Overview
For nearly 50 years, St. Lawrence has operated the
Kenya Semester Program, making it one of the longest-running U.S. study abroad programs on the African continent. Based at an SLU-owned and operated campus in a verdant, peaceful, and safe suburb of Nairobi, the Kenya program is rooted in this deep tradition and is committed to providing students with a unique study abroad experience. SLU believes the best way to learn about Kenya is through cultural immersion and experiential learning. As a result, students supplement formal coursework and language study in Kenya's bustling capital city with rural and urban homestays, three additional field components, and a month-long independent study where students examine East Africa's diverse society. As a program that is open to students of all academic interests, SLU welcomes applications from students at other institutions. You can also learn more about the student experience by visiting the
Kenya program's Facebook page &
Kenya program's blog. Take a
virtual tour of the compound and meet the staff or explore a
video preview made by KSP alumnus and professional videographer Beau Gaughran '15.
If you are NOT a St. Lawrence student and are interested in applying, please contact
ciis@stlawu.edu to inquire about non-SLU deadlines and scholarship opportunities.
Location
Lying on the Equator, Kenya is home to a diverse population of over 40 million.
The cosmopolitan capital city of Nairobi, rising from the plateau of south-central Kenya, is the home base of our program. A city with over three million residents, Nairobi is East Africa's regional center for trade and is one of three cities in the world to host a regional headquarters of the United Nations. Based in this vibrant and diverse city, students will gain familiarity with the urban environment while also visiting many of the rural areas, where approximately 75 percent of the country's population resides.
The program's headquarters are located in Karen, a leafy suburb of Nairobi, where St. Lawrence operated a 5 1/2 acre gated campus. Students use the campus as a home base for the semester, but only spend about 8 weeks living here. The two faculty directors, as well as program staff, also live on campus. Students spend time during the semester traveling throughout Kenya and East Africa on various course components explained in detail below.
Academics
The Kenya Semester Program is an interdisciplinary academic program that uses a combination of learning models -- classroom, field-based and experiential -- and emphasizes cultural immersion throughout the semester. Students take two required courses. In addition, students select two elective courses so they can focus on their own field of interest or specialization. The program serves majors from a number of different disciplines. Whether matriculated at St. Lawrence or elsewhere, all students must take four courses to earn full-semester credit. For dual-listed courses, students must indicate while registering in Kenya for which department they want the course listed. Therefore, students must confer with their advisors and department chairpersons well in advance of studying in Kenya to plan their program and avoid problems.
Housing
The program's headquarters are located in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi, where St. Lawrence University operates a five-acre gated campus. Students use the campus as a home base for the semester but only spend about eight weeks living here. The three program directors, as well as several program staff, also live on campus. Students spend time during the semester traveling throughout Kenya and East Africa on various course components. Students spend the various course components living with homestay families, in hotels, camping for one field component, and in guesthouses or apartments for their independent study.
