Metropolitan State University of Denver
Social Structure in Post-Apartheid South Africa, March 2025Welcome to MSU Denver’s International Social Work South Africa Program
Students registered for SWKM 6207 International Social Work at Metro State University, Denver are invited to join us for an extraordinary two-week program, exploring the field of Social support in the South African city of Cape Town.
Program Outline
This program will be integrated into the Spring semester, as an optional extra to SWKM 6207 International Social Work and have a strong focus on settler colonialism, acts of imperialism, neoliberalism, and examining how Social Work has been complicit in these dynamics globally.
The program is heavily centered on an anti-colonialism approach, and we will explore various aspects of social care in South African society for comparative analysis—modern versus traditional, wealthy versus low-income communities, and theory versus practice. The program aims to cover different sectors of social care, including elderly care, child welfare, family services, gender issues, indigenous practices, healthcare, disability support, and addiction services.
This group will consist of 8-12 students and 1 faculty – Dr Shawna Farell, and will run from March 16-29 2025
About Kaya Responsible Travel
MSU Denver is working in partnership with Kaya Responsible Travel. Kaya’s founder and Director, Heilwig Jones was an international student who studied for a year on the Auraria campus in 1996 and is delighted to be supporting MSUDenver students in this experience.
Kaya are a responsible educational travel organization that specialize in providing meaningful and ethical international experiences for individuals and groups.
Our mission is to promote sustainable social, environmental and economic development, empower communities and cultivate educated, compassionate global citizens through responsible travel. We do this by offering a wide range of academic and community engagement programs in varying environments across 28 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and are proud winners of multiple awards for ethical community engagement practices.
Program Summary
Dates: March 16-29 2025 (in-country dates – flights may extend this 1-2 days each side)
Costs: $3015
Application Deadline: October 25th 2025 – Extended to November 1st 2025
Inclusions:
- 13 nights accommodation in shared rooms
- 38 meals as follows: B-13, L-12, D-13
- Group transfers to/from airport and program activities
- All activities listed in the itinerary
- Local group coordinator accompanying the group throughout the program
Not included:
- Flights
- Travel medical insurance (consult with study abroad office for options)
- Recommended and/or required vaccinations and medicines
- Police background checks
- Tips and gratuities for excursion guides (not expected but always welcome)
- Personal expenses, such as snacks, souvenirs, meals outside of itinerary, free time activities/fees, transportation outside of itinerary, or baggage fees
Application process
- Once you are registered for SWKM 6207 International Social Work, and have been referred by Dr Farell to apply for this program you may complete the following application.
- Complete the application form below by October 25th.
- You will be sent a deposit invoice for $500 which you can pay by check, bank transfer or online with credit or debit card
- The deadline for deposits is October 30th. A minimum of 8 participants is required for this program to run. We will provide confirmation of program running on October 31st. Please hold off booking your flights until this time to ensure you do not have outstanding expenses if the program is unable to run.
- Anyone submitting a deposit may withdraw from the program with a full refund until 6pm Mountain time on October 30th. After this time, if the program is confirmed, the deposit will become non-refundable (but you may transfer it to someone else if you have a substitute)
- If the program is cancelled on October 31st, all deposits will be returned in full (any bank fees or online processing fees are outside our control and non-refundable)
- Once approved, we will send you the invoice for the program balance and advise you on details for booking your flights. The program fee balance will be due on January 10th.
- For your flights, you will be asked to book flights arriving at Cape Town Airport on March 16th within a window of time that day. If you choose to arrive earlier we will ask you to make your way to our accommodation (or back to the airport) at around this time.
- Program cancellation insurance is recommended in case of any incident that may prevent your travel after the cancellation deadline. We can provide you with options for this once you have applied.
Please only pay the deposit if you intend to travel. Make sure that you are available for the dates of your programme and are committed to participating to avoid any extra costs.