NOTE: SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, SIT may have to modify programs. Visit the SIT website for more details.
Examine contemporary development debates that focus on globalization and its impact on Uganda, with case studies on environment, health, gender, and civil society in the vibrant city of Kampala.
WHY STUDY DEVELOPMENT IN UGANDA?
After a difficult past and decades of reforms, Uganda has established itself as a model for contemporary global development. Witness how this African nation has implemented fascinating economic development programs and attracted significant financing from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Perched on Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, the cosmopolitan capital city of Kampala offers opportunities to visit reforestation projects, small-scale farming communities, and the diverse wildlife of Murchison Falls National Park as you examine political, economic, and environmental issues related to development. Explore what makes Uganda’s refugee policy one of the most internationally recognized in the world with visits to refugee camps such as Nakivale refugee settlement. Meet Ugandan university students; study environmental, health, and human rights projects; and develop practical skills like community mobilization, project monitoring, and policy analysis. During the program, you’ll also visit Rwanda, with one of the fastest growing economies in the region, to see its unique development model. This excursion leads us to a critical analysis of the development nexus of the two countries.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Study cutting-edge advances in development in a culturally rich African city.
- Visit refugee camps and historic sites, and survey wildlife in national parks.
- Participate in a field-based Independent Study or a hands-on internship.
- Experience both urban and agrarian lifestyles of a fast-changing country.
PREREQUISITES
Although there are no prerequisites, a background in development studies or a related field is strongly recommended.
Please visit the
SIT Study Abroad website for details on the
program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
KEY TOPICS OF STUDY
- Natural resources, the modern state, and political conflicts
- Gender, women’s empowerment, and development
- History, politics, geography, land rights and food security
- Economic development, health, and society
- Models of eco-tourism, conservation, and natural resource management
- Collaborations and case studies with Ugandan university peers
MONEY MATTERS
Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:
- All educational costs, including educational excursions
- All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
- Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
- Health and accident insurance
SCHOLARSHIPS
- SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
- All scholarships and grants are need-based.
- Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000 for semester programs.
- Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.
CONTACT SIT STUDY ABROAD
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 Development Studies
Current Program Information With one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, Uganda has much of which to be proud. However, it continues to face the challenges and dilemmas of a developing nation. A country of geographic contrasts - from tropical Lake Victoria to the famed Mountains of the Moon - Uganda is also home to more than 30 distinct ethnic groups. Its tumultuous history and promising future make Uganda an ideal setting in which to study current cultural, political, and social realities.
From your base in Kampala, Uganda's thriving capital, you examine issues of social and economic development, working closely with faculty and students from Makerere University. Through an in-depth, hands-on practicum with one of the country's many international or grassroots development agencies, you deepen your understanding of the practice of development work. Field visits to rural areas help you understand what lies beyond the rhetoric of the "development industry" as you explore the diverse strengths and needs of this changing nation. |
