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Latin America: Self-Reliance Services

Dates:
Winter: January–April 2025 (approx. 12 weeks)
Spring–Summer: May–August 2025 (approx. 12 weeks)
Fall: September–December 2025 (approx. 12 weeks)

Application Deadlines:
Winter: 11 October 2024
Spring–Summer: 31 January 2025
Fall: 31 January 2025

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ self-reliance program teaches important principles in the areas of leadership, education, employment, and small business development. BYU collaborates with the Church in Latin America by sending qualified students to help support the self-reliance programs in different countries.

Interns will work at Church Self Reliance Centers in select countries in Spanish-speaking Latin America. This internship will offer you the opportunity to learn from and serve others, further enhance your foreign language skills, gain valuable international work experience, and receive academic BYU credit. Selected interns will work closely with the local Church self-reliance managers and leaders to help organize and facilitate Church self-reliance groups and initiatives. The main objective of this program is to help individual members learn to become more self-reliant.

Click here to apply today!

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Contact Us

Malcolm Botto
204E HRCB
(801) 422-6677
malcolm_botto@byu.edu

PDF

Program Flyer

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
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More Information

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Courses

Students register for 9–12 credit hours while abroad. In consultation with program directors, students will set a combination of courses in their applicable major and minor areas of study. This internship is most compatible with majors/minors in Latin American Studies, Spanish, International Development, Humanities, and Business. Possible courses include SPAN 395R, SPAN 399R, HIST 252, and IAS 399R, among others.

Students may not take any other courses on this program, including BYU Online courses, without approval by the program director and ISP.
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Cost

$3,600–4,100

Includes Latter-day Saint undergraduate full tuition, housing, some work-related travel, and international health insurance coverage.

Does not include airfare, personal meals, local transportation (to and from work), or personal expenses.
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Funding Sources

Regular BYU tuition scholarships, Pell Grants, and Federal Insured Student Loans may be applied to study abroad programs.

Students who submit the financial aid section of the ISP application and who have a current FAFSA form on file at the Financial Aid Office (A-41 ASB) will be considered for a Study Abroad scholarship.

Academic departments and colleges may assist with scholarships and grants.

The College of Humanities offers international internship grants to majors and minors within the college.

All selected students are eligible for a Self-Reliance Internship grant of up to $1,000 to help pay for program costs.

Private grants and scholarships outside of BYU may also assist (see kennedy.byu.edu/scholarships).
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Preparation

Applicants will be evaluated by the faculty director upon application to the program and must have completed SPAN 321 before participation in the program. Upper class status is preferred.

Prior to departure, students completing an internship are required to enroll in one credit hour each of HCOLL 396R, Professional Internship Preparation, and IAS 369R, SRS Internship Preparation. Part-time BYU students will need to pay an additional tuition fee for enrolling in the prep class.

All interns may be required to participate in a one-day training session in Utah before traveling to the internship site.

Married student couples may serve as an internship companionship provided that both spouses meet the above requirements.

Students must meet all country- and program-specific COVID and health requirements for travel.

International study programs are physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing and you must be in good health to participate. These programs often take place in international locations that do not have the same level of safety and services in terms of transportation, living conditions, residential accommodations, food, public behavior, and policing that you may be used to on campus. If you have further questions or concerns on this, please see our travel policy.
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Housing

Students are housed with a BYU student companion in furnished apartments. Housing is generally located near Church Self Reliance Centers. Students are responsible for their own meals and transportation.
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Travel

Students are responsible for purchasing their own airfare to and from the program sites. Airline reservations must be made through BYU Travel. Students should contact a BYU Travel agent.

BYU Travel
280 HRCB
(801) 422-6293
travel@byu.edu
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Application Process

BYU welcomes students from any university to apply to participate on our study abroad programs. However, internships and direct enrollment programs are limited to BYU Provo students.

Students must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Complete the online application here. A nonrefundable $35 application fee is required; applicants will be interviewed once the application is complete.

Students will be notified via e-mail of their acceptance into the program. The first payment is due upon acceptance; please refer to the Payment Information page.

Application Deadlines:
Winter: 11 October 2024
SpringSummer: 31 January 2025
Fall: 31 January 2025
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Program Adjustments

International Study Programs (ISP) reserves the right to cancel this program, revise its offerings, or make any adjustments to the preliminary cost.

If it becomes necessary for ISP to cancel a program, all program payments made to BYU ISP will be refunded to the student’s BYU Financial account.

ISP is the only office authorized to cancel any of its programs.
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Faculty

Malcolm Miguel Botto of the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies is the program director.

204E HRCB
(801) 422-6677
malcolm_botto@byu.edu

Jeffrey Shumway, Professor of History, is the program faculty director.

2143 JFSB
(801) 422-8943
jshumway@byu.edu
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Contact Us

International Study Programs
101 HRCB
(801) 422-3686
isp@byu.edu


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ISP Student Handbook

To see the student handbook, click here.
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Payment Schedule

To see the payment schedule, click here.