South Africa: Medicine

Overview 

Students will have hands-on exploration in a variety of urban and under-resourced health care settings by shadowing physicians.  

This program provides students with a uniquely immersive and hands-on experience in clinic and hospital settings. Participants learn from experienced local physicians how biomedicine adapts to global medical issues as well as the challenges of a low-resource setting. Students will gain a fresh perspective on health disparities and the impact of socioeconomic and cultural contexts on illness diagnosis, treatment, and management. Students will have the opportunity to work closely with health care professionals at clinics and hospitals while exploring the rich cultural diversity and exhilarating beauty of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Weekly service-learning trips are great fun and help the students give back to local communities.

Highlights and Excursions 

Students will participate in day and weekend excursions that may include Cape Point and Table Mountain National Reserve, local craft areas and museums, a variety of beaches, hiking and water sports, wine and vineyard tours, Robben Island and more. Additionally, a two-day safari is included in program costs.

Living Arrangements 

Connect-123  will provide housing accommodations in furnished apartments for participating students. The apartment building is a 24-hour secured building and each apartment is fully furnished with a kitchen. Students will provide meals for themselves and grocery/produce stores are within walking distance to the apartment building. There is also a coffee shop that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the first floor of the building as well as a number of restaurants within walking distance.

Program Dates 

July 5 - July 28, 2025

*Note students will need to depart the US on July 4th to arrive in South Africa by July 5.

Academics  

Students register for 

• OCOM 8911 credit HCOM Years 3 & 4
• Non-Credit:  HCOM Years 1 & 2

Cost  

The program fee for this program includes: Student accommodations, transport to/from clinics and service learning field trips, 2-day Safari, Food Jam local cooking class, Cape Point tour, some meals including welcome dinner and lunches on excursions. 

In addition to the program fee, students should plan for appropriate credit hours of tuition*, administrative fee, and out-of-pocket costs. Below is the student budget worksheet for this program, which outlines these costs.  

HCOM Student Budget Worksheet - Summer 2025 

Items that are not related to the program (i.e. additional entertainment, souvenirs, extra travel, contingency funds) are not included in the cost estimates provided and should be budgeted for separately.  

*Note:

• Non-resident surcharge waived for the credit hours associated with this program. 
• If you are nominated to this program, you will be required to pay a deposit to confirm your participation. The deposit is a down payment on the total costs to be billed by OHIO and is determined by the total cost of the program. Final program payment will be due prior to departure.
• HCOM financial aid:Since this program is not credit-bearing (no tuition is billed), federal loans cannot be offered during the summer term. Should you have specific questions about financial aid, relative to HCOM - Financial aid advising for HCOM students is handled directly by HCOM and information on contacting their office can be found: https://www.ohio.edu/medicine/med-admissions/financing/contact

Funding Opportunities 

Partial scholarships available through the Heritage College of Medicine.  Details TBD.

More information on financial aid and scholarships can be found on our funding pages.

Eligibility and Requirements 

Open to OHIO medical students in good standing with the University.

All participants are required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $500 (to be credited to student’s program fees) as part of the acceptance process.  

Students who will be on probation at any point during the program for a conduct offense that took place less than a calendar year from the program start date may not study abroad.  Read the entire conduct policy . 

This program accepts NON-OHIO students. For more information about this process visit the Non-OHIO student page .   

Participants must have a at least a high school diploma or the equivalent (e.g. GED) by the start date of the program to be considered for eligibility.  Students enrolled in College Credit Plus (CC+) are not eligible for study away programs.

Entry and Exit Requirements 

U.S. citizens are required to have a valid U.S. passport when traveling outside of the United States. If you plan to study or travel abroad in the next year,   apply for your passport   now. Some countries also require a visa to legally enter or reside in the country. 

U.S. citizens  will not  need a visa or other special documents to enter the country for the length of this program. Please also note that visa requirements may vary if you plan to stay in the country longer than the program dates or travel to other countries during or after the program. Please familiarize yourself with these recommendations and requirements prior to applying to this program. 

For more specific visa-related information, please visit OGO’s   Visa Information Page

Information for  Non-U.S. citizens

Resources 

• Health and Safety
• Accessibility Requests and Accommodations 
• Blog from 2024 participant Cameron Nicholson-Gardner