Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Latin American Studies: Follow your Track

At SAIS, about 60 students are LASP concentrators --LASP is SAIS jargon for Latin American Studies Program – and, of the first-year concentrators, about half of them spend the first year at SAIS Europe.

The program is known for its dedicated faculty and staff and the individualized attention the students receive. What is more, it maintains close ties with its alumni community and provides a platform for current students and alumni to network for professional and academic development.

Today, Anne McKenzie, the program's professional development coordinator, tells us what's new with LASP.

Anne McKenzie (middle) in DC with SAIS Europe LASP concentrators
We have implemented a new system of ‘tracks’ to allow students to combine functional interests with the LASP concentration. In addition to selecting a track, concentrators complete a foundation course, pass a LASP history exam and participate in a capstone internship in addition to becoming proficient in Spanish and/or Portuguese.

This new framework--five academic tracks--provides a more specialized structure to better match individual interests. What’s more, the tracks offer greater flexibility to incorporate a relevant non-LASP course as part of the program.

Starting this year, students will be able to choose from the following tracks:

(1)   Latin American Political Economy
(2)   Emerging Markets/International Finance
(3)   Energy, Resources & Environment
(4)   International Development Policy & Institutions
(5)   Foreign/Public Policy & Security Challenges

On September 25, DC-based LASP Sr. Associate Professor Francisco E. González will hold a lecture for students in Bologna.  This will introduce Bologna students to DC LASP faculty early in the academic year.

Both Guadalupe Paz, associate director and assistant research professor, and I are based in DC, but each year we travel to Bologna to meet with LASP current and prospective concentrators. This year, we will return to SAIS Europe in early October; the goal is to introduce students to the many academic and extracurricular activities offered through the concentration as well as to open lines of communication between the two campuses.

Highlights of these many offerings are included in the SAIS Latin American Studies Academic Year Recap 2013-2014, which you can read here.

Anne McKenzie

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Get a head start on your application

If you are thinking about going to graduate school, you might consider getting started with your application now.

Candidates interested in attending SAIS Europe have three deadlines to choose from.

No matter which deadline you decide to go for, be sure you give yourself enough time to file your application.

Putting together a strong dossier can take time, and the best applications tend to come from students who've spent time thinking about why they want to go to graduate school and why SAIS.

The online application is available here.

The deadlines for application to SAIS Europe are:

NOVEMBER 1, 2014 - Deadline to apply to start in Spring 2015 (January 2015)

NOVEMBER 15, 2014 - Early application deadline to start in Fall 2015 (August-September 2015)

JANUARY 7, 2015 - Regular application deadline to start in Fall 2015 (August-September 2015)

SAIS Europe accepts applications to the Spring semester. Interested candidates should submit a complete dossier by November 1. We promise to notify candidates by November 30.

For the first time this year, SAIS has an early application deadline. Candidates who complete the application and provide the required documents by November 15 will learn about the outcome of their application by December 30. The early enrollment deadline is available at both SAIS Europe and SAIS DC.

The advantage of applying early is that you learn early on whether or not you have been admitted to SAIS. What is more, an official letter of admission might facilitate your search for external funds.

Early applicants will receive notification on admission by the end of December. News on financial aid applications will be available in mid-March 2015.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at sais.eu.admissions@jhu.edu

Amina Abdiuahab




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