TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR STUDY ABROAD IN LATIN AMERICA

The Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies is now offering a number of travel scholarships for study abroad in Latin America, both for summer 2015 and for academic year 2015-2016.  For summer 2015, we are offering six $2,500 travel scholarships.  Students must attend degree-granting institutions in Latin America this coming summer and return with at least six hours of college credit.  For academic year 2015-2016, we will award six $5,000 travel scholarships for semester-long study abroad.  Awardees must attend degree-granting institutions in Latin America and return with at least 12 hours of college credit.

Applications and letters of recommendation are due on March 11, 2015, without exception.  Please follow the link to the scholarship portal:

http://bit.ly/WNaeWm

Brumley Next Generation Scholars

The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service are now accepting applications for the 2015-16 Next Generation Scholars program. There will be an information session on the program Tuesday, February 24th from 12:15-1:30pm in SRH 3.122 (more information on our website). There will be an additional information session in late February or early March in the Liberal Arts Building; stay tuned for more details.

The Next Generation Scholars (NGS) program was launched in 2010 with the goal of providing new research and mentorship opportunities for promising UT undergraduate students interested in careers in international security and law. In 2015, the NGS program will expand to include a focus on civic engagement through a partnership with the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, expanding the reach of the program by engaging more students and involving faculty members on a wider range of local, national, and international policy issues. Involving undergraduates in international affairs and civic engagement early in their career is an important part of the Strauss and RGK Centers’ mission to prepare the next generation of leaders to help develop solutions to the most pressing public policy challenges.

Program Components

This one-year program includes two key components: First, students will take a 3-credit research training and professional development course, taught in the Fall of 2015. This course is designed to introduce students to policy work, including basic skills in policy research, analysis, and writing. Students will be trained on designing research strategies and proposals, conducting policy analysis, writing resumes and statements of purpose, crafting op-eds and blog posts, and planning for the steps in their career development. Students selected for the program are required to enroll in PA 325. This course will be led by Dr. Catherine Weaver, LBJ School Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar.

Second, the program also matches each selected student with a research agenda underway by a Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar or RGK Center Faculty Fellow to provide opportunities to directly engage in policy-relevant research and practice skills taught in the fall course. Students will apprentice in their assigned research program for the Fall 2015 semester. Students who perform well in their research apprenticeship and the research training course in the fall will be eligible to then continue as a paid research intern for their respective faculty members at the Strauss or RGK Center in Spring 2016. Students promoted to full intern positions will be expected to commit approximately ten hours per week during the spring semester and will earn a stipend of $500 for the spring semester. Students may use this stipend for independent research, travel to a study abroad program or summer internship, travel to a professional conference, or other experiential and scholarly pursuits approved by Dr. Weaver. Funding permitting, and contingent on positive performance evaluations, students may have the possibility of continuing as research interns at the Strauss Center after the year-long Next Generation Scholars program concludes.

More details and application available here.

Apply for Junior Fellows, 2015 – 2016

The Junior Fellows Program was begun in 1959 by Harry Ransom as a means of encouraging academic excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. At that time it was essentially an honor society to which students were elected at the end of their freshman year. Over the years, the Junior Fellows has evolved into a society of juniors and seniors from the University at large who are engaged in independent research projects under the direction of members of the faculty.

Fellows are required to attend meetings of the group, held every other week in both the fall and spring semesters. Besides project presentations, meetings feature discussions led by eminent scholars from on and off campus. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in field trips, seminars, and other academic activities.

It is possible to earn academic credit for work done as a Junior Fellow, by enrolling in the appropriate conference course with the supervising professor. For example, Humanities and Plan II majors usually use their senior theses as their Junior Fellows projects. Students pursuing Special Honors in their major use the honors thesis number. Other non-honors courses are also available, for example ARH 376, E 367C, CH 475K, RTF 336. Fellows should register for the course that is approved by their advisers, fits into their degree plans, and has the right format for the chosen topic. Funds are available to assist Fellows with expenses involved in their research. There is also some money available for Fellows who can demonstrate financial need.

Application Procedure

Application is open to any qualified student from any program on campus who will have completed 60 hours prior to the Fall semester. Junior Fellows normally have a GPA of at least 3.75, but outstanding students whose abilities are manifested in other ways should not hesitate to apply. Although administered by the College of Liberal Arts, the program is open to all qualified students on campus. Many students from outside Liberal Arts are presently members.

Application materials may be downloaded using the link below or may be obtained from the Liberal Arts Honors Office,CLA 2.104, Austin, TX 78712. For more information contact Dr. Larry Carver in the Liberal Arts Honors Office by email or phone at 471-3458.

Download Application Form (PDF)

Applications are due Friday, March 27, 2015 for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Membership in Junior Fellows begins the fall semester following the spring recruitment period.

Congratulations to Our Wise Wanderers

We received many outstanding applications, so many that we couldn’t pick just one Wise Wanderer for Summer 2015.  We have selected the following recipients for the Wise Wanderer Scholarship:

Emily Finkelstine, the Silk Road in Western China

Mac MacKay, Palestine

Jeffrey Saeling, Japan

Thank you to everyone who submitted an application.  We wish you all happy travels.

“Digital Race & Sexuality” – Feb. 18, 3:30pm, PAR 308

In anticipation of the 14th Annual Sequels Symposium, E3W invites you to the first of two Prequels events this semester. This roundtable on Digital Race and Sexuality will focus on the work of our distinguished alumnus, Shaka McGlottenIn Virtual Intimacies: Media, Affect, and Queer Sociality (2013), McGlotten explores the promise and power that the Internet and social media offer to queer men of color as they navigate relationships and communities. The panelists – Dr. Neville HoadAlex Cho, and Lily Zhu – will discuss the implications of McGlotten’s work for Ethnic & Gender Studies, considering also how his book enriches our understanding of the political uses of the digitalThe panel will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 3:30pm, in PAR 308.  

Reading of the Novel The Hilltop February, 19 at 7:00 pm CLA 1.302D

All welcome Thursday, February 19 at 7 p.m. in CLA 1.302D for a reading by Israeli novelist Assaf Gavron. Gavron will be reading from his 2014 novel, The Hilltop, which explores the lives of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Hailed as “the great Israeli novel” by Time Out Tel Aviv, The Hilltop has won acclaim from both sides of the political spectrum.

Praise for The Hilltop:
“Brilliantly attuned to the madhouse complexities of the current settlement crisis. . . . The superbly orchestrated chaos that results makes this an indispensable novel of, as one character dubs it, the ‘Wild West Bank.’” (Wall Street Journal)
“Expansive, humorous . . . Gavron’s satiric touches can be coruscating . . .” (The New Yorker)
“[A] brilliant book . . .” (The New York Times Book Review)
“Assaf Gavron stakes his claim to be Israel’s Jonathan Franzen . . . Gavron writes realistic fiction with a comic edge that aims to take the temperature of his whole society, to tell us how Israelis live now . . . a cutting satire.” (Adam Kirsch Tablet)
The reading is free and open to the public, with no RSVP required.

Human Rights Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Global Youth Connect, Summer 2015

Human Rights Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Global Youth Connect, Summer 2015

Are you a student or young professional between 18-30 years of age and interested in learning about Human Rights in the field?

Apply today for a delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina (July 28-August 15, 2015) with Global Youth Connect and explore human rights through experiential learning. 

Help defend and preserve human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina through Global Youth Connect. Participate in a 2.5-week program organized for local and visiting youth activists to investigate on the human rights situation in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. As part of this enriching program, participants will create connections with key players in the country, join volunteer projects, and contribute to uphold human rights in Bosnia and beyond.

HUMAN RIGHTS DELEGATION TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

Dates: July 28 – August 15, 2015

Age Range: 18 – 30

Program Tuition: $1990

Download 2015 Bosnia Human Rights Delegation Info Packet

Program Highlights

  • A cross-cultural human rights (and/or conflict resolution) workshop
  • Meetings with international and local policy makers, government officials, organizational leaders, and other key stakeholders
  • Solidarity visits to relevant sites and memorials
  • Volunteer service with grassroots NGOs on a variety of human rights issues including but not limited to: conflict resolution, education, health care, food/shelter, access to justice, human rights of children/youth, women, low-income populations, LGBTQ populations, indigenous populations, genocide survivors, land rights, and legal-aid.

Eligibility: 

  • Anyone can apply from the U.S., Canada, and all over the world, so please forward widely. Local participants from Bosnia will be admitted in a separate application process. 
  • Age Range:  18 – 30
  • Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the program is filled, though they are urged to apply by February 15
  • Find out more at www.globalyouthconnect.org

Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program

The McNair Scholars program is currently recruiting and accepting new students for the Fall 2015 semester. We are looking for undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing doctoral degrees who are low-income, first-generation, and/or traditionally underrepresented in graduate education. All McNair Scholars obtain a faculty mentor, work on an independent research project, receive free GRE prep (worth $2,000), and are eligible for up to $5,500 for participating. Our application deadline is Friday, April 4th, 2015. More information and the application can be found at www.utmcnairscholars.org.

Information sessions will be taking place:

February 16th from 6:00–7:00 pm in CBA 4.338

March 5th from 6:00-7:00 pm in CBA 4.338

March 26th from 6:00-7:00pm In CBA 4.338

INSPIRE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Center for Women’s & Gender Studies

The women leaders of INSPIRE invite all first-year women students at UT Austin to apply to our mentorship program.

The INSPIRE Mentorship Program will:
* Guide you through difficult decisions and challenges you will encounter as a college student;
* Provide you with the opportunity to gain professional, personal, and academic guidance through a one-on-one relationship with an INSPIRE mentor;
* Provide a safe, women-centered space for first-year women where your questions will be answered.

In order to participate in the UT INSPIRE Mentorship Program, please make sure that Thursday nights are available for meetings and events.

APPLY HERE

Application deadline is Wednesday, February 18.

For inquiries: utexasinspire@gmail.com

Please visit our website for more information on INSPIRE: Empowering Texas Women Leaders.