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Overview

Location

Academics

Cost

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Itinerary

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Program Overview

This study abroad program will take place during Summer I, in an interdisciplinary course cross listed in College of Health and Human Services and College of Education and Human Development. The program is open to studies in all colleges. 

The participants will be enrolled for the entire summer I session for 6 credit hours. The program will be comprised of a three week pre-departure orientation, a three week field experience (study abroad: May 25 through June 16), and a two-week post program process where students incorporate their overseas experiences in to their practice, finalize their capstone projects, and engage in the dissemination of information about what they learned while abroad.

The common goal of instructors and students involved in this course is to understand the impact of globalization on systems such as health services, schooling, foreign policy, food, transportation, housing, and to analyze how that impact translates into public policies. 

This study abroad program includes (1) a three-week pre-departure orientation in the U.S. to clarify goals and prepare participants for the academic experience abroad, (2) the expectation of sustained engagement with the people, and their daily lives in Senegal, the host country, as well as (3) activities both in Senegal and upon return to the US that link experiences abroad with both the participants’ educational experiences and goals in the U.S. In addition the course will have a re-entry process during the last week of the semester where students complete their capstone projects incorporating their overseas experiences into their U.S. practice. All participating students will be required to do a presentation during Fall 2013 to disseminate information about what they learned while abroad concerning the causes and consequences of globalization as well as its impact on systems.

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Location

Dakar is the capital of Senegal – the country at the most western point of the African continent. With over two million people living there, the pace of the town is fast and the markets are usually crowded.  Many migrants from various African countries, as well as those from Europe and Western Asia are drawn to Senegal.  Senegal is a country with a rich linguistic profile. You will find people there who speak the national languages (Wolof, Seereer, Mandinke, Soinike, Diola [Jola], and Fula [Pulaar]), as well as those who speak French, English, Spanish, and Italian.  The language of the government and schools is French. Gorée Island, which houses a replication of the Maison des Esclaves (House of Slaves) is a mere 20-minute ferry ride from Dakar. In Senegal you will find ample opportunity to examine the consequences of globalization on systems.

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Academics

Academic Eligibility
Minimum 2.75 GPA.

Academic Program and Credit
Participants will earn six (6) academic semester credits in one of the following upon successful completion of the program. Prior to departure, students are urged to work closely with appropriate academic advisor(s) to determine how these credits will be counted towards their degree.

HSV 4350
HSV 6350
SPED 5000

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Cost & Financial Aid

Cost
The program fee includes WMU tuition and fees, WMU health insurance, housing, some meals, on-site orientation, some onsite transportation and expenses for specified cultural study activities. Not included are airfare, passport processing fees, immunizations, meals, beverages, and local transportation not specified, and personal expenses. Additional fee applies to the program fee for graduate students.

Students applying for this program may be eligible for the Haenicke Institute for the Global Education Study Abroad Scholarship.

Financial Aid
Students eligible for federal or state financial aid may use their awards for studying abroad.  After a student has been accepted to the program, he/she must complete required paperwork with WMU Financial Aid to apply financial aid to the program costs.  It is the student's responsibility to complete the paperwork prior to departure and to maintain compliance with financial aid regulations while studying abroad (i.e., remain enrolled full-time).  Non-WMU students must apply for financial aid through their home university.

Note: program fees are subject to adjustment due to changes in actual exchange rates or other factors. In addition, programs may be modified or canceled in the event of insufficient enrollment. Program dates are subject to slight adjustment by the home/host university.

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Housing

Study abroad participants will be staying at the Hotel Al Afifa, located in the central region of Dakar, and only a few steps from a local bookstore and a popular ice cream shop. A satisfying buffet breakfast, included in the cost of housing, is available in the mornings on the terrace by the pool.  Rooms are comfortable, air conditioned and spacious. This hotel houses national travelers from various areas of Senegal; therefore it is not a tourist attraction. Al Afifa also has a long history of housing international research or study delegations from other African countries, the United States or Europe, and the personnel speak not only the local languages and French, but also English. 

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Itinerary

Orientation 1: Thursday, 14 March 2013, 4 - 5:30 p.m. in Brown Hall, room 2028
2013 schedule TBD. See below for 2012 for your reference.
Cultural Connections schedule for online brochure.pdf

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Additional Resources

Contacts:

Program faculty directors:

Professor Yvette Hyter
Speech Pathology and Audiology
yvette.hyter@wmich.edu
(269) 387-8025

Professor William F. Santiago-Valles
Africana Studies
santiago.valles@wmich.edu
(269) 387-2561

Sarah Summy
Special Education and Literacy Studies
sarah.summy@wmich.edu
(269) 387-5943

WMU Study Abroad:

Sakhi Vyas
Study Abroad Specialist
sakhi.vyas@wmich.edu
(269) 387-5890

Demographic Information (external links)

Senegal - Lonely Planet
Dakar - Lonely Planet
 
Video Testimonial:
WMU Study Abroad Experiences: Katie Smoes