University of Maryland Eastern Shore seal

![](media/image1.png)UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE

# OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

# 

11868 ACADEMIC OVAL TELEPHONE: 410-651-6713/6502

J. T. WILLIAMS ADMINISTRATION BUILDING FAX: 410-651-6085

PRINCESS ANNE, MARYLAND 21853-1299 EMAIL: <AFVAUGHN-COOKE@UMES.EDU>

**Project Director: Dr. Anna F. Vaughn-Cooke**

# ABSTRACT

# Undergraduate Area Studies in Ghana Program

The Undergraduate Area Studies in Ghana Program (UASGP) at the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) will provide an opportunity
for 13 U.S. undergraduate students, enrolled at UMES and 13 other public
and private colleges and universities in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia,
Florida, and the District of Columbia, to study for a 15-week semester
at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in
Kumasi, a culturally and historically rich Ghanaian city, located in the
Ashanti Region of the country. The UASGP will provide a second option
for studying abroad in Ghana at the University of Cape Coast (UCC),
located in the sea-side city of Cape Coast, which is famous for its
historic slave castles and its many educational institutions. UMES has
formal linkage agreements with both KNUST and UCC. The major goal of the
UASGP is to increase opportunities for students attending HBCUs and
other colleges and universities in the United States to study abroad in
Africa.

The specific objectives are to: (1) recruit 13 undergraduate students
from HBCUs and other public and private institutions in the United
States who are interested in studying abroad in Africa; (2) provide
opportunities for UASGP participants to enroll in courses at the host
institutions that are relevant to their major fields of study; (3)
provide UASGP participants with the opportunity to acquire at least one
community-based experience while studying abroad; (4) provide
opportunities for UASGP participants to learn about Ghanaian culture and
its diversity; and (5) provide opportunities for UASGP participants to
share living and learning experiences acquired while studying abroad,
when they return to their home institutions. Students selected for the
UASGP will be able to pursue programs of study in agriculture, fine
arts, the social sciences, the physical and natural sciences,
engineering, education and tourism.

Continuation of the UASGP will have a major and significant impact on
the students who participate in the exceptional study abroad experience
that it will provide. Many of the students, particularly those from the
HBCUs, as well as those from the other participating colleges and
universities, have never had the opportunity to study abroad in an
African country. Ghana, the site selected for implementing the UASGP,
has an enormously rich cultural history, and is one of the most
politically important and strategic countries on the continent of
Africa. A critical objective of the UASGP is for participants to share
the knowledge learned from their experience in Ghana by presenting
seminars at their universities, elementary and secondary schools, and to
community groups. Dissemination of the participants' knowledge acquired
during the study abroad experience will expand the impact of the UASGP.