Foreign Study

KU has the oldest continually operating US academic exchange programs and supports strong linkages with Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Peru. Since 2000, contacts between KU and the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have included exchanges and symposiums involving CLAS faculty in Social Welfare, Journalism, Anthropology, Economics, Geography and History. The Center of Latin American Studies provides foreign study and travel opportunities to to graduate and undergraduate students. Guides and directories cataloged and kept at the Center contain additional information on jobs, internships, and study abroad programs in Latin America. For study abroad funding the Institute for International Education has many links.

Graduate

KU has a long-standing exchange with the Universidad de Costa Rica, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese supports summer study programs in Salvador, Brazil. Interested students are encouraged to participate.

Graduate students can undergo language training and conduct research throughout Latin America. The center has recently sent students to Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Funding is available on a competitive basis for foreign study through federal Title VI FLAS Fellowships, grants from the Tinker Foundation, and Oppenheimer research grants. Most graduate students receive one or a combination of these to support their work. Students are encouraged to check with the graduate advisor on a regular basis for information on current sources of funding. The Office of Study Abroad can give up-to-date, specific information on language training programs in Latin America.

Undergraduate

Study Abroad is central to language and culture study. Both LAS and Spanish & Portuguese encourage majors to spend a semester in a Spanish or Portuguese-speaking country. Students often choose a KU program in Costa Rica, Brazil, or Mexico. LAS has made a special effort to link the study of Less Commonly Taught Languages to Office of Study Abroad Programs, which greatly increases the motivation for students to study these languages. For Portuguese, KU has an intensive summer program in Salvador, Bahia, in collaboration with the University of Texas. KU CIBER collaborates with the University of Florida on a Business and Language program in Rio de Janeiro. Professor Bart Dean has a Study Abroad Program in the Peruvian Amazon for ethnographic work among Quichua speaking people. For Kaqchikel, Emily Tummons has developed summer internship possibilities with the NGO WuQu’ Kawoq focused on health in Guatemala. Recently, LAS Lecturer Dr. Laura Herlihy has initiated a summer Moskito language program in Nicaragua, which she plans to continue in the future..

New Study Abroad Opportunities for Summer 2011!

Language and Culture in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua

The KU Center of Latin American Studies announces its 2011 Study Abroad on the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast , June 6 - July 15

Earn undergraduate or graduate credit in Nicaragua , while living and studying in the colonial city of Granada for two weeks and on the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast for four weeks. Granada is a beautiful colonial city where students will practice Spanish, have excursions to volcanoes and artisan markets, and live with host families. Students will then travel to the Caribbean Coast , visit Corn Island and Bluefields, and reside in the Casa Museo bed and breakfast in Puerto Cabezas-Bilwi. From Puerto Cabezas-Bilwi, we will journey into the Rio Coco Indian communities and work closely with the indigenous university, The University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN).

Students will learn about the language and culture of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast , a rainforest and coast-lined region with various indigenous and ethnic groups, including the indigenous Miskitu, the Afro-indigenous Garifuna peoples, and the English-speaking Black Creoles. Courses offered include "Spoken Miskitu" (LAA 302/602), a course on the indigenous Miskitu language; and "Topics in Latin American Studies: Independent Research" (LAA 302/602), a course designed for students to complete a field-based research project on the topic of their choice. Students can take one or both of these courses; or 6 hours of either course. The courses fulfill requirements for the LAS major, including the requirement for "Fieldwork or Advanced Language Study" and for "Required Coursework" regarding Topic Groups of Primary or Secondary Emphasis.

Please contact program director Laura Herlihy (Laly@ku.edu) or the Center of Latin American Studies (latamst@ku.edu) for more information.

International Media and Marketing Communications in Argentina

International Media/Marketing Communications in Argentina is a hands-on, culture-based examination of media outlets and marketing communications in Argentina, beginning in Buenos Aires. Lectures, site visits, and presentations will give students an international perspective on media�print, broadcast and online, and marketing communications�public relations, advertising, and promotion. Students will also visit significant cultural and historical sites in Buenos Aires and will travel west to the colonial city of Salta and then on to Mendoza, considered Argentina's prettiest town, in wine country in the Andes.

The third largest market in Latin America (after Brazil and Mexico) and the eighth largest country in the world (one million square miles), Argentina presents extremely varied geography and a vibrant mix of cultures including various indigenous Americans and many European immigrants including Italians, Spaniards, and diaspora Jews. The bounty of its land and the history of immigration created an enviable local culture famous for fun-loving sophistication and good food�Argentines claim the best beef in the world. Parrillas (barbecues) dot the cityscape, the port supplies seafood, and Italian heritage often seasons the cuisine. The country has converted a local dance, the tango, into a major cultural export and an important business at home. Every Buenos Aires neighborhood's corner dance club features not only the tango but also salsa and cumbia. The home of Malbec, Argentina has staked its claim in the world wine market. The unstable but fascinating political culture fostered an active and competitive media scene. Argentina's early lead within Latin American theatre and film fueled a snappy and successful television industry. The local sports mania, club soccer, will be in season, with tickets at just $3. Horse culture, with gauchos and polo, pervades. No wonder millions flock to this affordable destination. For American tourists and students, a great way to explore the other Americas is to go right to the top�Argentina. Please see the study abroad website for more information on the programs or contact:

Linda S. Lee, Program Director
The University of Kansas
School of Journalism and Mass Communications
2052 Dole
Phone: 785-864-0613
e-mail: lindaslee@ku.edu

Other Latin American Study Abroad Opportunities through KU include:

Summer 2011:

Argentina - International Media & Marketing Communications in Argentina

Argentina - Language & Culture in Buenos Aires

Brazil - Language and Culture in Salvador

Costa Rica - International Social Work: A Costa Rican Perspective

Costa Rica - Bi-Lingual Spanish Language Intensive for Social Workers

Ecuador - Tropical Biology in Ecuador

Nicaragua - Language and Culture in Puerto Cabezas

Peru - Anthropology in the Amazon

Peru - Field Biology in Amazonian Peru

Semester and Year: