SIT-Dickinson College team up in multidisciplinary Cameroon program

Publication Date: March 23, 2023
Publication Location: BRATTLEBORO, Vemont
Contact: Kate Casa  |  [email protected]

SIT and Dickinson College are pleased to announce a new partnership for study abroad in Cameroon that brings together programs that have operated independently in Cameroon over more than three decades for nearly 2,000 students.

This new partnership acknowledges the institutions’ shared values of fair-trade learning, ethical community engagement, reciprocity, diversity, equity, inclusion and access, and our long-term commitment to Cameroon and to high-quality study abroad opportunities on the African content.

“As the largest provider of study abroad programs on the African continent, SIT is thrilled to work more closely with Dickinson College, the 2022 recipient of The Forum on Education Abroad Award for Advancing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals through Education Abroad, and a respected leader in infusing intercultural and global experiences and learning into all areas of their campus and curriculum,” said SIT Vice President of Innovation, Strategy, and Partnerships Mory Pagel.

The new partnership creates an interdisciplinary study abroad program that offers students the opportunity to study critical issues affecting local communities and people in Cameroon, West Africa, and the Global South. Taking a decolonial approach, the program focuses on learning from local sources and accessing local knowledge structures and epistemologies. Based in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, students will examine development issues in Cameroon in the context of culture, politics, and the economy.

“Bringing together the expertise of Dickinson and SIT staff in Cameroon, who are now working collaboratively, expands our network of educators, program partners, and local experts,” said Dickinson’s Associate Provost and Executive Director Samantha Brandauer at the Center for Global Study and Engagement. "This gives students more opportunities in Cameroon, expands our course offerings, and further enhances programming that centers the student experience in Cameroon.”

Students on this undergraduate semester program will select courses from an intensive French-language track for advanced French learners, or an English track for students without a French background. In addition to language courses, students will take thematic seminars on Modernization and Social Change in Cameroon, Development Studies, Research Methods and Ethics, and have the option to choose between an Independent Study Project or an internship and seminar course.

For more information about the SIT and Dickinson College in Cameroon program, please contact Mory Pagel at SIT (mory.pagel@sit.) or Samantha Brandauer ([email protected]) at Dickinson College.