The South Africa Community Fund offers three academic programs:

• A 14-week semester program
• Internships ranging from 8 weeks to one year
• Service learning programs ranging from three weeks to 10 weeks

All of these academic offerings are based primarily in the city of Cape Town—at the tip of Africa. Students live in homes for the majority of their program and are matched up with South African students going through the same program. Academic staff from local universities and colleges supervise the academic portion of the program. The student life programs (cross-cultural adjustment, recreation, personal needs and health) are managed by staff of the South Africa Community Fund. Transcripts from local South African institutions can be issued to students who satisfy the requirements of the courses. Arrangements for transcripts need to be secured in advance of the semester program and in most cases require an additional fee.

Since Nelson Mandela led the country to independence in 1994, South Africa has become a focal point of field based academic programs for dozens of universities and colleges. The nation is young and serves as a laboratory for democracy, social transformation, peace-building, sustainable community development and civic responsibility. Also accessible is the recently completed work of the heralded Truth and Reconciliation Commission—led by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.