Whether matriculated at St. Lawrence or elsewhere, all students must take
four courses to earn full-semester credit (4.5 SLU units; 16 credit hours).
REQUIRED COURSES
Kiswahili at
the appropriate level: (1 unit; 3.6 credits)
Elementary Kiswahili 101, 102
Intermediate Kiswahili 103, 104
or
Advanced Kiswahili 201, 202
African Studies 337/Anthropology 337/Environmental Studies
337: Culture,
Environment and Development in East Africa (1.5 units; 5.4 credits. Must be taken graded; no P/F option)
The course aims to help students absorb, analyze, and synthesize diverse
-- but linked -- field experiences, using a variety of analytical frameworks.
The course includes: semester-long common readings, seminar discussions,
a rural, agricultural home stay (1 week), an urban home stay (3 weeks), an
environment/wildlife conservation focused field study, a culture/development
field study, an advanced topic unit or independent field study
(4 weeks), and several student writing assignments and other projects, culminating
in a final essay. The three
homestays and the field study components ensure extended and continuing
contacts within which to organize the many impressions gained from living
n a new environment.
Student chose between the advanced topic study and the independent field study on which to work during the last 4 weeks of the semester (after the elective course work has been completed).
ELECTIVE COURSES
Students choose two elective courses. Electives currently offered are:
The teaching faculty are drawn from the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta
University, and international organizations operating in East Africa. All
faculty possess advanced academic degrees.
For research and study, students use the University of Nairobi library, where reading and reserve book privileges have been extended to participants in the St. Lawrence program. We also maintain a small library at our study center in Karen, a Nairobi suburb. We encourage students to make use of other resource centers and libraries in Nairobi.
CREDIT
For St. Lawrence students, credits earned while participating in the Kenya
Semester Program are considered resident credits; therefore, no special
residency waivers are required, nor is there any transfer of credit. Each
student registers for the normal four-course load, and grades are averaged
into each student's cumulative St. Lawrence G.P.A.
While all courses taught in Kenya have been approved for St. Lawrence credit, some departments may limit the number of courses taken abroad that may count toward a major, or they may have other regulations about how such courses fit into a major. For dual listed courses, students must indicate when they register in Kenya under which department they want the course listed. Students, therefore, must confer with their advisors and department chairpersons well in advance of going abroad in order to plan their academic programs and avoid problems.