LACA HONORS AND CAPSTONE PROJECTS
All LACA concentrators must complete a capstone project.
Students undertaking a capstone project are required to enroll in LACA 1900.
Options for the capstone project include:
A) Honors Thesis
The honors thesis may follow one of the two formats listed below:
- A 40-80 page paper based on original research.
- An original artistic creation (e.g., photography, music, fine arts, and performing arts), eligible for consideration for an honors project in the relevant concentration, along with an accompanying reflective statement (15 pages).
Either thesis project must be supervised by a primary advisor and a secondary reader. Both must be Brown professors, chosen by the student and approved by the concentration advisor. The primary thesis advisor takes an active role in the paper, regularly meeting with the student throughout the year. The secondary reader reviews and provides feedback on one draft of the paper and the final product.
For additional information about Honors eligibility in LACA, please visit here.
An index of past LACA theses from 1980-2020 may be found here.
The thesis may qualify a student to graduate with Honors, if the student meets the additional requirements and follows the timeline listed here, and receives the unanimous recommendation of their primary advisor and secondary reader, as well as approval from the concentration advisor.
B) Capstone Project
The capstone project may follow one of the two formats listed below:
- A reflective statement about an UTRA project, an internship, a service project or a study experience abroad related to Latin American and the Caribbean (conducted in any concentration). This statement would report how this experience affected the student’s views and understanding of this region (20 pages);
- An original research paper related to a Latin American or Caribbean studies based on original or secondary research (20-25 pages).
The capstone project is supervised by one faculty advisor, who is a Brown professor, chosen by the student and approved by the concentration advisor.
The above two capstone project formats cannot qualify the student for honors.