Africa

SIT Cameroon: Social Pluralism and Development
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Dschang and Yaounde
Language of Instruction: French
Prerequisites: Three semesters of French
Program Highlights: Two homestays in Dschang and Yaounde; rural visit in Ngaoundere; educational excursions in the Extreme North Province, Fulani highlands and Coastal Cameroon; four-week independent study project.

SIT Ghana: Origins of African Identity
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Cape Coast
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Five-week homestay; rural visit to Komenda; educational excursions to Kumasi and Benin; four-week independent study project.

SIT Ghana: Social Transformation and Cultural Expression
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Accra and Kumasi
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Two homestays; rural visit; educational excursions to Cape Coast, Elmina Castle, Kakum National Forest, Tamale and Mole National Park; four-week independent study project.

Special waivers are required of students electing to study in Kenya. See Smith College's Policy on U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings.

NSEP Boren Scholarships are available for study in Kenya

St. Lawrence Kenya Semester
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Nairobi
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: one course on Africa or diaspora
Program Highlights: Study of Kishwahili (required), homestays, and a four-week independent field study.

Note: Interested students may contact Professor Katwiwa Mule (comparative literature).

School for Field Studies – Wildlife Ecology & Management
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Near Nairobi
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites:
Program Highlights: The SFS Center is located on a ranch 40 minutes outside Nairobi. Students integrate course work with interdisciplinary case studies dealing with wildlife management in areas that are not currently protected. Field work and field trips are integral parts of the program. Students live in rustic on-site housing. Informal study in Swahili is offered.

Note: Interested students may contact Professors Katwiwa Mule (comparative literature) and Elliot Fratkin (anthropology).

SIT Kenya: Islam and Swahili Cultural Identity
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Mombasa
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Smith expects students to prepare with two courses on Africa
Program Highlights: Study of Kishwahili (required), homestays and a four-week independent field study. Students study Swahili and the culture of the Kenyan coast, moving from Mombasa to Malindi to Lamu. Students have homstays in Mombasa, and other living arrangements during the remainder of the program.
Scholarship: SIT Study Abroad Scholarships.

Note: Professor Eliot Fratkin (anthropology) has visited the SIT Kenya Coastal Studies program. Interested students may contact him if they wish.

SIT Madagascar: Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Fort Dauphin
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Four semesters (or equivalent) of college-level French. Previous college-level coursework in environmental studies, ecology, biology or related field.
Program Highlights: Four-week homestay; rural homestay; educational excursions to Spiny Desert, Ranomafana rain forest, Great Barrier Reef of Tulear; and a four-week independent study project.
Scholarship: SIT Study Abroad Scholarships

SIT Madagascar: National Identity and Social Change
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Antananarivo
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Four semesters (or equivalent) of college-level French.
Program Highlights: Two homestays; rural homestay; educational excursions to Ankarana Special Reserve, the island Nosy Be and rural Fianarantsoa; a four-week independent study project.
Scholarship: SIT Study Abroad Scholarships

Special waivers are required of students electing to study in Mali. See Smith College's Policy on US Department of State Travel Warnings.

SIT Mali: Health, Gender and Community Empowerment
TERM: Fall, Spring
Location: Bamako
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Three semesters (or equivalent) of college-level French.
Program Highlights: Six-week homestay; rural visit; educational excursions in Niger River towns, Dogon cliff villages; and four-week independent study project.

Kalamazoo in Senegal
Terms: Year
Location: Dakar
Language of Instruction: French
Prerequisites: Four semesters of college-level French.
Program Highlights: Direct enrollment at the Université Cheikh A. Diop. Lasting from September to December for fall only, mid-June for full year. The academic portion of the program includes a two- to three-week stay in Saint-Louis (Senegal), where students take an interdisciplinary course. Students live in homestays with local families or in program housing during the academic year.

Note: To request an application call Narda McClendon at Kalamazoo College, (269) 337-7133.

SIT Senegal: National Identity and the Arts
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Dakar
Language of Instruction: French
Prerequisites: Four semesters of college-level French.
Program Highlights: Five-week homestay; rural homestay; educational excursions to Saint-Louis, Petite Cote, Goree Island, Lac Rose and eastern Senegal; a four-week independent study project.

Bard College International Human Rights Exchange (IHRE), with University Witwatersrand
Terms: Fall (July through November)
Location: Johannesburg
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: IHRE is an international, interdisciplinary semester focused on theory and practice of human rights. Students take four courses each term, including lectures, discussion and an internship. The student body is made up of approximately equal numbers of North American and African students. Students live in university housing with other international students.

CIEE: University of Cape Town
Terms: Fall, Spring, Year
Location: Cape Town
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Direct enrollment following the southern hemisphere academic calendar: February-June; August–November. The university is set on a steep hillside, and is a highly-selective institution with a traditional arts and sciences curriculum based on English and European models, as well as programs in engineering. All students enrolling through CIEE are required to take one course with a South African focus each semester, and Smith also requires that student study a local language (typically Xhosa or Afrikaans, but students may choose from the 10 official languages other than English). CIEE provides community-service placements, housing, registration and advising. Students live in UCT campus housing with kitchen facilities or in off-campus group houses.

Note: Professors Ellen Kaplan (theatre) and Louis Wilson (Afro-American studies) have visited this program, and interested students may contact them if they wish.

Interstudy: University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus
Terms: Fall, Spring, Year
Location: Durban
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Direct enrollment at the Howard College campus (Durban), which is the urban campus of the University of Natal and offers coursework in education, engineering, health sciences, humanities, development and social sciences, management studies, and science and agriculture. Note the southern hemisphere academic calendar: February–June; August–November. Nonwhite students (including Black South African, Indian and others) now make up more than seventy percent of the student population. Predeparture preparation, orientation, advising and excursions provided by Interstudy. Students live in on-campus residence halls.

Note: Professors Ellen Kaplan (theatre—PMB has a notable activist theatre program) and Louis Wilson (Afro–American studies) have visited this program, and interested students may contact them if they wish.

SIT South Africa: Community Health and Social Policy
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Durban
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Students examine the relationship of health care policy, education and practice in South Africa, and learn about the relationship between traditional healing and western medicine, prenatal care, access to health care and health education. Visits to Johannesburg and Capetown. Various homestays, including rural communities to learn about grassroots-level health care, and shadowing of community health workers. Independent study project required.

SIT South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Cape Town
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Explore South Africa's multicultural society and history of apartheid; stay with four families to meet and interact with South Africans from different geographic and ethnic backgrounds; complete a four-week independent study project.

SIT South Africa: Social and Political Transformation
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Durban
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: None
Program Highlights: Investigate issues of inequality, poverty, gender and racial and ethnic discrimination; excursions to rural KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town. Homestay in Hlabisa, a rural village. Service-learning project can become part of independent study project.

SIT Tanzania-Zanzibar: Costal Ecology and Natural Resource Management
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Stone Town, Zanzibar
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Previous college-level coursework in environmental studies, ecology, biology or related field.
Program Highlights: Swahili instruction; two-week homestay; educational excursions to Mafia Island Marine Park, Pemba Island and Mikumi National Park; and four-week independent study project.

SIT Uganda: Development Studies
Terms: Fall, Spring
Location: Kampala
Language of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Background in development studies or related field is strongly recommended.
Program Highlights: Luganda instruction; six-week homestay; rural homestay; educational excursions to western Uganda; Rwanda; and Eastern Uganda; and four-week independent study project.