Study Abroad

Study Abroad at HU operates at several levels. Undergraduate and graduate scholarships, fellowships, and travel awards, as well as funds from the Office of the Provost and Honors Programs in various schools enable HU students to take advantage of HU study abroad program as well as programs offered at other institutions. FLAS fellowships at Howard support the study of African languages abroad.

Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center

The Bunche Center operates a study abroad program and facilitates study in other programs outside HU. The Center has arrangements with the Fajr Center in Cairo, Egypt where students undertake six to eight weeks of intensive Arabic training.

College of Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts & Sciences (COAS) at Howard also operates a summer and semester-long study abroad program. Over the past two years, over 250 HU students in almost all disciplines and professional schools have taken part in student exchange, research/study and service learning abroad projects in over 70 countries, including 15 African countries: Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. These range from 10 day study tours to summer and 1-2 semester long immersion programs.

African Languages Study Abroad - Summer Programs

FLAS Fellowships

Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships support students taking African languages (Amharic, Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba and Zulu) and area studies coursework. The fellowships support intensive for-credit study of an African language and to promote the development of competency in African Studies either abroad or in the United States.

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Study Abroad in Africa - Spring Semester Programs

Study Abroad in Kenya (AFST 890): Africa in the Disciplines - this semester-long course includes 1 week in Kenya and the rest of the semester at Howard in the Department of African Studies. For more information, contact Dr. Esther Lisanza at estherlisanza@howard.edu.

Study Abroad in Ghana (HIST 890): Society, Culture, and Historical Memory in West Africa: An Intensive Study of Ghana - this semester-long course includes a trip to Ghana and the rest of the semester at Howard in the Department of History. This history course is an intensive study of life in culture in Ghana through a historical lens. Through secondary and primary source reading material, films, and travel, students explore the issues, events, and processes that have defined the characteristics and transformation of Gold Coast/Ghana history and society. Students also engage with the ways that the people of Ghana understand and use their history, through an examination of the various forms of popular and historical memory and the politics associated with both. For more information, contact Dr. Kay Wright Lewis at kay.wrightlewis@howard.edu or Benjamin Talton at benjamin.talton@howard.edu.

WARA & WARC 

The West African Research Association (WARA) provides various fellowships for African scholars. WARA’s overseas office, the West African Research Center (WARC) in Dakar, Senegal, regularly hosts HU students doing research and summer language and culture study abroad projects.

HU School of Law in South Africa

South Africa Program of the HU School of Law, in partnership with the Law School of the University of Western Cape in Cape Town. For more information visit Howard School of Law Summer Study Abroad in South Africa page.

Alternative Spring Break Programs

Engineers Without Borders in Kenya - Since March 2009, an average of 10 students and faculty advisors of the HU chapter of Engineers Without Borders travel to Choimim, Kenya, to assist in local rehabilitation efforts, in partnership with local organization Build the Village, and to several villages in Nandi Hills, a tea farming community, in order to establish rainwater harvesting and biosand treatment systems. EWB-Howard University is a student chapter of EWB-USA. For more info contact Prof. John Tharakan, Faculty Advisor, jtharakan@howard.edu. Find our blog at howard.edu/kenya.

Alternative Spring Break Ghana Program - Launched in 2017, the program invites students to engage in service learning and career/major related scholarly projects through a lens of Pan-Africanism. For more information contact: Dr. Beverly Booker Ammah at beverly.bookerammah@howard.edu or Mr. Glen Vinson at gdvinson@howard.edu.

Spring Break with the School of Social Work - During Spring break at HU, the Dean of the School of Social Work and at least 5 faculty and 20 students undertake a two-week Service Learning project in Cape Town, South Africa and other areas, building on a new course on International Social Development (50% Africa content) that was introduced in 2008-2009.

Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program

The interdisciplinary Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program (MHIRT) at HU, under the direction of Winston Anderson, operates an all expenses paid 8-10 weeks training and research program for HU and other students in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali, in partnership with Addis Ababa University, Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathology, ICIPE, and BioEconomy Africa; University of Gondar and the Leishmania Research Center (Ethiopia); Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Ghana); and University of Benin Teaching Hospital Microbiology Research Laboratory (Nigeria). For more information contact Dr. Winston Anderson at wanders@howard.edu.

Student Experiences

Swahili-Trinity-Thiirah

Learning Swahili, Culture, and Community: Trinity's Study Abroad Experience in Kenya

By Trinity Thiirah, Undergraduate Student 

Category: News, Student Highlights, Swahili, Swahili Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Naomi's Swahili Study Abroad Experience in Kenya

By Naomi Turner, Undergraduate Student 

Category: News, Student Highlights, Swahili, Swahili Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Venturing Through Kumase - Reflection from Twi Immersion Program

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Twi, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Lily's Cultural Immersion and Language Growth - Swahili Study Abroad in Kenya

By Lily Odhiambo, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Studies Major with Geogr

Category: News, Student Highlights, Swahili, Swahili Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Akwaaba: Welcome to Ghana - Reflection from Twi Immersion Program

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Twi, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Howard University students delve into Zulu language and life on the Expresso Show in South Africa

Howard University students delve into Zulu language and life on the Expresso Show in South Africa!

Expresso Show in South Africa speaks with Howard University's Zulu lecturer, Dr.

Category: News, Alumni-Faculty-Student Highlights, Faculty/Staff Highlights, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Zulu HUZISA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

HU Ghana 2025

Center for African Studies awards record number of summer FLAS fellowships

The Center for African Studies has awarde

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Nia Assata Muhammad HUZISA FLAS

Becoming with The People of the Sky: Nia Assata’s Journey in South Africa

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Zulu HUZISA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Latrese Johnson Yoruba GPA 2024

Latrese's Yoruba Study Abroad Experience: Linking the past, present, and future

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Yoruba Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Ameerah discovers herself in Nigeria

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Yoruba Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Yoruba Fulbright-Hays Project Abroad Reflections from Amina

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Yoruba Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Da’Riah's Unforgettable Study Abroad Experience in Kenya

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Swahili, HUSSA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Newzroom Afrika features Howard University's Zulu lecturer and students

Newzroom Afrika features Howard University's Zulu lecturer and students

Newzroom Afrika, a South African news channel, features Howard University's Zulu lecturer, Dr.

Category: News, Alumni-Faculty-Student Highlights, Faculty/Staff Highlights, Student Highlights, African Languages, Zulu HUZISA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Kareema Ayesha Bangura in Kenya

Kareema's Study Abroad in Kenya

By Kareema Ayesha Bangura, Journalism Undergraduate Student with Swah

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, HUSSA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences, Howard on Africa in Brief

Brock Boyd in South Africa

Brock's Adventures studying Zulu in South Africa

By Brock Boyd, Marketing Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Zulu HUZISA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Nephraterie Smith in Kenya

Nephraterie's Travel, Studying Swahili in Kenya

By Nephraterie Smith, Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Diandra Blake Swahili Study Abroad 2023

Diandra's Life Changing Experiences in Kenya

By Diandra Blake, African Studies with Swahili Minor Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, HUSSA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Alexa Baker Swahili Study Abroad

Alexa's Swahili Study Abroad Comparisons

By Alexa Baker, International Affairs Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, FLAS, African Languages, Swahili, Swahili Fulbright GPA, HUSSA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Evita Taneng Yoruba Study Abroad

Evita's Yoruba Study Abroad in Ìbàdàn

By Evita “Èyítáyọ̀” Taneng, Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Yoruba Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

Eboni-at-waterfall-in-Machame

Eboni's Swahili Study Abroad in Tanzania

By Eboni Brown, International Affairs Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Kayla's Yoruba Study Abroad Adventure

By Kayla Manani Rose, Psychology Undergraduate Student

Category: News, Student Highlights, African Languages, Yoruba Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

HU Zulu in SA

Students of the first ever HU Zulu Study Abroad Program land in South Africa

Last week marked the beginning of the first ever Howard University Zulu in South Africa Study Abroad

Category: News, Alumni-Faculty-Student Highlights, Faculty/Staff Highlights, Student Highlights, African Languages, Zulu HUZISA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

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Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin and Music students travel to Senegal

In December 2022, Dr.

Category: Announcement, News, Alumni-Faculty-Student Highlights, Faculty/Staff Highlights, Student Highlights, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences

swahili 2022

Reflections from Swahili Study Abroad Program 2022

Written by Interdisciplinary Studies/International Affairs student, Alexa Baker

Category: News, Alumni-Faculty-Student Highlights, Student Highlights, African Languages, Swahili, Swahili Fulbright GPA, Study Abroad, Africa Travel Experiences