The San Diego Consortium for Latin American Studies joins UCSD together with San Diego State University (SDSU) in the promotion of teaching, research, and public outreach on Latin America. Formed in 1985, the Consortium has gained recognition as one of the most comprehensive programs in the country and has been consistently supported by the U.S. Department of Education Title VI funds.

Building upon a formal inter-university agreement between UCSD and SDSU, the Consortium coordinates several activities:

• A student exchange program, which permits cross-campus enrollment in Latin American area studies, and Portuguese, Spanish and Mixtec language courses
• Faculty exchange through visiting lectureships, research projects, joint conferences and committee memberships
• Public film and speaker series at both campuses
• Cooperation on library acquisitions, which has produced an overall collection of more than 300,000 books, newspapers, and periodicals on Latin America which are available to all affiliates through Circuit, the San Diego Library Consortium for UCSD, SDSU and USD
• Public outreach through the satellite broadcasting of "Hemiscope," the UCSD-TV monthly talk show on Latin American affairs with guest researchers and faculty from both campuses
• Allocation of Title VI fellowships to graduate students at both institutions, and
• Outreach to K-12 teachers through training workshops by the SDSU International Studies Education Project (ISTEP), and collaboration with the UCSD Center for Research in Educational Equity and Teaching Excellence (CREATE) and the Preuss School at UCSD. Both institutions have formal teacher education programs: SDSU School of Teacher Education and the UCSD Teacher Education Program. In addition, the UCSD Extended Studies and Public Programs offers professional development courses for teachers, language courses in Spanish and Portuguese, and language travel study for educators.

Overall, the Consortium embraces the work of more than 200 faculty, staff, and program associates at the two institutions. It also draws on the unique resources of the vibrant San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area, from business, community, and government figures to leading academics on both sides of the border. UCSD has especially strong links with El Colegio de la Frontera Norte; SDSU has offers joint instructional programs with the Autonomous University of Baja California.

The Consortium is administered by the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies at UCSD and the Center for Latin American Studies at SDSU. Further information can be obtained by contacting Monica Arciga at UCSD (858) 534-6050 marciga@ucsd.edu or Elizabeth Saenz at SDSU (619)594-1104 esaenz@mail.sdsu.edu.

Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies ©2000
University of California, San Diego