Fordham University has an extensive study abroad programme, known for its distinctive semester-long offerings in London, at the university’s Clerkenwell campus, and Granada, at the University of Granada, where students are placed with local host families. According to the study abroad office, an average of 47% of students study abroad on one of the university’s “over 100 study abroad programmes in more than 50 countries”.
However, the university currently has no internal application system for students wishing to study abroad outside of Europe, following the suspension in 2020 of the Ubuntu programme, a partnership between Fordham and the University of Pretoria that allowed Fordham students to study in South Africa and University of Pretoria students to study in New York.
All study abroad programmes were suspended during the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but London and Granada were quickly reinstated the following year. Despite student and faculty interest, the University’s partnership with the University of Pretoria has not been renewed.
The partnership between the University of Pretoria and Fordham was established in 2007 by the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. According to Professor Booi Themeli, who led the programme from its inception, Ubuntu sought to “empower the next generation of leaders” in South Africa and New York. It was previously temporarily suspended in 2017, following violent protests in the region.
Many students and alumni have called on Fordham to reinstate the programme, as well as streamlining more of its programmes outside of Western Europe.
Unique compared to London and Granada, students in South Africa participated in community-engaged learning, which included weekly volunteer work in rural and remote areas outside of Pretoria. Students learned about the effects of apartheid and decolonisation and were immersed in the socio-political history of South Africa.
The Ubuntu programme was of particular interest to those wishing to explore South Africa’s rich culture and multifaceted past. In addition, unlike other study abroad opportunities in Africa, Ubuntu was completely run by Fordham. Fordham students had classes, mentors, trips, and a community built entirely for them, a radically different experience than participating through an outside organisation or institution.
Ian Smith, a communications officer at the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and FCLC ’22, studied abroad at the University of Pretoria through the Ubuntu programme.
“The Ubuntu programme changed the course of my life. It’s how I got my job at the UN,” said Smith. “This time last year, I led a campaign to reinstate [the programme], and the Department of Overseas Education has still not explained why it was closed and when it might be reopened.”
“Ubuntu in South Africa was a long-standing, well-respected and revered programme for over 10 years,” said Smith. “I had 13 people in my cohort – some years there were as many as 25 students.” In addition, Smith said the Ubuntu programme had “an element of exchange” as many South African students had the opportunity to “come to the US for the first time”.
Smith said that the program emphasises anti-racism, decolonisation and social justice – all essential tenets of Jesuit religiosity – as the foundational ideas that make up the Ubuntu curriculum. “If Fordham is truly committed to anti-racism, as it stated in 2020, the administration would not have closed the university’s only [internal] African study abroad programme in the same year.”
Francesca Rizzo, FCRH ’24, a double major in humanitarian studies and theology, chose to study abroad in Tunisia for the autumn 2023 semester. Tunisia is an Arab country in North Africa known as the birthplace of the Arab Spring, a political revolution that sought to bring democracy to the African continent (among other goals).
“I [am] looking to gain experience working on post-colonial development, human rights and emergency relief,” Rizzo said. “It didn’t really make sense for me to study in [Europe], as they are not the ones typically [sic] facing the crises I have dedicated my studies to. In fact, as the nations responsible for the challenges and consequences of colonialism, it seemed backwards to me.”
Rizzo said that her experience of applying to study abroad was much more complicated than that of her friends who studied in Europe. “I had to find my own way to study in Africa. […] I was not provided with any additional resources or advice from previous students or faculty,” she said. “In fact, I waited months for approval with little communication.”
“If a student at Fordham wants to study abroad in Africa or any place that isn’t Western Europe, they will have a more difficult time,” Rizzo said.
However, she said she encourages students to pursue Africa studies regardless of potential obstacles. “If more people sign up for Africa programmes, maybe Fordham will promote them and help students more. I would love to see that happen,” Rizzo said.
Many feel that Fordham’s silence on the Ubuntu programme, as well as a general lack of resources for African study abroad programmes, creates a gap in opportunities for existing students. While other options exist, such as the Cape Town programme offered by Fordham’s sister Jesuit school Marquette University, the onus is on the student to seek out an external programme, many of which come with exorbitant fees.
Dr Joseph Rienti, director of international and study abroad programmes, said the university currently offers 20 study abroad programmes in 11 African countries. All of these programmes require additional applications through a partner institution or external organisation.
However, “all students on our Granada study abroad programme undertake an immersive cultural exchange visit to Morocco,” says Rienti. “They interact with local university students, have a home stay and learn about the history, culture and contemporary issues affecting North Africa.” Given Spain’s colonial history in Morocco, this experience is both culturally immersive and politically relevant to the Granada programme.
“The Office of International and Study Abroad Programs is committed to supporting and promoting global diversity and helping our students gain an understanding of some of the complexities that result from our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world,” said Rienti.
Hanif Amanullah, FCRH ’24, studied abroad in Kenya. He participated with the School of Field Studies (SFS), an external organisation that focuses on study abroad experiences “through field-based learning and research”.
He said that “Ms. Robin Joseph and Dr. Rienti were very accommodating when I started applying to SFS,” even though the programme “didn’t exist on Fordham’s study abroad list at the time.
Amanullah had to go through an additional application process to get it approved, and then had to apply separately to the programme.
“I had always wanted to study abroad in a non-Western country, and while researching environmental studies opportunities, I came across the School for Field Studies and its Kenya centre,” Amanullah said. “Studying in Kenya seemed to offer a new lens, a new perspective on wildlife and landscape conservation.”
During his programme, Amanullah researched how wild animals – such as elephants – adapt to changing environments. His cohort did “a lot of camping” in Kenya and Tanzania to learn about the local wildlife and nearby protected areas.
“One time, my PB&J sandwich was stolen by a vervet monkey,” says Amanullah. “Thinking back, several of my food items have been stolen and subsequently consumed by wild primates.”
Studying abroad outside of Europe has proven to be a culturally enriching, once-in-a-lifetime experience for Amanullah, Rizzo and Smith, who encourage students to take advantage of these programmes.
Such opportunities are in keeping with the university’s “cura personalis” ethos and “draw on a long tradition of Jesuit education,” according to Rienti.
The Study Abroad Office did not comment on when or if the Ubuntu programme would return, nor on the establishment of future internal study abroad programmes outside Europe.
