Opportunities for American College Students to Study Abroad in Africa
There are more than 1,500 study-abroad programs at U.S. colleges and universities. Although the vast majority of study-abroad programs are at universities in Europe and Asia, there are several study-abroad opportunities sponsored by U.S. colleges and universities that offer up to a year of study at universities in black African nations.
The opportunity to study in Africa is often a powerful magnet for universities in attracting African-American college students. Thus it is quite surprising that most of the nation’s highest-ranked colleges and universities do not have formal study-abroad agreements with universities in Africa. These colleges and universities compete vigorously to attract black students to their campuses. It seems logical that those with an African study-abroad program would have an edge in attracting more African-American students. Yet, among the 30 highest-ranked universities and 30 highest-ranked colleges, only Brown University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Pennsylvania have formal study-abroad agreements with African universities.
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