The interns spend 10-12 weeks during the summer working for companies and banks in the region. In 1990, the program was expanded to include summer internships at nonprofit organizations. Each year since 1982, LASP has supported student research.
Students are eligible for grants to carry out individual research projects in Latin America.
In the past, students have studied such varied topics as Chile's debt conversion policy, the role of political parties in Nicaragua, Japanese investment in Mexico, the privatization of the electricity system in Argentina and the 1994 Mexican currency crisis, to cite a few. Upon their return, students present their research to the SAIS community. During the winter break, a limited number of qualified LASP students has the opportunity to improve their Spanish language skills through a three-week intensive program at the Center for Bilingual Multicultural Studies in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Students and faculty, as well as the Washington policy community, are invited to attend. These are a series of informal lectures given by academics, diplomats, business professionals and Latin American specialists on varied topics of interest.