APPLICATION FOR 2009 (to be awarded at the 2010 Meeting)

The Southwest Council of Latin American Studies (SCOLAS) wishes to solicit nominations of qualified graduate candidates for its annual Bertie Acker Scholarship Award. SCOLAS established its scholarship program 1991 to recognize and encourage outstanding students who wish to pursue a career in any area of Latin American Studies. This year scholarships will be awarded at the graduate level.

ELIGIBILITY: Students must be nominated for the scholarship by an active SCOLAS member who serves on the faculty of an accredited college or university. Once nominated, a student may apply for scholarship consideration. To be eligible for the undergraduate scholarship, nominees must be enrolled at an accredited college or university that offers courses in the study of Latin America. To be eligible for the graduate scholarship, nominees must be enrolled at an accredited college or university at the graduate level that offers courses in the study of Latin America. No applicant will be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, age, or religion. The finalists will be selected on the basis of faculty recommendations and quality of their research projects and/or of their course work. The decision of the SCOLAS scholarship committee will be final.

DEADLINES: The deadline for receiving completed applications is February 1. Any applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

APPLICATION PROCESS: In addition to the attached application, nominees should request two letters of recommendation from professors who are familiar with their work. One of these recommendations should come from the SCOLAS sponsor. The sponsor should also verify the candidate's GPA, course work and grades. While an official transcript is not required, the candidate's sponsor should include a photocopied transcript with the recommendation letter.

Each application should also include a sample or samples of the candidate's written work or other research, a maximum of 25 pages. Each application should include a Resume of the applicant's activities (including extracurricular), academic achievements(scholarships, Dean's List, etc.), and course work.

Undergraduates should include a brief statement of their career goals. Graduate students should submit a brief statement of their research project and career goals.

Work submitted may be in either English or Spanish.

Please send the original and two copies of the complete application to: