Study Away: Trinity-in-Cape Town!

Trinity-in-Cape Town, South Africa, provides students the opportunity to directly enroll in one of Africa’s top institutions of higher learning, the University of Cape Town. The University offers courses in a wide array of disciplines, including the arts and humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Curricular options are particularly rich in history, political science, and international studies, with a focus on African Studies. South Africa is a dynamic country struggling for reconciliation and recovery after long years of repression. The nation’s unique history, diverse population, and varied cultures make this an extraordinary opportunity to participate and learn in a thought-provoking and stimulating political environment.

Trinity-in-Cape Town is the oldest global learning site among Trinity’s foreign study offerings, with the first students enrolling in the fall of 1998. Since then, more than 40 students have taken advantage of the opportunities offered in Cape Town. Trinity-in-Cape Town is offered both in the fall and spring semesters.

The City

Tucked beneath the appropriately named Table Mountain, Cape Town is an exhilarating port city, rich in history, architecture, and cultural pursuits. The city is dominated by a towering, table-shaped mountain, set on a peninsula of soaring, rocky heights and lush valleys, where two oceans converge—the Indian and the Atlantic—and where immense natural beauty and the fast pace and bright lights of a great urban center come together.

Cape Town takes its name from the term “Cape of Good Hope,” Africa’s southern-most point, founded in 1482 by Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz. Today the city has a population of 3.5 million and is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa.The city is a cultural melting pot, with a diverse and vibrant character is influenced by Xhosa, Zulu, and other African tribes, as well as Indonesian, French, Dutch, British, and German settlers.

The Program

All students enroll in the program’s core course, Imagining South Africa taught by the Trinity-in-Cape Town On-Site Director, Sibs Moodley-Moore. This class is offered specifically for students on the program. It is a seminar-style course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding contemporary post-apartheid South Africa. In addition, students enroll in 3 regular classes of their choice at the University of Cape Town (UCT), studying alongside their South African peers.

The program also features a community engagement requirement. Students may select to participate in a community service project in the local townships organized through the UCT Student Health & Welfare Centers Organization (SHAWCO), or enroll in exploratory internship for .50 credit in a local school, museum, or other institution.

The University

The University of Cape Town is the oldest institution of higher education in South Africa. Located in the Rondebosch section of Cape Town, UCT is a leading institution of teaching and research in the country, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in most academic and professional fields. In 2003, UCT enrolled almost 20,000 students, the majority of whom were undergraduates. The legacy of the apartheid years is still visible in the fact that 51 percent of the students are white. However, the past gender imbalance has been much improved, with women currently constituting 50 percent of the student body.

UCT offers a broad array of liberal arts courses in English that should suit the interests and needs of almost any Trinity student. Past attendees of the program have taken courses in history, political science, English literature, psychology, and physiology.

Program prerequisites

The program is open to students with a 3.00 grade-point average who are interested in understanding how political and social change is carried out following a period of racial, cultural, and political repression. South Africa is an ideal environment in which to examine how race and culture intersect with politics to shape a nation.

Program dates:

Fall Semester: mid-July – late November

Spring Semester: mid-February – early July

Who’s who on-site

On-Site Director, Subithra Moodley-Moore

Dr. Subithra Moodley-Moore is the professor for the program’s core course, as well as the program’s on-site director. She assists students throughout their time in Cape Town with academic matters and other issues and helps serve as Trinity’s liaison with UCT.

Student Services Coordinator, Ida Cooper
Ida Cooper is in charge of the Cape Town International Student Support Network. She worked in the University of Cape Town’s public affairs and communications departments for 17 years before launching her private consultancy, Ida Cooper Associates, in 1995. She maintains close links with the university and is the contact for all housing questions.

Housing and meals

UCT is located in the Rondebosch, a residential section of Cape Town. Students are housed in apartments within walking distance of UCT in Rondebosch or in nearby Mowbray, or Observatory, neighboring areas that are accessible to the campus by public transportation. The apartments are fully furnished with kitchen facilities. The Main Road in Rondebosch and Observatory are centers for student life, with many shops and restaurants where students can also take their meals.

Expenses/Financial Aid

Students participating in the Cape Town Global Learning Site are billed for Trinity tuition, housing, and fees. Students are responsible for paying for their own meals. Students who receive financial aid from Trinity College will have that aid transferred to the Global Learning Site semester. Application for the transfer of financial aid must be made early and in consultation with the Office of Financial Aid.

Application Information

All Trinity students who wish to study away are required to submit a Request for Approval to Study Away by the first week of December of the academic year prior to study. Upon approval, students must submit a program application by the program deadline. Applications are available in the Office of International Programs in 66 Vernon Street. Once accepted, all students will receive a program handbook that includes details on visas, finances, health issues, and other relevant information.

For general questions, contact:

Office of International Programs

Trinity College

66 Vernon Street.

Hartford, CT 06106

Phone: 860-297-2005

Fax: 860-297-5218

oip@trincoll.edu

For academic questions, contact:

Trinity College Department of History: Associate Professor Susan Pennybacker, susan.pennybacker@trincoll.edu; Trinity College Department of Sociology: Johnny Williams, Associate Professor, johnny.williams@trincoll.edu

Program Highlights

·         The program offers an opportunity for students to experience a society engaged in extensive political and social change.

·         Students have the opportunity to participate in excursions in and around Cape Town, including a visit to the Stellenbosch wine country, the District Six Museum, Robben Island, and the beautiful Cape Peninsula.

·         The program allows students to gain greater cultural immersion by volunteering in the local townships and/or doing an internship in the local community.