This reference guide has been designed for you to get the most out of your visit to LANIC. This list of frequently asked questions is not comprehensive, but rather a work in progress. We hope you find it useful. If you have a question that is not answered here, send it to us via the Comment form, and we will do our best to answer it.
Please Note: LANIC is not a reference library. All of the resources which LANIC provides are free for you to use. Outlined below are several ways by which you can communicate with LANIC staff. However we do not have adequate time nor staff resources to respond to general queries or perform personal searches for users.
What does LANIC's acronym stand for?
LANIC is the University of Texas' Latin American Network Information Center.
What is the Mission of LANIC?
The mission of LANIC is to provide Latin American users with access to academic databases and information services throughout the Internet, and to provide Latin Americanists around the world with access to information on and from Latin America.
What type of information can I find on LANIC? 
One of the primary functions of LANIC is the creation and maintenance of directories or guides to Internet-based resources in the field of Latin American studies. Our directory services began in 1992 when we launched the first Latin American directory via Gopher. Currently, LANIC's directory contains pages for 35 countries and 49 subjects.
Currently:
- Our World Wide Web directories house more than 12,000 links to Web sites and pages, listservs, Usenet Newsgroups, etc., all evaluated and catalogued by LANIC staff.
- Our directory structure is arranged by Country (for example, Colombia or Mexico) and by Subject (for example, Art or the Environment).
- The directory pages are constantly being updated with new links. For a list of the latest additions, see What's New.
- The directories contain links to both local and off-site resources.
In addition, LANIC also hosts a number of other informational resources including: joint projects, databases, and electronic publications.
What are the joint projects and data bases which LANIC
hosts?
Through a series of collaborative agreements, LANIC provides technical assistance and space on our servers for Latin American institutions and organizations with informational content of interest to Latin Americanists that seek to have an Internet presence based in the U.S. LANIC maintains a set of Publishing Guidelines for those wishing to have their information hosted on our site. Hosted information can be in the form of data bases, periodical publications, or general informational content. Specific bilateral agreements are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
Institutions that have entered into hosting agreements with LANIC include:
- SELA Sistema Económico Latinoamericano
- LARRP Latin Americanist Research Resources Project
- CLACSO Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales
- LASA Latin American Studies Association
Why does a linked page not display properly when I
click on it?
All the pages hosted on LANIC have been tested on numerous different browsers and platforms. But LANIC contains links to thousands of external resources over which we have no control. Some of these sites may display properly in one browser, but not in another. So, for example, if you are using the Firefox browser and click on a link which results in a site that appears to not load properly, try cutting and pasting the URL from the Firefox browser into another browser, like Internet Explorer.
What is the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American
Studies?
Widely regarded as one of the best Latin American studies program in the country, the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) continues its mission to foster knowledge and understanding of Latin America in Texas and throughout the United States. It accomplishes this through educational programs at the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. levels; through support of faculty and advanced graduate student research; and through scholarly conferences, lectures, and exchange programs with Latin America. Simultaneously, LLILAS contributes to the development of higher education in Latin America through collaborative research projects with Latin American scholars, sharing its academic resources, and by promoting study at the University of Texas (UT) by students from Latin America.
LLILAS degree programs strive to balance a broadly based knowledge of Latin America with possible concentrations in virtually any traditional discipline, including the humanities, law, business, social and natural sciences, engineering, and communications. To provide a proper balance between breadth and depth, the undergraduate major includes a core curriculum as well as a minumum number of courses in a particular discipline. Moreover, many of our undergraduate majors graduate with double majors. The M.A. degree allows a higher concentration in particular disciplines, but can also be completed in joint programs business, law, or communications. The Ph.D. program is restricted to those few students showing a clear need for interdisciplinary studies at the doctoral level. To make our cross-disciplinary programs viable, LLILAS administrators and professors are drawn from throughout the university.
The institute's activities do not, however, stop at the campus borders. LLILAS cooperates with civic, nonprofit, and business associations that maintain interests in Latin America; it works with governmental and multilateral agencies both in the United States and in Latin America, whose interests are in the social and economic betterment of the region; and it involves in its activities concerned citizens in Texas and throughout the United States. LLILAS also has an expanding Outreach program for K-12, working with schools to increase interest in and knowledge of Latin America and its culture.
In addition, the institute houses a Mexican Center, which sponsors seminars and conferences on and promotes exchanges with Mexico; a Brazil Center, which organizes activities related to Brazil, including lectures and conferences; a Working Groups Program for faculty and advanced graduate students, subdivided by country and area of interest; a Publications Program, which produces books, newsletters, flyers, program materials, a series of on-line working papers, and a weekly calendar of campus and national events related to Latin America; a Computer Center, with computers available for student use; and an Institute of Latin American Studies Student Association (ILASSA), which sponsors an annual international student conference. LLILAS also initiated the innovative LANIC program, which provides Latin American users with access to academic databases on the Internet and helps Latin Americanists throughout the world to access information on and from the region. Finally, LLILAS is home to the Cordry Mexican Folk Mask Collection, a unique collection of masks once used in Indian ritual dance ceremonies in Mexico, which was donated to the institute in 1981. Parts of the collection are on permanent display at the Benson Latin American Collection.
The principal sources of funding for LLILAS are the Texas state government, the federal government, the University, private foundations, corporations, and individual donors. With these funds, LLILAS not only maintains the activities described above, but also provides financial support for the Benson Latin American Collection-the largest specialized Latin American library at any university worldwide-and for faculty research and student fellowships. LLILAS also helps support the growing and distinguished collection of Latin American art, soon to be housed in a new museum. In addition, LLILAS organizes and publicizes lectures and conferences and hosts distinguished visitors, including eminent scholars, artists, and writers, U.S. and Latin American government leaders, visiting alumni, and interested friends of Latin America.
The Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies seeks to excel in every area necessary to:
- educate the most talented youth who choose to dedicate their careers to Latin America;
- enrich human understanding and appreciation of Latin American society, history, and culture; and
- contribute through high-quality academic endeavors to the economic, social, and political advancement of Latin America as a whole in association with Texas and the United States.
Where can I find out about applying for admission to UT
Austin?
If you are seeking admission as an international student, you will find information on the Web site of the Graduate and International Admissions Center.
All other students seeking information about admission to UT should visit the Web site of the Office of Admissions.
