Study Abroad in South Africa
The UMass College of Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) is pleased to announce a new study abroad opportunity at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. This seven-week program will earn you a semester's worth of UMass credits (13-15) in disciplines such as Political Science, History, Economics, and Sociology. Courses will be taught by both UMass and UCT professors and you'll be studying alongside students from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific in this immersive experience.
And it will cost less than being at UMass for a semester!
The total cost for the program (including tuition, airfare, housing, and food) is thousands of dollars less than a semester of in-state tuition and on-campus housing at UMass!
The program will include opportunities to fulfill GenEd requirements and potentially enable you to graduate a semester early or replace a fall or spring semester with this summer program. The final course list will be announced in August/September 2017.
Courses
The program will be transcripted by UMass Amherst, and include opportunities to fulfill GenEd requirements, SBS major requirements and potentially enable you to graduate a semester early or replace a fall or spring semester with this summer program. Final course list is here:
Summer Session 1: May 20 - June 16, 2018
All students will take Afropolitanism, Political Science 397 - (4 credits), taught by UCT faculty.
And choose between:
- Power and violence in South Africa, History 260 - (4 credits), GenEd HSDUMA faculty Dr Joye Bowman and Dr John Higginson
- HIV/AIDS in South Africa: Science, Race and Sex in the Making of a Modern Epidemic - (UMass Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science cross-listed course; number TBD), UCT faculty Dr. Rebecca Hodes
Summer Session 2: June 17 - July 9, 2018
Students will choose TWO of the following three courses:
- Demography: Sex, Life and Dying, Sociology 261 - (4 credits), UMass faculty Dr Jen Lundquist
- Political Economy of African Growth and Transformation, Economics 397 - (3 credits), UMass faculty Dr Léonce Ndikumana,
- African Media in a Global Age (UMass Communication Department credit), UCT faculty Dr Wallace Chuma
During this time, you will also get a chance to travel throughout South Africa for 7 days, embarking on a 4-day Garden Route tour (one of South Africa’s most popular destinations), ending with 3 days in stunning Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape coast.
Living Arrangements
UCT's well-equipped campuses and residences provide excellent living and learning environments in beautiful surroundings on the slopes of Devil's Peak and elsewhere on the Cape Peninsula. They provide ideal facilities for students. For Summer Session 1, students will stay in a guest house in Rondebosch, a bustling university neighborhood with easy access to the Jammie Shuttle to get onto campus, and for Summer Session 2, students will move to a residence hall on the UCT campus.
Funding
You may use financial aid for summer study abroad. Pell Grant recipients can also access Pell funds for the summer. In addition, there are a number of financial awards distributed throughout SBS and UMass, including two $5,000 Ansin Study Abroad awards for this program in particular.
