SU Abroad launches new Latin America program

SU Abroad launches new Latin America programApril 12, 2007Daeya Malboeufdmking04@syr.edu

SU Abroad has received approval from the Syracuse University Board of Trustees to launch its new Latin America program. This announcement is the culmination of more than two years of intensive research and planning.

“We are so excited to launch Gateway to Latin America,” says Sue Shane, program director for SU Abroad. “This program will respond to increasing interest in Latin America across majors and will also serve the growing population of Hispanic heritage students at SU and other universities.” The new program will offer unique SU signature experiences, such as home-stays, field seminars and internships. There will be numerous course offerings in Spanish in almost every discipline, which will allow students to nearly complete all requirements for a Spanish minor or major while dramatically improving language fluency.

Gail Bulman, associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in The College of Arts and Sciences, has worked closely with SU Abroad to develop the program and shares Shane’s enthusiasm. “Be it to understand the poetry of Chile’s Nobel laureates, the impact of international trade agreements or the politics of Hugo Chavez, this program is going to open a door for students through which they can explore contrasting cultures and world views in the Southern Hemisphere,” Bulman says.

Based at the prestigious University of Chile in Santiago, the semester program offers several distinctive features. First, it provides a unique two-site living experience (four weeks in Cuenca, Ecuador, for an intensive Spanish language course, then the remainder of the semester in Santiago, Chile). Second, a required interdisciplinary seminar will include field study in both rural areas and urban centers in Chile and Argentina. The combination of dual locations and field study seminar will significantly enhance students’ appreciation of the geographic, cultural and ethnic diversity of the region.

Gateway to Latin America is to open all undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines who have completed the equivalent of SPA 102 and who wish to acquire language proficiency as they develop knowledge and understanding of Latin America and their host cultures (Track 1); it is also designed for students who have completed SPA 202 and whose goal is to develop Spanish language expertise in one or more disciplines (Track 2) and immerse as fully as possible in the linguistic, academic and cultural environment.

The new program is set to welcome its first group of students in the Spring 2008 semester. Interested students may begin submitting their applications beginning today.

SU Abroad consistently ranks among the highest quality international education programs in the country. More than 2,000 students from both SU and colleges across the country study with SU Abroad every year. SU Abroad programs foster scholarship in action through a combination of world travel, academic excellence, internships and community collaboration. The University currently operates six centers: Beijing, Florence, Hong Kong, London, Madrid and Strasbourg. New centers are under development in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Through the World Partners program, SU students may also study in more than 20 additional countries, including Australia, India, Israel, Korea and Russia.