Summer in Senegal

Spend six weeks in Dakar, the heart of Francophone West Africa

Overview Academics Support Housing Culture Dates & Fees Application

Academics

Get ahead in your academic schedule and spend your summer in a different part of the Francophone world. Courses, taught in French by local professors, challenge students to deepen their knowledge not only of the subject material in Senegal but also the role it plays in the greater West African region. Site visits and guest speakers bring thoughtful discussions and intentional reflection both in and outside of the classroom.

Students also have the fantastic opportunity to follow these courses alongside local students from our host institution, the Institut Supérieur de Management (ISM). Not only does this provide a great way to meet and connect with your ISM counterparts, their perspectives and contributions to class are sure to be a catalyst for diverse discussions.

Consider extending your stay two additional weeks--perfect for meeting summer funding requirements! Focus on one track: intensive Wolof, independent study, internship, or volunteering.

Download the Academic Calendars

Summer 2025

Coming Soon!

Take Your Pick

Enroll in 2 classes and receive dedicated academic and language support.
Each course is worth 4 credit hours.

Courses are subject to availability.

Choose 2 courses from the following:

Oral & Written African Literature: Ideas, Themes and Meanings

Take a literary journey through the different periods of contemporary African literature: poetry of the Négritude movement (1930s), visiting the novels of “manners” (1940s), works of the European adventure and the contact of cultures (1950s), anticolonial texts (1950s), novels of disenchantment (after the 1960s), the female voice (1980s), and writings of migration (2000s). Lessons will include meetings with Senegalese authors and poets.

Francophone African Cinema

Course description coming soon!

West African Economics and Development

Identify and analyze the important actors and growing sectors driving the West African region’s economic hub.

Senegal Today: Striking a Balance Between a Traditional and Modern Society

Discover Senegalese culture and society through an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, focusing on the different realities that make up Senegalese society: family structures, rural and urban realities, religions and beliefs, health, education and cultural policy, the role of women, etc.  In addition to lectures, students will have the opportunity to use written documentation as well as films and to take part in field trips and debates to get a concrete view on various themes related to contemporary Senegalese culture and society.

Interacting in a Francophone World: Advanced French Language for Intermediate Speakers

Focusing on the four pillars of language: speaking, writing, reading, and listening, this linguistic and cultural course will provide the skills and practice necessary for students at an intermediate level of French to continue their progression with the language. Students also benefit from one hour of one-on-one instruction each week.

Cross-Cultural Management

In order to be successful, multi-national corporations need to do more than sell a product in the language of the country of business.  Learn how to bridge cultural differences and manage people of different backgrounds found in a business environment.

Urban Languages & Cultures in Senegal (rap, graffiti and dance)

How did urban arts arrive in Senegal? How have they evolved? Explore how the Senegalese “touch” has been added through the use of local languages, musical instruments, and dress codes. Students will have the opportunity to visit organizations set up and run by urban culture actors such as the Maison des Cultures Urbaines, Aficulturban, Guediawaye Hip Hop and Doxandem Squad among others.

View Course Catalogs

Our Partner Institutions

APA has partnered with top tier universities and institutions in Dakar to provide our courses:

Institut Supérieur de Management (ISM)

Host institution, AACSB member, Galileo Global Education member

Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD)

Premier university in Senegal

Institut Français of Dakar

Promotion of Francophone culture and language in Senegal

At the end of the term, APA will send the following to the student’s home institution:

  • Transcript (includes credit hours, Senegalese grades and their American equivalents)
  • Professor’s evaluation (includes detailed report of the grades earned)
  • Course descriptions and bibliographies
  • Student’s academic schedule

Extend your stay

Round out your time in Dakar to two full months and expand your experience. Choose your track for this optional two-week extension:

  • – Intensive Wolof: continue your language studies
  • – Internship: placement in your preferred industry
  • – Independent study: research a topic linked to one of your courses (4 credits)
  • – Volunteer in an NGO in Dakar or in the rural village of Kounoune, Senegal
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