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Location
  • Tanzania
    • Arusha
Term
Academic Year, Fall, Short Term, Spring, Summer, Winter
Subject Areas
African Studies Agriculture Anthropology Conflict Studies Conservation and Preservation Cultural Studies Economics Education Gender Studies Graduate Studies History Human Rights Humanities International Relations Natural Sciences Peace Studies Political Science Psychology Service Learning Social Sciences Sociology Sustainable Development Wildlife Sciences Women's Studies +14
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Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
Bachelors
Housing
Host Family
Language
Swahili

Pricing

Price Details
Winter/Spring 2020: $15,250

Fees Include: Tuition and academic fees; academic transcript; on-site and on-line orientation and pre-departure materials; homestay housing; partial board; service placement and supervision; volunteer permit fees; health insurance; pick-up and drop off at airport upon arrival and departure; academic excursions; administrative fees; staff support; emergency medical and evacuation services
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Classes Some Meals Transportation Travel Insurance
What's Included (Extra)

Tuition; academic fees & transcript; on-site/on-line orientation; pre-departure materials; homestay housing; most meals; service placement & supervision; volunteer permit fees; health insurance; airport transfers; academic excursions; administrative fees

What's Not Included
Airfare Some Meals SIM cards Visa Wifi
What's Not Included (Extra)

Passport; visa; visa extension; vaccine fees; international airfare; books; personal spending money; local transportation; local cell phone; internet data and independent travel.

Nov 10, 2019
Jan 01, 2019
Wish List
3 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

The program curriculum combines Swahili Language & Culture with Community Organizing & Social Activism (COSA) and a wide selection of elective courses (taught in English) that focus on public health, international development and economics, diplomacy, conflict resolution, urban planning and international relations. IPSL students are integrated with African students and are taught by African professors, making for a rich cultural immersion experience. Service-learning placements are organized at various NGOs, humanitarian organizations, schools, museums, laboratories and clinics.

Tanzania has a mix of more than 120 ethnic groups, the majority of whom speak Bantu languages, including Kiswahili, the official language. Major religions include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and tribal traditions. Tanzania has much to offer - amazing wildlife parks, unique marine ecosystems, spice islands, tropical beaches, the highest mountain in Africa and a rich cultural heritage.

This program is currently not being promoted on Go Overseas by its provider. Check with IPSL Global Engagement at Westminster University for the most up-to-date information regarding the status of this program.

Video and Photos

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IPSL's Service-Learning Program in Arusha, Tanzania
Arusha Tanzania Homestay Family
Arusha Tanzania Camel excursion
Arusha Tanzania Volunteer Children
Zanzibar Tanzania Spice Islands
Arusha Tanzania Host Family
Tanzania Masaii
Dar as Salaam Children Tanzania
Tanzania Arusha Children Volunteer
Arusha Tanzania
Zanzibar Tanzania Monkey
Arusha Tanzania Orphanage

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Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

IPSL is in solidarity with all summoned to action by the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other black brothers and sisters. IPSL wants to be of service to you and communities around the world to bring justice and healing and further advance the goals we all share. ​We believe in the power of service to unite and strengthen communities.
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LGBTQIA+ Support

IPSL admits and does not discriminate against students of any sex or sexual orientation. IPSL is proud to support social justice movements around the world through our Service, Scholarship, and Love. Then, as now, we are called to resist and speak out for what is right. LGBTQ+ Rights are Human Rights
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Neurodivergent Support

IPSL provides equal access to our programs for academically qualified students with physical, learning, or psychiatric disabilities.

Accessibility Support

IPSL admits students of any disability and makes available all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students. It does not discriminate on the basis of disability in administration of its educational policies and programs, admission policies, merit scholarships or other organizations-administered programs.

Impact

Sustainability

IPSL works to lessen its carbon footprint on our increasingly fragile planet. Since study abroad can only take place by boarding a plane, IPSL contributes to sustainable projects in several countries whose efforts help mitigate the harmful effects of pollution and waste that result from traveling. In one academic year, IPSL can contribute funding to environmental organizations to offset close to 600,000 air miles flown by our students, staff, and faculty. In concrete terms, we remit funds to help plant trees around the world; those trees then absorb some of the harmful effects that result from our decisions.
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Ethical Impact

Since 1981, IPSL has facilitated over 471,000 volunteer hours in our partner communities, supported the work of hundreds of nonprofits and NGOs around the world, vigorously (and unapologetically) promoted social-racial-economic justice through service-based programming, research and publishing, scholarships/funding, and on social media. Recently, our organization launched new initiatives that will sustain our service-based mission into the future. At home, we maintain the same mindful practices by supporting local organizations that support the most vulnerable people. Large and small, every decision we make is about giving back and making our world a better and more just place.
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IPSL specializes in volunteer-based study abroad programming. All programs are credit-bearing and will provide an official transcript upon completion of the program.

On average, 15 HOURS per week will be spent volunteering in addition to 6-21 semester credits worth of course work. Our programs are small cohorts of dedicated, service-minded students who that receive individualized attention from our staff.

Program Highlights

  • IPSL programs focus on experiential learning, ethical service & engaged research. Now the independent IPSL Institute for Global Learning is authorized to offer academic credit, issue official transcripts and confer diplomas through the Master's level.
  • Explore community organizing and social activism with the goal of learning how to effectively translate these ideas and techniques into a concrete knowledge of social activism that can be applied across cultures, countries, and efforts.
  • Time spent in Arusha studying, volunteering and living with a Tanzanian family is combined with opportunities to explore the National Parks as well as the urban environment of Arusha and surrounding northern Tanzanian villages.
  • Earn up to 18 semester credits or 6 credits for the summer program!
  • IPSL is a Social Benefit Organization with over 83% of profits directly returned to the people, communities & NGOs they partner with abroad.

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 2 reviews
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  • Fun 5
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Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Default avatar
Sydney
25
United States
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My Tanzania Experience

Jan 1, 2019

The study abroad program and service learning provided by IPSL was an amazing experience that will last a lifetime. The classes I took were Swahili and a class about the community, which met three days a week. These taught me a lot about the community and its culture as well as the basics of the local language. Not many people in the U.S. can say that they have taken a Swahili class in their life before. I also loved the service incorporation part, I volunteered in a small, private clinic four days a week and absolutely loved it. In my future, I would like to be a doctor, so this exposed me to what this is like, not only the field but in another country, which is a priceless experience.
My program director made my experience even better. He would take me on excursions on Fridays, he provided me with different places to go for food, excursions, and shopping, and he gave me advice for when I was feeling homesick. I was the only student in the program at the time, so there was a lot of one-on-one time, which was very helpful when he was teaching me Swahili and about the community if I had any questions.

What would you improve about this program?
Providing more information to students about their host family and living situation as well as the neighborhood would be nice to know.
56 people found this review helpful.
Helpful
This picture was taken on a safari I took in the Tarangire National Park.
This is me helping to analyze blood and urine samples at the clinic, where I volunteered five days a week.
This is the church where I took classes four days a week.
Default avatar
Niki
31
Female
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best Three Months of My Life!

Feb 15, 2016

IPSL Tanzania is the best option for students looking to truly immerse themselves in their host country. In addition to studying at a local school, students live with a host family and volunteer in a local non-profit. My days were spent teaching English in an orphanage, hanging out with my host siblings, and interacting with the other students. Although it terrified me at first that I would be the only student in the program (I was the first student to go to Arusha), it was honestly the best three months of my life. I made so many friends from Tanzania, Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond, and I returned to the United States with a whole new family. Students are also in a location to go on a safari; hike Mt. Kilimanjaro or Mt. Meru; explore nearby Moshi; and travel to Kenya, Zanzibar, and other neighboring areas. Definitely a must for anyone seeking adventure!

What would you improve about this program?
Find ways to change the school schedule around to allow for more travel on weekends. It's a busy schedule, so finding enough time to truly explore can be difficult.
57 people found this review helpful.
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Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Niki Gates

Program
IPSL Tanzania: Global Health, Women's Health & Human Rights
Niki is a double major in International Relations and Political Science at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. Originally from Indiana, she has a passion for traveling the world and immersing herself in other cultures. In addition to her school work, Niki is also the President of the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society and serves as the Director of Public Relations on the events board at her school.

smiling

Why did you pick this program?

I chose to participate in IPSL - Tanzania because of its focus on community service and the homestay. I truly believe that the best way to become immersed in a culture and learn the language is to be interacting with people in the community. IPSL allows students to interact with other students while still being an active participant in their host community.

What do you tell your friends who are thinking about going abroad?

Do it. I've studied abroad twice, and I've grown so much as a person. Being abroad challenges you in ways that your home country can't and forces you out of your comfort zone.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

Be open to new things. Cultural traditions, food, and other aspects of life will be different than what you are used to. It's so much easier to not compare them to your life back home and just accept them.

What's your favorite story to tell about your time abroad?

It's not so much a story as a person. There was a 5 year old at the orphanage I volunteered at who was completely blind. Yet for someone who didn't know any other blind people and had no education that fit his needs, he was so smart and always happy and very functional. His daily hugs, contagious laughter, and watching him run around with the other kids always put a smile on my face.

What's it like to live without running water?

Wow, great question. It's a big adjustment, but easier than I thought. I didn't even have a toilet in my house, so I had to use a squatter. My thighs were really strong by the end of the trip. Learning to take a "shower" with a bucket is also really challenging, and I didn't always appreciate the cold water, but it's a skill I'm really glad I have.

Location

Location:
Arusha
Currency:
Tanzanian Shilling
Weather:
Jan-Mar
82 F / 50 F
Apr-Jun
77 F / 46 F
Jul-Sep
75 F / 46 F
Oct-Dec
81 F / 50 F
Airports:
Arusha Airport
( ARK )

Arusha, a city in Tanzania, is nestled between Mount Kilimanjaro and Serengeti National Park among other reserves filled with wildlife.

About IPSL Global Engagement at Westminster University

IPSL engages students, educators, and grassroots organizations around the world in hands-on service to promote equitable relationships, social justice, sustainable change, and a commitment to our shared humanity. IPSL offers fully accredited graduate programs and credit bearing, custom service-learning and language learning programs in nations...

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