Minnesota Studies in International Development - Kenya

  Kenya

Nairobi

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring 
Dates: Fall: Sept 1-Dec 12; Academic Year: Sept 1-Apr 24; Spring: Jan 19-May 8

Description: Kenya's geographic and cultural diversity make it a microcosm of the African continent. It includes hot coastal plains, vast plateaus, Africa's largest lake and highest mountain, and hundreds of miles of the great Rift Valley. Home to more than 45 tribes, significant European and South Asian minorities and a population of 28 million speaking dozens of languages, Kenya shares with its neighbors the challenges of forging a multi-ethnic, post-colonial nation. Most Kenyans are farmers or herders, yet the capital of Nairobi is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in East Africa and the base for many international and Kenyan organizations promoting development and social change.

Highlights: Learning from experience is the core of Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID). The program aims to put students in direct contact with the social and economic realities of actual communities and of people working within them to address complex problems. Through classes, field trips, internships, and research, MSID strives to establish a continual dialogue linking experience with theory and critical analysis. Why are the rich richer and the poor poorer after decades of development efforts? Are there alternative development models that are more just, sustainable, and liberating? Students from a variety of disciplines, the social sciences, African studies, agriculture, forestry, enviromental studies, business, education, public health, health sciences, and many others find MSID an academically challenging and personally enriching experience.

The MSID curriculum explores the theoretical and practical implications of international development and intercultural issues. Field experience is an integral part of all courses. Pre-departure readings and assignments create a common knowledge base from which the courses and internships build. All of the curriculum except the language course can be taken for graduate level credit.

All four MSID program sites--Ecuador, Kenya, India, and Senegal--are offered for spring semester, fall semester, or academic year option.

Qualifications: Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) is a community-based learning program sponsored by the Global Campus at the University of Minnesota. It offers options in Ecuador, India, Kenya and Senegal to students from any college or university who will be juniors, seniors, or graduate students, as well as to college graduates not currently enrolled in an institution of higher learning. There is no language prerequisite.

Fall or spring semester consists of five phases:
1) pre-departure assigned readings and writing projects;
2) in-country orientation;
3) approximately two months of predominantly classroom instruction, supplemented by structured field assignments;
4) a grassroots internship of about 6 weeks (spring or fall semester) with a development agency or project in a rural or urban setting; and
5) a week back in the headquarters city for the last contact hours of the courses plus a final semester.

For academic year students, in spring semester the internship continues along with a major research project. A highly interdisciplinary program, MSID invites applications from students in all fields of study. Past internships have been in such disparate areas as public health, micro business development, environmental protection, agriculture, housing, women in development, education, literacy, community development, and many others.

Applications are considered on a rolling basis, and early application is encouraged. Priority deadline for fall or academic year is February 15, final deadline April 1; priority deadline for spring is June 1, final deadline October 1.

Experience Required: no