MSFS is a two-year, full-time graduate degree program in international affairs. Students will take courses in international relations, international trade, international finance, statistics and analytical tools and history. Students choose an area of concentration such as International Relations and Security, International Development or International Business.

The application deadline for fall 2014 is January 15, 2014.

More information on Master of Science in Foreign Service

How to apply

“Don’t be afraid to step away from Spanish or French and study less-commonly-taught languages!” –Rebecca Mandich
(Photo by Catherine A. Reiland/UW-Madison)

Major: African Languages and Literature, Certificates in African Studies and Global Health
Hometown: Green Bay, WI
Photos

What inspired you to study Swahili?

I spent the year after I graduated high school volunteering in Kenya, and when I returned to UW-Madison I decided to take an intro Swahili class for fun. I began learning Swahili with intentions to better communicate with some of my Kenyan friends; however, I excelled at my Swahili courses and decided to major in African Languages & Literature at the end of my freshman year.

What is your favorite Swahili word or phrase?

It’s really difficult to pick just one favorite Swahili word or phrase. “Hakuna Matata” is definitely one of my favorites purely because even non-Swahili speakers understand it thanks to the Lion King. However, many other people have pointed out that I say, “Penye nia pana njia” (Where there is a will there is a way) almost every day.

What would you tell students who are interested in majoring in African Languages and Literature?

I would absolutely recommend the African Languages and Literature major! Even if you aren’t considering being a teacher of African languages or literature, the major is flexible and a great compliment to another major. It will definitely make your resume stand out, and the small class sizes will enrich your college experience.

Tell us about your study abroad experience in Zanzibar

I studied abroad in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in a Swahili flagship program created by the American Councils for International Education and the Boren Scholarship. The semester I spent in Zanzibar was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It involved many hot sweaty hours in the classroom where we never spoke English; however, leaving the country fluent in Swahili made all of the work absolutely worth it. One of my favorite parts of my experience was my internship in fashion design and marketing at KIHAGA, a local tailoring and apparel business. I became very close with the owner, had the chance to design clothes made out of beautiful wax-printed cloth, and got to use my Swahili in a professional environment.

Rebecca Mandich (BA’13) with her host family in Zanzibar. October, 2011. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Mandich)

What was one of the highlights?

I acted in a Zanzibari television show called Hussda (meaning jinx). I played the part of an American foreign investor from General Motors who was interested in investing in a local Tanzanian company.

Tell us about your cardboard books project. How did you get started?

I started the cardboard book research project through my work with Dr. Araceli Alonso and her Madison-bas

ed NGO Health by Motorbike. I worked with her in the past translating malaria research surveys and was planning to travel with her as a Swahili translator for her Summer 2012 global health field course in Kenya. Dr. Alonso helped connect me to Dr. Luis Madureira and Saylin Alvarez from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese who had started a cardboard book publishing company called Kutsemba Cartão in Mozambique. They were very interested in our idea of publishing some of the first cardboard books in Kenya. When I traveled with Dr. Alonso in 2012, I was inspired by Harold Scheub’s work and traveled around, recording folktales from several areas of Kenya. This past school year I have been working to transcribe the Swahili stories, translate them into English and collaborate with Saylin Alvarez to translate them into Spanish. We have just finished a trilingual East African folk tale collection, which Dr. Alonso will bring back to the Kenyan storytellers this summer.

Looking back, what were some valuable lessons you learned while at UW-Madison?

One of the biggest lessons I have learned at UW-Madison is to pursue opportunities that I am interested in and not be afraid to try new things even if I don’t feel 100% qualified or ready. It’s really easy to get lost in huge lecture halls and always assume that everyone else is more qualified or intelligent than I am. However, I have realized that I will never be able to grow into the woman I want to be if I don’t put those doubts aside and push myself to try things I may not think I am capable of.

Where is your favorite place to study?

Wisconsin Institute of Discovery near the waterfall.

Rebecca’s handcrafted cardboard books will be distributed in Kenya. (Photo by Catherine Reiland / UW-Madison)

What advice do you have for first-year students at UW-Madison?

Don’t be afraid to step away from Spanish or French and study less-commonly-taught languages! There are so many awesome career and scholarship opportunities for people who study languages like Arabic, Mandarin, Farsi and even Swahili! Not to mention it is an incredibly rewarding experience.

What are your next steps after graduation?

I will be working in Madison for the summer and then I am hoping to transition into a linguist position, teach Swahili, or pursue graduate studies in sociolinguistics.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I could see myself teaching Swahili, traveling, working as a language analyst, translating or working for an NGO in East Africa.

Profile produced by Catherine Reiland and Krista Duffy.

The annual Iwanter Prize provides an unrestricted $2,000 award to one graduating senior who, through a senior thesis and general academic distinction, demonstrates outstanding humanities-based scholarship of a broad and interdisciplinary nature. The award is made possible by a gift to the UW Foundation by Sidney E. Iwanter, an alumnus of the College of Letters & Science (BA History, 1971).

Theses must be interdisciplinary but need not be interdepartmental. The topic of the winning thesis must reflect a breadth of interests and learning experiences as well as depth in its main area of focus. It should draw from more than one scholarly discipline (for example, history and Italian literature; philosophy and art), but it may do so in a variety of ways. Many students working within the disciplinary conventions of one department are already regularly undertaking interdisciplinary research, and should be considered eligible for the award.

Applications for the Iwanter prize may come directly from students, but must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the thesis advisor. Eligibility is restricted to seniors graduating from the College of Letters and Science, and who are receiving a degree with a major in a humanities discipline. Students graduating in spring or summer may submit advanced draft versions of the thesis.

The Iwanter Prize: 2012-2013 Guidelines

Deadline: Tuesday, May 7, 4:00 pm.

1. A one-page cover letter from the student that includes (a) title and a brief description of the senior thesis (b) a brief overview of the student’s interdisciplinary experiences, and (c) current and post-graduation contact information (send electronically), sent to: info@humanities.wisc.edu

2. A letter of recommendation from the student’s thesis advisor, who must be a faculty member in the Humanities and Arts Division of the College of Letters & Science (one signed original–either paper copy or scanned and sent electronically to: info@humanities.wisc.edu).

3. The student’s senior thesis (one electronic copy) sent to: info@humanities.wisc.edu

4. The student’s official transcript (one paper original).

Materials may arrive separately, but all materials must be received by the Center for the Humanities by the deadline. Materials not sent electronically may be hand-delivered or mailed to:

Katy Petershack
Center for the Humanities
University Club Building, Room 316
432 East Campus Mall
Madison, WI 53706

For additional information call (608) 263-3412, or e-mail info@humanities.wisc.edu

Cross-listed in African Languages and Literature, Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Geography, History, Political Science, and Sociology

Instructor: Neil Kodesh, History

Number of Teaching Assistants needed: 3

Eligibility: Applicants must be UW – Madison graduate students in good standing, making normal progress toward a degree, specializing in the study of Africa in any department, with life and preferably research experience in Africa. Applicants must be free to attend all lectures (T/Th 2:30-3:45) and lead four discussion sections weekly. All discussion sections are scheduled for Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Appointment percent time: 40%

Duties: Attend all lectures, lead four discussion sections per week, keep grade book, assist in all grading, carry out other duties as expected of teaching assistants

Application deadline: Monday, April 15, 2013

To apply: Submit an application letter stating background, strengths, and credentials; all relevant transcripts; a CV; and the names and telephone numbers of two potential references to:

James Delehanty, African Studies Program, 205 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706

No electronic applications please (unless there are unusual circumstances)

Read more about their Beloit visit in the Beloit Daily News

Learn how you can invite an Outreach Scholar to your Wisconsin classroom.

Beloit Daily News Staff photo by Hillary Gavan
Robinson Elementary School students Isaiah Varhy and Brynn Cokash-Perry learn about Kenyan garb in a presentation by Anne Waliaula, the outreach director of the African Studies Program and University of Wisconsin Madison. Two speakers came to the school on Friday to visit classes and speak about African culture.

Awards may be requested for any amount between $500 and $5,000.

Conditions

1. Awardees must be faculty or staff members of the UW-Madison pursuing research on Africa or on connections between Africa and other parts of the world.

2. Awards must be used directly to support the recipient’s research, with travel, including travel to Africa or to a library, archive, or community outside of Africa (including the African diaspora), the expected norm. While research costs apart from travel may be supported, award funds may not be used for salaries, assistantships, or hourly wages. Awards will not support travel (to Madison or anywhere) by persons other than the recipient.

3. Award funds not expended during calendar 2013 will revert to African Studies.

Priorities

1. Priority will be given to proposals that show a high probability of expediting scholarly publications or other original work that advances knowledge of Africa or Africa’s relations with other parts of the world.

2. Priority for at least one award will go to assistant professors.

3. At least one award will target UW-Madison faculty members who are not members of the African Studies Program now, but who wish to begin engaging Africa in their research and might join the African Studies Program later. (ASP members, please pass word of this opportunity to appropriate colleagues.)

Application and Selection

1. To apply, send the following materials to director@africa.wisc.edu with the subject line, ASP Research Travel Award Application:

(1) A proposal of no more than 2 single-spaced pages outlining the project on which the funds would be used, work accomplished to date (if any), other funding received or anticipated (if any), specific intended uses of ASP funds, and plans for production or publication, including an idea of when the work might come out.

(2) A simple budget (no more than one page) outlining the anticipated costs of each aspect of the project for which you seek funding.

(3) A current, abbreviated CV, no more than 2 pages in length; please do not send a full CV. Each of these three documents should be attached separately to a single email message, with the subject line as described above.

2. The application deadline is 5:00 PM, Monday, February 25th, 2013. We will notify all applicants of results by the first week of March.

3. The African Studies Program Planning Committee (James Sweet, Scott Straus, Aliko Songolo, Nancy Kendall, Mary Hark, Jeremy Foltz) will serve as the selection committee. Planning Committee members are eligible to apply and will recuse themselves if they have a proposal under consideration.

Global Studies awards two grants annually:

- International Internship Fellowships to support graduate students interested in undertaking practitioner internships on social justice issues

- International Pre-Dissertation Travel Fellowships to support overseas travel to potential field research sites for doctoral students planning to conduct preliminary dissertation field research related to social justice

The program is open to graduate students of any nationality enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The deadline to submit applications is 25 February 2013.

For complete details on the application requirements, visit Global Studies.

There have been some changes to policies and procedures from previous years — applicants should review the information thoroughly before applying.

The Fulbright US student program can fund MA, pre-diss, and PhD research. The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) program funds dissertation research in area studies and modern foreign language.

Both programs are federally funded and have US citizenship requirements.

Fulbright US Info Session
Tuesday, February 5
4:00-5:00
336 Ingraham Hall

Fulbright-Hays DDRA technical review session
Monday, February 11
3:30-4:30
336 Ingraham Hall

If you are interested in learning more about the programs, but can’t attend a session, contact Dr. Erin Crawley, at the International Fellowships Office for an appointment.