Study Abroad in Tanzania

Abstract

The University of Florida (UF) Center for African Studies and International Center jointly sponsor an academic-year program at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) in Tanzania. Begun in 1989, the program offers students from across the United States the opportunity to pursue their studies in a range of fields alongside Tanzanian students. Students pay UDSM tuition and a program development fee. In accordance with the agreement between UDSM and UF, tuition is deposited in an account at the University of Florida to be used for UDSM faculty development: Each year several junior faculty members nominated by their departments spend three months at UF working in consultation with local faculty and using UF library and computer facilities. In my capacity as assistant director of the Center for African Studies, I have had the pleasure of working with both the visiting Tanzanian faculty and the U.S. students going to Tanzania. One of the major challenges of the program is to ensure that students going to Tanzania are prepared not only for new sociocultural experiences and more modest facilities than they might be used to, but also for a differently structured and resource-poorer educational system. We try to achieve this through discussions with students (by e-mail and telephone in the case of those from other campuses), as well as through an on-campus orientation prior to departure for Tanzania. We involve program alumni in this process as much as possible. Until recently, our resident coordinator at Dar es Salaam was an American who had lived in Tanzania for many years. She provided students with an on-site orientation, monitored their