STUDY ABROAD & INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH IN SOUTH AFRICA

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN MENTAL HEALTH, FROM SOCIAL DETERMINANTS TO SYSTEMS AND ADVOCACY

Study abroad or intern in South Africa with GEI's full-time in-country team. Three programs in one track, a three-week field course, a four-week practicum, or the full eight-week summer, plus a career-aligned internship, with U.S. academic credit through Hamline University, GEI’s school of record.

AT A GLANCE

  • Track: Global Mental Health
  • Destination: South Africa
  • Programs: Short-Term, Summer, Internship
  • Dates: January, Summer
  • Credit: 4 to 8 U.S. credit hours through Hamline University, GEI's school of record
  • Eligibility: Any field and level of study

See dates and apply below >
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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Engage with community mental health in South Africa
The Global Mental Health track explores how communities, health systems, and institutions respond to mental health challenges in different cultural and social contexts. In South Africa, students examine the social determinants that shape mental health and wellbeing while engaging with local practitioners, advocates, and community organizations working to strengthen mental health systems and services. The track combines interdisciplinary coursework with experiential, community-engaged learning, and it is open to students at any level of study.

The programs emphasize applied, field-based learning rather than classroom instruction. Students learn through site visits, community-based activities, collaborative projects, and guided reflection. Field engagement shows how mental health care and support operate within a specific social and cultural context, and what ethical, culturally responsive mental health practice looks like.
Program Highlights
  • Spend your days inside one of Africa's most developed mental health systems, from Cape Town's counseling centers and NGOs to the township programs that serve most of the country, alongside the people who run them
  • Work alongside a South African community mental health program or social service organization on a challenge it is tackling right now, from a youth program to an outreach campaign
  • Join GEI's Mentally Fit Schools initiative and, with South African students and mental health specialists on your team, take a school through assessment, staff training, and a plan it keeps
  • Study a country where a strong professional sector and deep inequality exist side by side, and what it takes to bring mental health support to the communities that need it most
  • South Africa beyond the field: Cape Town's markets and mountain with your cohort, a safari in Kruger National Park or a visit to Robben Island where your program includes them, and free weekends to explore on your own
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ACADEMICS

What you will study
Choose your program. Each one is built from the courses explained below.
Short-term program
3 or 4 weeks, January or Summer, 4 credits
  • Global Field Engagement, or
  • Global Practicum



Leads to course credit
Summer Program
8 weeks, June and July, 8 credits

  • Global Field Engagement
  • Global Practicum
  • Capstone portfolio


Leads to a Certificate in Global Mental Health
SEMESTER Program
15 weeks, Fall or Spring, 16 credits

  • Global Field Engagement
  • Global Practicum
  • Language Intensive Course
  • Independent Study Project & Capstone Seminar
Leads to a Certificate in Global Engagement (Global Mental Health concentration)
INTERNSHIP Program
4, 6, or 8 weeks, January or Summer, 4+ credits
  • Global Mental Health (Internship Program)




Leads to course credit, or standalone
What's inside the courses
Further Details
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YOUR DESTINATION: SOUTH AFRICA

Three decades after its first democratic election, South Africa is the economic powerhouse of the continent and one of its most complex societies, a place that is developed and developing at once and still writing its own multicultural identity. In mental health, South Africa has the continent's strongest professional sector and some of its widest gaps: well-trained psychologists and social workers, a legal framework that recognizes mental health as a right, and communities where the nearest support is a school, a clinic nurse, or a neighbor.

UNIQUE EXPERIENCES

Fieldwork in South Africa's mental health landscape
Students engage directly with South African mental health practice: community mental health programs, schools, social service and family support organizations, psychosocial support NGOs, and the professionals who work in them, seeing how a community cares for its own wellbeing.

A practicum inside a real development initiative
In the Global Practicum, your cohort joins one of GEI's international development initiatives in South Africa, works in one team with South African students, and sees its project through to completion. The initiative continues after you leave.
Mentored reflection and peer learning
Weekly colloquia led by GEI faculty and local facilitators guide students through reflection on ethics, cross-cultural engagement, and systems thinking.

Cultural immersion and weekend exploration
Daily life is part of the learning: markets, braai, and the many languages of South Africa. Depending on the program, organized excursions include Table Mountain and Robben Island or a safari in Kruger National Park, and free weekends are yours to explore the country.
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HOUSING & MEALS

Housing is included in the program fee for the full length of your program. GEI South Africa offers different options, subject to availability:

  • Guesthouses: Shared double rooms, shared bathroom, no kitchen; breakfast is usually provided
  • Homestays: Typically single rooms, shared bathroom, access to a kitchen and living room; host families usually provide breakfast and dinner
  • Serviced apartments: Single or shared double rooms, shared bathroom, kitchen and living room
  • University residence halls at GEI's partner universities: Shared double rooms, shared bathroom, no kitchen


Students in guesthouses, apartments, and residence halls cover their own meals outside course meals. More in the blog post: Accommodation – What to expect.

DATES, FEES, AND HOW TO APPLY

Choose your program and dates. Each Apply button opens the application for that program only.

Short-Term Program: Global Field Engagement (3 weeks, 4 U.S. credits)

Summer 2027: June 5-25, 2027  -  4 credits  -  US $3,650
January 2028: January 1-21, 2028  -  4 credits  -  US $3,650

Short-Term Program: Global Practicum (4 weeks, 4 U.S. credits)

Summer 2027: June 26-July 23, 2027  -  4 credits  -  US $3,950

Summer Program (8 weeks, 8 U.S. credits)

Summer 2027: May 31-July 23, 2027  -  8 credits  -  US $7,950

Internship Program (standalone or credit-bearing)

Summer 2027: June 3-July 2, 2027  -  4 credits  -  US $3,850
Summer 2027: June 3-July 16, 2027 - up to 6 credits - US $4,950
Summer 2027: June 3-July 30, 2027 - up to 8 credits - US $6,050
Custom dates (4+ weeks): Year-round  -  4+ credits  -  from US $3,850

Application deadlines

J-Term programs: November 1
Spring programs: December 1
Summer programs: April 1
Fall programs: July 1

Scholarships

GEI wants its programs to be open to as many students as possible, and cost should not be the deciding factor. Scholarships and other financial assistance options are described in the blog post: Scholarships & Grants.

SOUTH AFRICA

STAFF

GEI's full-time team in Cape Town hosts and supervises every cohort.
Kari Cousins
Center Director
Mabwe Gwamure
Program & Student Services Coordinator

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GET STARTED

Choose your program and dates above, or talk to GEI's support team first, by email or Zoom, from wherever you are.
Contact us for more information >