Admission requirements
Students should have a thesis supervisor at the beginning of the research.
Before leaving for Latin America all students are obliged to send the details of their stay abroad to the International Office
Description
This course consists of a short, or narrowly defined disciplinary research project in a Latin American country. Through methods and techniques of the humanities and social sciences, the student will collect material to report about in the Master’s thesis. The thesis supervisor will guide the student with the research proposal, the selection of the location of the study, and the conduction of field-work in Latin America.
Under consultation with the thesis supervisor and the Board of Examiners, alternative research stays at Leiden University or data collection in the Netherlands are a possibility.
Scholarships
Students need to organize the finances of their research stay themselves. They can apply for scholarships such as:
Course objectives
Students will deal with a different environment and culture, and learn to cope with a research practice that does not always correspond to the theories learned or the project on paper;
The ability to individually carry out academic research in Latin America by working with interviews, observations, archive research, discourse analysis, statistical data or other methods to collect information;
Students will be able to conduct research and solve practical, methodological and content issues within a short timeframe;
At the end of the course, students will be able to report on the fieldwork conducted in the region.
Timetable
Mode of Instruction
Fieldwork in Latin America. During the research stay, the students are in contact with the supervisor by email at least once every two weeks to inform on the developments and/or problems.
Assessment method
Assessment
The grade consists of two assignments:
Revised research proposal (40%);
Report research stay in Latin America (3.000-4.000 words), where the student presents the fieldwork results and preliminary findings (60%).
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
Resit
Essay (5.000) words based on theoretical research for your specific research topic.
Inspection and feedback
Reading list
Under consultation with the thesis supervisor.
Registration
Before leaving for Latin America all students are obliged to send the details of their stay abroad to the International Office
Contact
For questions about this component, you can contact your thesis supervisor.
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Study Abroad coordinator: Karin Aalderink
Remarks
Most students do fieldwork between December and January. A research stay is six – eight weeks. In principle, the fieldwork may take place in any Latin American country and location, in consultation with the thesis supervisor. Students can profit from the institutional contacts of LAS with partner universities in the region.