The Rutgers/PRAC Graduate Student Summer Internship Program offers participants unparalleled access to archival collections, as well as invaluable interactions with the esteemed staff at the Archivo General de Puerto Rico (AGPR), the Colección Puertorriqueña (CPR) at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and other participating host sites. Over the course of eight or nine weeks, interns will engage in a multifaceted experience, combining hands-on work at their host institution with dedicated time for personal research endeavors. The program supports graduate students from both the US and Puerto Rico.

Past graduate summer interns at Archivo General de Puerto Rico organized archival collections, including a massive Fomento Industrial collection, now available to researchers, and materials from Fortaleza (20th C. Governors), Junta de Planificación, Sugar Commission records, etc. Participants worked with archivists Pedro Roig and Juan Román sorting, cleaning, re-boxing, labeling, and listing/inventorying documents.

Besides working on organizing and digitizing 19th or 20th-century documents, this summer’s interns may be assigned to other specialized collections at the Archivo General, including the Audiovisual Collection, the Music Collection, and the Preservation area. Similar assignments at UPR and other collections are possible.

Internship Activities:

Graduate summer interns will spend three days (Tuesday through Thursday) each week at their assigned archival site (typically the General Archive of Puerto Rico (AGPR) or the Colección Puertorriqueña of the UPR Library), contributing to the organization, cataloging, and/or digitizing of archival materials. Under the guidance of experienced archivists, interns will undertake tasks ranging from sorting and cleaning to re-boxing, creating inventories, and digitizing documents.

Interns will spend the other two days a week pursuing their own research work. PRAC director and faculty supporters in Puerto Rico will facilitate connections with relevant collections and provide support and mentorship to help interns develop their projects.

Benefits of Participation:

• Participants will gain firsthand exposure to Puerto Rico’s rich historical legacy through access to extensive collections spanning centuries of history.
• Students will have the opportunity to develop their own research projects based on their interests.
• Interns will receive support from seasoned scholars and institutions within the Puerto Rican academic community to develop their own projects.
• Interns will benefit from mentoring, personalized guidance, and networking opportunities.
• Participants will create and publish a blog about their internship work and/or personal research.
• Interns will receive a stipend to cover travel and living costs. The stipend will be paid in two installments. One payment of 75% of the stipend will be arranged for around arrival time. The final payment will be sent after receiving the blog. 

Application Details:

• The 2025 summer program’s calendar will be from June 30 to August 24. Other dates may be arranged only by self-funding or locally-based graduate students.
• Reading and verbal skills in Spanish are essential for all applicants. We encourage Puerto Rican diaspora applicants who might hesitate to apply because of their language skills.
• Professor Aldo Lauria Santiago and PRAC faculty supporters will conduct an orientation on research resources in Puerto Rico. They will be available for individual consultations to discuss goals and research interests.
• Before the program’s conclusion, interns must produce a blog detailing their internship experiences. See examples on our website.

Financial Considerations:

While participants are encouraged to seek financial support from their institutions, those without funding may apply for support from the PRAC. The Mellon Foundation has generously provided funds for this purpose. A budget of at least $3500 is recommended to cover travel and living costs for the duration of the program. PRAC Mellon grants provide $4,000 for an 8-week internship and travel costs. Participants are responsible for arranging their housing and transportation in the San Juan metro area.

How to Apply:

The application for summer 2025 is open. Please apply by filling out this form depending on your status:

• Graduate Students in Puerto Rico programs
• Graduate Students in US programs
• Rutgers Students

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Please include your last name in the filename. 

Make sure to join our email list.

Selection criteria will include:

• Match of applicant goals, skills and, interests with archival site projects and work.
• Timing and maturity of applicant’s work and application.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee drawn from our advisory committee.

Self-funding students may write to PRAC Director Aldo Lauria Santiago (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) earlier in order to receive support for their application for internal resources within their universities.

The CLAS Andean-Amazonian Studies Work Group at Rutgers University, New Brunswick invites all graduate students and faculty interested in presenting a 15-minute talk at our inaugural Andean-Amazonia Symposium on April 25, 2025. 

We encourage submissions that align with the following fields of study:

• Literature
• Indigenous realities and human rights
• Queer and gender studies 
• Linguistics
• Cultural studies
• Diaspora studies
• Environmental and blue humanities
• Public humanities and community engagement
• Historical studies
• Anthropological studies  

Key Details:

• Event Time & Date: April 25, 2025 from 10am to 5pm
• Location: Academic Building West, Room 5190
• Proposal Submission Deadline: March 9, 2025
• Presentation Length: 15 minutes
• Presentation Formats: In-person and online
• Languages for Proposals and Presentations: English, Spanish, or Portuguese

To submit your proposal, please complete the following form: https://forms.gle/iq5HWN65MgqCcqfr9.

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) will certify all participants. If you have any questions, please contact Paul Montjoy Forti at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We are pleased to share that Javier González Cortés, a PhD student in History, has published an article in the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo titled "La primera sociedad protectora de animales en Colombia."

Timed to coincide with the 137th anniversary of the speech given on January 15, 1888, during the inauguration of Colombia’s first society for the protection of animals, this piece analyzes the significance of that moment and traces a few changes that have happened since then. Javier sheds light on lesser-known details about the Society, contributing to the ongoing conversation about the history of animal protection in Latin America and the Caribbean. This brief yet insightful read adds an important layer to our understanding of animal advocacy in the region.

 To read the article, visit here:  https://www.eltiempo.com/vida/mascotas/la-primera-sociedad-protectora-de-animales-en-colombia-3417687

CLAS Director and Professor Aldo Lauria-Santiago and CLAS Executive Committee Member and Associate Professor Ulla Berg have published a new book titled "Latinos/as in New Jersey" alongside 20 other contributors, listed below. This book brings together innovative and empirically grounded scholarship from different disciplines and interdisciplinary fields of study and addresses topics including the demographic history of Latinos in the state, Latino migration from gateway cities to suburban towns, Latino urban enclaves, Latino economic and social mobility, Latino students and education, the New Jersey Dream Act and in-state tuition act organizing, Latinos and criminal justice reform, Latino electoral politics and leadership, and undocumented communities.

In celebration of the launch of this new book, the Center of Latin American Studies, Latino Studies Research Initiative, and the Department of Latino & Caribbean Studies are hosting a "Book Launch and Conference" event on Friday, February 21, 2025 with several of the contributors in attendance and a reception as well. For more information on this event, visit here.

If you'd like to learn more about the contents and subject of this book, as well as purchasing information, visit the Rutgers University Press website here.

Contributors:
Aldo A. Lauria-Santiago (editor), Ulla D. Berg (editor), Raymond Sanchez Mayers, Lyna L. Wiggins, Elsa Candelario, Laura Curran, Giovani Burgos, Alex F. Trillo, Anil Venkatesh, Johana Londoño, Jennifer Ayala, Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas, Giancarlo Muschi, Ismael García Colón, William Suárez Gómez, Benjamin Lapidus, Lilia Fernandez, Elena Sabogal, Melanie Z. Plasencia, Daniela Valdes, Yamil Avivi and Kathleen López