Your Destination
Legon’s well-educated citizens welcome other international students with open arms to their quiet suburban town, just northeast of the city center in the Accra Metropolis District. The sprawling University of Ghana [152] campus is ranked as the 7th best university in Africa. Students also enjoy access to a large shopping mall and several grocery stores, as well as restaurants and bars. Beyond campus, the equatorial region includes rainforests, wildlife parks, and pristine beaches to explore.
Excursions & Activities
- Travel to Cape Coast and Elmina to see slave castles and the starting point of the transatlantic journey.
- Visit the Ashanti region to explore the traditional chieftaincy institution, history, and culture as well as the role women play in the making and unmaking of chiefs among the Ashanti people.
- Experience regional highlights like Aburi Botanical Gardens, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Boti Falls, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Lake Volta, Tafi-Atome monkey sanctuary, and the W.E.B. Dubois Center.
- Get involved on campus by joining a music, theater, or art group, or meeting up with Ghanaian students for soccer, running, swimming, field hockey, or tennis. Basketball and baseball are also getting popular.
- Take advantage of campus lectures, discussions, and receptions.
Internship
Gain important real-world experience and academic credit by pursuing an internship. Opportunities include: shadowing doctors and nurses during ward rounds at the West Africa AIDS Foundation and International Health Care Center; teaching English or math and mentor children at the Future Leaders Underprivileged Care Center; assisting with research and advocacy governance think tanks like the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and Ghana Integrity Initiative, or working alongside entrepreneurs in various fields of business and social enterprises.
Projects
Volunteering. Get involved with local Ghanaians through service work. Volunteer at after-school programs such as the Play and Learn Foundation, an orphanage, environmental NGO, educational NGO, or similar organization.
Community Service. Join other CIEE students for a group-service project, like painting, tree planting , cleaning a special needs center, mentoring kids at an orphanage and providing tutorials in basic math and English as well as teaching IT skills, collecting donations, or building a water filtration system.
Community Engagement. Immerse yourself in the Ghanaian culture while giving back to your host community. In the past, students have volunteered at daycare centers, elementary and junior high schools, teaching computer literacy, coaching soccer, and mentoring disadvantaged youth. CIEE Legon also undertakes community service every semester. Past projects have included painting, weeding, cleaning a special needs center, collecting donations of clothing items, and building a water filtering system for a village.
Peer Support. Have the support of a U-Pal – a CIEE-trained University of Ghana student who will help you get settled and connected in Legon socially and academically.