Editor,
I was pleased to see a front-page story on study abroad in the Daily Lobo on Friday. However, I want to clear up a bit of confusion from that article.
The summer program to Trujillo, Spain, that was mentioned is not a UNM program. It is sponsored by New Mexico Highlands University.
Through the New Mexico International Education Consortium, UNM students can participate in international programs organized by other New Mexico colleges, and their students can participate in ours.
When UNM students are involved with those kinds of programs, it is important to check with the UNM Admissions Office or departmental advisers regarding the transfer of credit, and with the UNM Financial Aid Office about getting financial assistance. Study abroad advisers in the Office of International Programs and Studies and the Latin American and Iberian Institute can help advise students on the UNM procedures.
In fact, there are many diverse opportunities for UNM students to gain international experience through UNM-sponsored programs. The cost of many of the programs is very reasonable.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Conexiones program mentioned in the article is an outstanding study course that has been sending students to Spain or Mexico each summer for many years. Faculty-led international study trips are planned this summer to Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Argentina, China, England, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Ghana and other locations. Many UNM students will be studying languages this summer not only in Spain and Mexico, but also in China, Brazil, Russia and elsewhere.
Students can also do a semester or a yearlong exchange program in some 75 universities in 25 different countries. More and more UNM students are coming to realize that in an interdependent world, a college education is not complete without learning to understand other cultures and languages, and the experience of studying, working or living in another country.
This year, our Board of Regents recognized this by setting aside special scholarship funds for international study.
Information regarding the Office of International Programs and Studies' international opportunities is available on the University Web site at unm.edu/~studyabd, or at laii.unm.edu/programs.php, the Latin American and Iberian Resources' Web site. Our goal should be to see the day when every student will have the opportunity to gain international experience as part of his or her education at UNM.
Ken Carpenter
Associate director of
International Programs
and Studies
