SFS is closely monitoring the COVID-19 virus. Click here to get the latest updates. Help support SFS - Click here for the Bridge to the Future Fund.
SUMMER 2021 PROGRAM UPDATE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, SFS has shifted this program, which is normally offered at our Tanzania Center, to be based at our Kenya Center for Summer 2021. If you are interested in applying for the Summer 2022 session which will be based in Tanzania, click here to see the program page. Check out a list of other available Summer 2021 programs here.
Kenya is home to more than 35 species of carnivores, including the African lion, cheetah, leopard, and wild dog – all of which are on the IUCN Red List. Study the behavioral ecology and conservation challenges facing these incredible creatures, while observing some of Africa’s largest remaining carnivore guilds up close.
SFS provides a comprehensive study abroad experience during a 6-day/week program schedule. SFS delivers the highest level of support and an unparalleled academic experience.
In addition to the SFS program costs listed to the left, students should plan for additional expenses such as airfare, a passport, visas, medical costs, and personal spending.
Check out the Financial Planner below for an estimated breakdown of these costs along with more information about financially planning for your program abroad with SFS.
Download the Financial PlannerAll students are welcome to apply for our need-based financial aid. Students who exhibit financial need for their program will be offered SFS financial aid. SFS aid is offered through a combination of scholarships, grants and loans.
Pell Grant Match
SFS matches Federal Pell Grant funding for students applying to an SFS semester program.
Many SFS students receive aid through their home institutions or other outside sources, so check with your financial aid office to see what aid may apply to an SFS program.
Learn More about Financial AidCait was raised on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Cait joined the SFS team in 2017 after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Sociology and Education. During the fall of her junior year, she studied in Florence, Italy. In the heart of Tuscany, she discovered her passion for learning and experiencing through education abroad. Throughout her career, Cait has facilitated a Faculty-Lead Program throughout Ireland and Scotland, served as an International Coordinator for a higher education first year abroad program, and has served in SFS Admissions advising and preparing students for their adventures to the field. Cait loves to share her passion for education abroad with every student she serves, and believes international education is an important part of any student’s undergraduate experience. Cait can’t wait to prepare you for your SFS experience!
Itinerary varies from term to term and is subject to change. Program activities take place 6 days a week with one day free.
This academically rigorous program follows a six-day/week schedule. The interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to help students actively discover and understand the complexities of environmental, social, and economic issues in Kenya. Read more about the SFS program model.
Major academic themes include:
On the Carnivores of the African Plains program, you will take one 4-credit course. This course is participatory in nature and is designed to foster inquiry and active learning combining lectures, field exercises, assignments, and tests. This course is taught in English.
Click on the course to view a description and download a sample syllabus from the Tanzania-based version of this program
This course focuses on the behavioral ecology and conservation challenges facing large carnivores using Southern Kenya’s parks and protected areas as investigated landscapes. Students learn about carnivore conservation and apply techniques for studying and managing carnivores. This is done through lectures from large carnivore experts and field-based ecological and social investigation. The field training is conducted in parks and wildlife dispersal areas, and the social surveys include participatory social science techniques in the villages adjacent to protected areas. The data collected will be analyzed using advanced techniques, offering students social and ecological analytical skills that are vital for research and conservation.
This course is typically offered at our Tanzania Center and the sample syllabi is based on the Tanzania field sites though the curriculum and lectures will be largely the same. An updated version for Kenya will be available in Spring 2021.
You will gain practical skills in the field such as: animal behavior observation, radio telemetry and camera trapping, species identification, wildlife census techniques, basic Swahili language skills, and quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
You will visit different ecosystems and communities which may include the vast savannas at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, national parks and other wildlife conservation areas (community sanctuaries, Maasai ranches) in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem, Maasai communities, rugged wilderness and peaks of the Chyulu Hills, and wildlife migratory corridors.
Take back-to-back summer sessions and get the hands-on learning and skill-building experiences of an internship, while also going off the beaten path and exploring the world. Each summer session focuses on a different topic. Receive a $1,000 discount on your second session (effective for Summer 2020).
RECOMMENDED PROGRAM COMBO
Fundamentals of Wildlife Management (Kenya Summer I)
The Center lies in the heart of Kenya’s Rift Valley, nestled between three world-famous national parks. The snow-capped peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro towers over miles of savanna, replete with a diversity of wildlife. Students and staff live on a sprawling, grassy campus made up of traditional thatched bandas (cabins) and a central chumba (main building), just down the road from the small town of Kimana.