This year, LA&PS continued to broaden and diversify its study abroad programming, with a focus on opportunities in the Global South. Summer 2026 offerings include six courses: one in Mexico, four in Costa Rica and one in Madagascar. Thirteen Study Abroad proposals have been approved for Summer 2027 and will be available for LA&PS students.

Our Global & Community Engagement team is working on developing a new degree framework with York's Vice Provost Academic to develop a model for offshore hybrid degrees.

LA&PS advanced its internationalization strategy by incentivizing faculty engagement with partner institutions to support collaborative research, teaching and diversified global partnerships.

The Portuguese Canadian History Project (PCHP) secured $500,000 in funding from members of the Portuguese Canadian community and the Consulate of Portugal in Toronto, which will sustain the project over the next five years. Founded in 2008, PCHP is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, digitizing and providing access to historical materials that document the contributions of Portuguese Canadians. The project operates in partnership with the Camões Institute and York University. Gilberto Fernandes, an LA&PS researcher and director of PCHP, noted that the funding will support future events, tours and digital initiatives that expand access to Portuguese Canadian history and heritage.

Department of Economics alumni Hian Siang Chan and Paulina Lau pledge $1 million to York University's Paulina Lau Scholars Program, which provides students with learning opportunities at institutions internationally, allowing them to form connections and gain new cultural insights.

Ten York professors received $700,000 in funding from the Academy of Korean Studies, an agency of the South Korea's Ministry of Education. Eight of the recipients are based in LA&PS. The funding will support “Korea in the World: Connecting Korea and Korean Diasporic Legacies,” a new research project exploring Korea and the Korean diaspora. The project is led by Associate Professor Ann Kim (Department of Sociology), with co-investigators Associate Professor Laam Hae (Department of Politics), Associate Professor Theresa Hyun (Department of Humanities), Associate Professor Mihyon Jeon (Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics), Associate Professor Janice Kim (Department of History), Professor Thomas Klassen (School of Public Policy & Administration), Associate Professor Ahrong Lee (Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics) and Professor Hyun Ok Park (Department of Sociology), all from LA&PS.

We executed a new MOU with Thrace University in Greece to share our expertise, help guide their new Disaster & Emergency Management graduate program and to explore new research collaborations.