SUNY Global

Program Background

Program Background

SUNY-CRUE Language Teacher Training Partnership

Announcement and summary:

On April 29, 2009, an agreement was signed between the State University of New York and Banco Santander Chairman Emilio Botin.  The agreement provides a grant to SUNY to fund specific international activities over a three year period.  Among these activities is the Language Teacher Training Partnership (LTTP), which will be carried out by the State University in conjunction with the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE).  The LTTP gives rise to the SUNY-Santander Language Teacher Training Scholarship Program.  The program will provide support to eligible SUNY students who wish to spend one academic year studying in a Spanish partner university.  It is aimed at students whose career goal is to become teachers of Spanish.  The State University is working with Banco Santander and the CRUE to establish a mirror program which will enable Spanish students enrolled in teacher training programs to come to SUNY campuses for one year each.

The SUNY-Santander Language Teacher Training Scholarship Program will invite applications from students who meet the minimum selection criteria.  A Student Selection Committee will be established consisting of representatives from international educations offices, and Spanish and Education departments across the SUNY System. 

Student selection criteria

Students must demonstrate:

• Be enrolled in a bachelor’s program at a SUNY institution.  Preferably students would travel to Spain in their junior year, but those who will be sophomores and seniors upon year of travel can also be considered;
• Relevant majors would include Spanish language and culture, Spanish education, Spanish literature, Spanish linguistics, bilingual education (Spanish-English), education or related fields;
• Plan to become teachers of Spanish;
• Advanced- intermediate Spanish language proficiency appropriate for enrollment in university courses conducted in Spanish;
• Have a GPA of 3.0;
• Students with financial need are encouraged to apply.

The goal of the program is to provide support to no fewer than ten SUNY students per year over a period of no less than three years. 

Program administration:  Institutional linkages and student mobility

It is the goal of the State University for this scholarship fund to result in long term alliances and benefits to institutions of the SUNY System and their Spanish university counterparts.  For this reason, the program seeks to establish and foster university-to-university linkages over the life of the grant.  Four partnerships have been established for the purpose of moving students between Spain and New York State.  The partner institutions will be responsible for sending their own students, as well as those of other SUNY campuses. 

The university partnerships responsible for conducting this student exchange are:

University at Albany - University of Santiago de Compostela

Buffalo State College - University of Cantabria

Stony Brook University - Autonomous University of Madrid

Buffalo University - Autonomous University of Barcelona