Center for Latin American Studies

TRAVEL GRANTS

CLAS Summer Grants

CLAS offers travel grants to assist students with summer research projects. Award amounts will vary, depending on project type and location, as well as the quality of the research proposal. Proposals are evaluated by a committee composed of the Associate Director of Academic Affairs and several faculty members.

The application process involves a brief application and a proposal outlining the research project and its relationship to the student's academic interests. Applications for funding travel undertaken between May and September 2008 were due in mid-March.

To learn more about previous projects funded by CLAS, please explore the Student Research page.

CLAS is occasionally able to support travel costs for graduate students whose research papers are accepted for presentation at professional conferences. If you would like to apply for CLAS to support your conference travel costs, please complete the Travel Funding form and return it to the CLAS office at least one month in advance of proposed travel dates.

Graduate School Conference Travel Grants

The Graduate School supports the professional development of graduate students by providing Conference Travel Grants to both master's and doctoral students. These grants may be used toward travel and other expenses associated with attendance at a professional meeting. For details and application schedules, please visit the Conference Travel Grants website.

Other Graduate School Research Support

The Graduate School and the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) can assist graduate students seeking extramural research funding. OSP offers electronic access to computerized databases containing sources of research funding as well as links to web sites of a number of grant-making institutions. Similarly, the Graduate School provides guidance with preparing the proposal for review and submission and is available to assist individual students in conducting specialized searches for external support. For details, visit the Graduate School's Student Research website and the Office of Sponsored Programs.

INDEPENDENT STUDY

A CLAS MA students may arrange to register for an independent study for academic credit in order to develop an original research project on a topic related to their coursework or concentration. This can be arranged with a faculty member who is knowledgeable on the relevant topics to serve as the independent study adviser; the student must also have the permission of the MA Program Coordinator or the Associate Director of Academic Affairs. Independent studies culminate in lengthy research papers, many of which students then submit for inclusion at professional conferences.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS

CLAS does not have a formal program for research assistant positions with our faculty, but self-motivated students are often able to make arrangements with faculty whose interests match their own. Sometimes, faculty also have funding to hire research assistants to assist with grant- or foundation-funded projects. We recommend that you contact professors individually to inquire about possibilities if you are interested.