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  Senegal

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring 
Dates: Fall 17 weeks: late-August-mid-December; Spring 17 weeks: mid-January-mid-May; Academic Year 38 weeks: mid-August-mid-May

Description: The goals of the Language and Culture program are fourfold: to offer students the opportunity to live and study in a French-speaking West African country; to introduce students to Senegalese society and issues such as education, women's roles, the impact of Islam, and development and globalization from a West African perspective; to enable students to develop and/or acquire language skills in French and Wolof; and to provide opportunities for cultural immersion through living with Senegalese family and participation in a community service project.

Academic Program
The CIEE Study Center in Dakar offers students the opportunity to live and study in a French-speaking West African country and to immerse themselves in two of Senegal's official languages: French and Wolof. Through a broad range of coursework in English and/ or French, students are also able to engage in topics concerning Africa in general, and Senegal specifically. By doing so, participants gain a greater understanding of the issues and challenges facing Senegal today and learn first-hand about this multi-lingual society.

Academic Culture
Students will notice striking differences between their home educational system and the Senegalese model, based on the French system. While students in the U.S. are accustomed to a very structured system, the Senegalese method generally requires students to take greater initiative and responsibility in a less structured environment. Some American students could misperceive a course as having a light workload or few assignments, but students are expected to engage in a great deal of individual study and extensive reading outside of the classroom.

The Resident Director oversees all CIEE courses, taught in English or French. Senegalese professors, most of whom also hold faculty appointments at Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), teach these courses. CIEE Study Center courses run for 12 weeks (two 2-hour sessions per week) for a total of 45 hours and include a broad range of subjects.

Classes are generally lecture-based, but CIEE teachers are encouraged to foster more interactive classroom dynamics. In addition to lectures and discussions, many classes involve student presentations, which may take up a greater part of the course schedule than students are accustomed to in the U.S. Courses are designed to offer opportunities for students to draw a parallel between the theoretical information they receive in the classroom and the social and cultural experiences they live outside of class. Field trips and guest speakers are organized to supplement students education and give a practical orientation to their learning.

CIEE students have access to various local institutions and research organizations for research and special activities. These include access to the West African Research Center (WARC), the UCAD library, and the Baobab Center.

Academic year students can stay with their host families during the break between semester. However, they are responsible for meals during this time.

Highlights:

• Ideal for students interested in African studies, development studies, anthropology, and sociology; coursework in French
  
• Homestays with Senegalese families provide strong cultural immersion
  
• Opportunities for community service/internships and participation in African art. dance and music
  
• Excursions to Gorée Island, Toubab Dialaw, Saint Louis, or the Sine-Saloum region, and a rural stay in a Senegalese village
  
• Rural stays with Peace Corps or NGO staff

Culture
Cultural Activities and Field Trips
Included in the program are day trips to historic Gorée Island, including the Slave House, Women's Museum, and the Historical Museum; and to Toubab Dialaw, a fishing village and artist's colony. Occasionally, the program organizes excursions to Touba and other important religious centers. In previous semesters, CIEE has also taken students on weekend trips to the mangroves of the Sine-Saloum region; Saint Louis, the former capital of French West Africa; and other parts of Senegal where they experience rural life.

Depending upon student interests and course topics, additional trips and cultural activities in and around Dakar may be organized or subsidized by the program.

Students are free to join various activities for students on the Suffolk University- Dakar Campus. Soccer matches and basketball games are regularly held between CIEE and local students, and CIEE students can participate in other international events held on campus.

Immersion
Language Peers
The Conversation Exchange Program pairs CIEE students with Francophone students from the Suffolk University-Dakar campus. Students typically meet twice a week for the duration of the semester, conversing in French or Wolof during one session and in English during the other. The program not only assists students in developing their conversational abilities, but helps them make friends with Senegalese students.

Rural Stays
Week-long visits to rural areas in Senegal are an essential component of the CIEE program in Dakar. Mid-semester, students travel in groups or individually, depending on their preference, and stay with either Peace Corps volunteers or local NGOs working in the field. These visits provide CIEE students with the opportunity to better understand the contrasts and connections between rural and urban realities.

During their visits, students are encouraged to observe thoughtfully, pose questions, learn the local language (whether Wolof or another national language), identify key revenues and community resources, listen to the history of the village, and discover the role of and reactions to the volunteer or the NGO in the community. As part of the Senegalese Society and Culture course, students are asked to submit a critical paper based on their rural visit experience.

Time and time again, CIEE students have cited the rural visit as the most profound and memorable experience during their semester abroad.

Subject Areas: African Studies, Anthropology, Culture, Development Studies, Economics, Education, Environmental Studies, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Foreign Language, History, Internship Programs, Law and Literature

Cost in US$: Please check the CIEE website for current program pricing

Cost Includes: The CIEE fees for 200809 include tuition, housing, meals, optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, a supplemental food stipend, orientation, cultural activities (such as visits to Toubab Dialaw, a fishing village and artist's colony and Goree Island), a weeklong rural stay, membership to cultural and/or resource centers such as the West African Research Center library, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE INext travel card which includes insurance and other travel benefits.

Experience Required: yes

Overall GPA 2.75

2 semester of college-level French or equivalent

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. .

Typical Living Arrangement: Home-stays

Participants Travel to Senegal Independently

Scholarships Are Available. - We have several scholarships that students can apply for. Contact CIEE for details.

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Other
• Transcript
• Written Application

CIEE's Mission Statement: Since 1947, the Council on International Educational Exchange, known as CIEE, has been in pursuit of its mission, "to help people gain understanding, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world." Our services to young people studying, working, teaching, and traveling abroad are more important than ever. As we look ahead, we reaffirm our commitment to the principles and values that guide this mission statement.

Year Founded: 1947