting speakers, symposia, conferences, and an annual film series.

CLAIS offers graduate students from anthropology the possibility to enroll in a Certificate in Latin American Studies program and administers a number of summer research grants for students conducting research in Latin America. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies summer fellowships are also available for the study of Brazilian Portuguese and indigenous languages of Latin America.