Loyola to open program in Ghana
Terry Foy
Issue date: 10/31/06 Section: News
With the establishment of a new study abroad program in Accra, Ghana, Loyola students will have an opportunity to spend a semester in Africa for the first time since the program in Harare, Zimbabwe, was discontinued due to political instability.
The program is operated through an affiliation with New York University, and Loyola students will have an opportunity to take classes at NYU's on-site learning center, as well as nearby University of Ghana and Ashesi University College, while living in the program's gated townhouse community.
"Without NYU, we would have found it difficult to go into Ghana because the housing and classes were too overcrowded," Associate Director of International Programs Joe Healy said. "The housing is almost too nice -- nicer than housing on campus here."
Healy also stressed that the program will provide rigorous academic options, with the University of Ghana being one of the premier universities in western Africa.
"Our first and foremost concern is the academics," Healy said. "It's study abroad after all, not Club med abroad."
The program, which brings the total study abroad opportunities for Loyola students to 39, took two years to come to fruition, and was the result of a search for programs throughout eastern, western, and southern Africa.
Initially, the Catholic University of Ghana was a prospect for Loyola students studying abroad because a Jesuit and the former president of Notre Dame College operate it. However, its young campus and programs did not appear to be a good fit for Loyola's interests.
While a handful of students have expressed interest in going to Accra next spring, Healy expects the first significant group to head to Ghana in the fall of 2007, although he does not have a solid expectation for the number of students that will enroll.
Ashesi, a private university known for its business and computer science departments, will offer students access to a number of programs not normally available abroad.
Additionally, a group of Loyola students is traveling to South Africa for a study tour between Dec. 28 and Jan. 8. The tour begins in Johannesburg and then spends several days in Cape Town.
Thirteen students and one faculty member will accompany two tour guides managed by Hotfoot Africa, a South African tour group with connections to Baltimore.
The program is operated through an affiliation with New York University, and Loyola students will have an opportunity to take classes at NYU's on-site learning center, as well as nearby University of Ghana and Ashesi University College, while living in the program's gated townhouse community.
"Without NYU, we would have found it difficult to go into Ghana because the housing and classes were too overcrowded," Associate Director of International Programs Joe Healy said. "The housing is almost too nice -- nicer than housing on campus here."
Healy also stressed that the program will provide rigorous academic options, with the University of Ghana being one of the premier universities in western Africa.
"Our first and foremost concern is the academics," Healy said. "It's study abroad after all, not Club med abroad."
The program, which brings the total study abroad opportunities for Loyola students to 39, took two years to come to fruition, and was the result of a search for programs throughout eastern, western, and southern Africa.
Initially, the Catholic University of Ghana was a prospect for Loyola students studying abroad because a Jesuit and the former president of Notre Dame College operate it. However, its young campus and programs did not appear to be a good fit for Loyola's interests.
While a handful of students have expressed interest in going to Accra next spring, Healy expects the first significant group to head to Ghana in the fall of 2007, although he does not have a solid expectation for the number of students that will enroll.
Ashesi, a private university known for its business and computer science departments, will offer students access to a number of programs not normally available abroad.
Additionally, a group of Loyola students is traveling to South Africa for a study tour between Dec. 28 and Jan. 8. The tour begins in Johannesburg and then spends several days in Cape Town.
Thirteen students and one faculty member will accompany two tour guides managed by Hotfoot Africa, a South African tour group with connections to Baltimore.
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