Semester study abroad
A semester at the University of Cape Town, with an internship if you want one
Five months of coursework at Africa’s top-ranked university, living in a student house in Observatory, with the whole VAC support system around you. Add a 5 to 8 week internship in your field once exams finish, at no extra program fee.
How it works
Study and work, in the same city
Study
Coursework at UCT
You take a full course load at the University of Cape Town for one semester. Courses appear on a UCT transcript, which your home university evaluates for transfer credit under its own policies. We work with your study-abroad office so the semester keeps you on track for your degree.
Intern
An internship, alongside or after
Optional, and it runs one of two ways. Hold a part-time VACorps placement next to your classes, or carry a full course load and move into a full-time 5 to 8 week internship once UCT exams are done. Either way it is the same customised placement as our 8 to 12 week internship, across 24 fields from finance and law to media, health and conservation.
Credit
Credit that transfers
Coursework credit comes through UCT. Internship credit can run through your university or through our school-of-record arrangement with Indiana University. We deal directly with your registrar and study-abroad office on the paperwork.
Dates
Two semesters a year, on UCT’s calendar
First semester
February to JuneArrive late January for orientation, term runs February to June. Stay on to the end of July if you add the internship.
Second semester
July to NovemberArrive late July for orientation, term runs July to November. Stay on to mid December if you add the internship.
Each semester is about five months. You confirm the internship before term starts and we develop your placement during the semester, so it is ready the week exams end. Exact arrival and departure dates for the year are on the program calendar.
Cost
What a semester costs
| Semester study abroad, all inUCT tuition, VAC program and support, Rent-A-Room housing and utilities for the semester | $17,500 |
| With the optional internshipThe placement is included in the program fee. The extra $1,075 is only the extra weeks of housing and electricity for the 5 to 8 weeks after exams. | $18,575 |
| Projected 2027 costPer student, confirmed in a formal proposal to your institution | from $17,500 |
Compare it
The same semester elsewhere runs $19,500 to $23,000 before you eat
The Full Experience Cost Calculator prices a Cape Town semester door to door, flights, food, insurance, pocket money and ten things you would actually do, next to the same semester in London, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Florence, Tokyo and Sydney from the big US providers, visa costs included.
Living in Cape Town
The same arrangements as our interns
Housing for the semester
A fully furnished private room in a shared student house in Observatory through Rent-A-Room, within walking distance of UCT and a short ride from the city.
Support and safety
Airport pickup, orientation week, a 24/7 emergency line, a full-time Safety Officer and a local team on call for the whole semester.
Cultural life
The weekly culture series, excursions and the VAC program family. Semester students join the same weekly calendar as our interns, Kruger trip included.
Getting in
How to apply
All figures in USD, projected for 2027 and indicative only. A formal quote is issued on enrolment. Cape Town housing is provided by Rent-A-Room at their published rates and billed in rand.