There are many ways to stay engaged with Africa on our campus, as a student, staff or faculty member. You can seek out research opportunities, take classes, as well as study abroad or join a club.

Take classes

As a student, you can take classes within your degree (major, minor, or certificate) or as an elective.

• Be a teacher! The College of Education offers students the opportunity to participate in a six-week teaching internship in Johannesburg and Cape Town.  For more information, please visit Teach Abroad.
• Consider taking Swahili: Swahili is spoken by an estimated 80 million people in East and Central Africa.  The vast majority of speakers of Swahili are native speakers of other African languages and use Swahili as a lingua franca. You can register for the course starting Spring 2020 – Black Studies 1705—Introduction to Black Studies in Culture: Swahili Language Course
• You can also take French, a language commonly spoken all over Africa.
• The Anthropology Department is offering a course titled Ethnographic Studies of Selected Cultures and will survey pastoralists subsistence in Africa.
• Follow your love of World Music with the School of Music.  Dr. Megan Arns helps direct the Mizzou World Percussion Ensemble (MWPE).  It currently consists of Tiger Pans (Caribbean Steel Band), the Chiyedza Mbira Ensemble (Zimbabwe), and the West African Ensemble (drumming, dancing, and singing from Ghana). MWPE frequently collaborates with specialists in these areas with recent guests including Nani Agbeli, Musekiwa Chingodza, Fradreck Mujuru, and Tom Miller. The group performs two concerts per year on campus, in addition to a variety of performances in public schools and in the community.  No experience on these instruments is required for becoming a member of the ensemble, and community members are welcome.

Please make an appointment with your respective advisor for more details about courses offered within your respective department and how your electives can fit with your degree program.

Research opportunities

• Office of Undergraduate Research: https://undergradresearch.missouri.edu/jobs-and-programs/
  • You can join Dr. Michael Marlo’s research team: ASH Scholars – Collaborative Research in African Languages (CORAL)

Offices on campus

• South African Education Program (UMSAEP)
• Afro-Romance Institute
• International Programs
• CAFNR International Programs