The Program

2016 Student Photo Blog Click below to follow one student's service-learning experience in South Africa through her photos and reflections! Expedition SAI    By Anna Sandberg

• Explore the complex social and educational issues facing South Africans through direct engagement with educators and learners in township schools and NGOs working to uplift and empower South Africans and the “Born-Frees”.
• Delve into South Africa's past and present, discovering the redemptive power of forgiveness, reconciliation, and change.
• Meet internationally renowned scholars, experts and change agents, as well as university-aged peers at the University of Cape Town.

Your Host Cities: Johannesburg and Cape Town
Johannesburg—or Joburg" or "Jozi" as some prefer to call it—offers visitors an experience as unique and diverse as the city itself. Despite being a major financial and economic hub for not only South Africa but also sub-Saharan Africa, the city's living conditions vary immensely. The city hosts a dynamic cultural scene and has many historical sites and museums which capture remarkable narratives of the past.
Cape Town is not only the most popular international tourist destination in South Africa, but Africa as a whole. This is due to its good climate, natural setting, and well-developed infrastructure. The city has several well-known natural features that attract tourists, most notably Table Mountain, which can be experienced either by hiking up, or by taking a cable car. You will take a ferry to visit Robben Island Museum, the notorious prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.


Academics
This program is open to graduate level students, or fourth year undergraduates with demonstrated interest in education (by special permission only).

To view the program's 2017 syllabus, please click here.  

The goal of the Education, Culture, and Change program is to provide a culturally immersive experience in which students are provided with on-going opportunities to directly experience familiar social challenges in a different cultural context. Through lived experiences, service activities, and self-reflection, students will be forced to critically examine their own beliefs and assumptions, while developing their own personal and professional competencies.

Specific course objectives include:

• examining social conditions and systemic barriers that support social inequities
• increasing cultural awareness and cultural knowledge
• challenging culturally biased beliefs and assumptions
• developing commitment to social advocacy and solidarity in support of individuals and their communities
• understanding oneself and others through critical and reflective thinking

This course combines lectures and required readings and large and small group discussions, both synchronous and asynchronous, with South African scholars and educational experts. As a hybrid course, assignments and class sessions will take place, as scheduled, in the online classroom established through accessing eCollege.rutgers.edu. Each participant is responsible for developing an academic project focused on the integration of their acquired knowledge and community service with their professional practice as educators, researchers or involvement in their school districts or local community NGOs.

For information about Study Abroad credit transfer, registration, and transcripts please visit the Academics section of our website.


Accommodations and Meals
Students will stay in double rooms and share facilities with other students while residing in Bed-and-Breakfast accommodation while residing in Johannesburg and Cape Town.  All accommodations will include daily breakfast, and the program will also offer several group meals and receptions.


Financial Information
For more information about the program cost and additional non-billable expenses for this program from 2017, please view the program budget sheet.

For more information about finances, including information about financial aid and tuition remission, please visit the Finances section of our website. 

As part of your preparation to apply for this study abroad program, please familiarize yourself with the Rutgers study abroad withdrawal policy.


Scholarships
Students are encouraged to start researching scholarship opportunities as early as possible.  There are many kinds of scholarships available, with different eligibility requirements and application criteria.  To get a sense of what scholarships are available for your program, please download the Scholarships At-A-Glance worksheet, and visit our Scholarship Directory for a comprehensive list of study abroad scholarships.