Special Opportunities

Contents
   • Honors Program
   • Financial Support
   • Overseas Opportunities

Honors Program

The Honors Program in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies consists of a structured sequence of at least 12 credits of course work designed to insure that the honors student receives a rigorous and thorough mastery of the discipline. These courses may be drawn from the department's regular offerings for the student's major (either Latin American Studies or Puerto Rican Studies).

To be admitted to the Honors Program, majors with the required grade point averages must complete A Lcs 400 Interdisciplinary Research Seminar (3 credits) with a grade of A or A-.

After admission to the Honors Program, the student must complete with a grade of A or A- a specifically designed three credit junior- or senior level independent honors project (A Lcs 497) under the direction of an Honors Committee selected by the chair of the department in consultation with a faculty director chosen by the student.

To be eligible for admission to the honors program, the student must have declared either the Latin American Studies or the Puerto Rican Studies major The student must also have completed at least 12 credits of course work within the given major. In addition, the student must have an overall GPA of at least 3.25, and 3.50 in the major, both of which must be maintained in order to graduate with honors.

University Honors, Awards, and Prizes

For information on becoming an honor student in LACS, please contact:
Dr. James Wessman at:
Wessman@albany.edu
518/ 442-4892
518/ 442-4790 fax

All undergraduate financial support requests are handled by the University's Office of Financial Aid. At the graduate level opportunities for assistantships, fellowships, and tuition, waivers are offered both by the LACS Department and by CELAC. Disciplinary Ph.D. departments with Latin American specialties also offer these opportunities.

• General Financial Aid Information
• University Internships
• Scholarships

Overseas Opportunities

The University's Office for International Programs administers undergraduate study abroad programs in Brazil, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Spain. Other SUNY units sponsor opportunities in other Latin American countries. Faculty research collaborations have been established with universities in Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Trinidad. In 1984, an USIA sponsored linkage project was initiated with the University of Costa Rica and the National University of Costa Rica at Heredia. In 1989, a Ford Foundation sponsored project in international women's studies was initiated with the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and Cayey campuses. A new Ford Project on Internationalizing Women's Studies: Cross-cultural Approaches to Gender Research and Teaching will focus on comparative research on Latin American, African, and Eastern European women. A Title VI-sponsored Undergraduate Consortium with the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico was also established. There are currently Anthropology field schools in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Nicaragua. In addition, most of LACS faculty members do field work in Latin American and Caribbean countries and involve their graduate students.

International Study Abroad Programs

• Brazil
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico
• Trinidad