Study Abroad in South Africa
The UMass College of Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) and the International Programs Office are pleased to announce the 2019 University of Cape Town (UCT) and UMass Summer School in South Africa. This seven-week program will earn you a semester's worth of UMass credits (12-14) in disciplines such as Political Science, History, Communication, 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!
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:
Session 1: June 14 - July 13, 2019
Choose 2 of 3 courses in Session 1 (final course offerings dependent on enrollment, to be announced the last week of February 2019):
- Afropolitanism - Political Science 397 (required for all Session 1 students, will LIKELY fulfill a Gen Ed SBDG requirement)
- History of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic - SBS upper-division elective credit for certain majors
- Empowering Communities - Communication 397 (community engagement and service learning course), taught by UMass faculty Dr. Mari Castañeda and Dr. Joseph Krupcynski
Session 2: July 12 - August 3, 2019
And 2 of 3 courses in Session 2 (final course offerings dependent on enrollment, to be announced the last week of February 2019):
- Elementary Statistics - Sociology 212 (R2 Gen Ed requirement), taught by Dr. David Cort, UMass faculty
- Power - Political Science 273 (likely will fulfill a Gen Ed requirement), taught by Dr. Angélica Bernal, UMass faculty
- African Media in a Digital Age - upper-division Communication elective
During the intersession between Summer Session 1 and Summer Session 2, you will also get a chance to travel throughout South Africa for 7 days, embarking on a week-long Garden Route tour (one of South Africa’s most popular destinations), on the Eastern Cape, in order to experience, compare and contrast South Africa's Eastern and Western Capes.
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 at the ISA student residence hall called The Nest with self-catering (kitchen, etc) facilities in a bustling university neighborhood with easy access to the Jammie Shuttle to get onto campus, and for Summer Session 2, students will move to the All Africa House.
Funding
You may use financial aid for summer study abroad. Pell Grant recipients can access Pell funds for the summer, and should plan on applying to the Gilman Scholarship for the Summer as well. In addition, you can apply for Study Abroad Awards offered by SBS during Spring 2019.
