Program Highlights

FALL 2025

August 14 – November 29, 2025

Faculty Director

Kris Jordan, UNC Department of Computer Science

Kris Jordan is a teaching-focused professor in his tenth year at the Department of Computer Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. Over the past decade, he has taught courses on design thinking, programming, and software engineering to more than 11,000 students. His passion for education extends beyond campus; he has led two study abroad programs including the recent Design of Design course in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2023.

Prof. Jordan’s teaching has been recognized with several departmental and campus-wide honors, including UNC’s most distinguished teaching accolade, the Chapman Family Teaching Award, in 2021. Before tranisitioning to academica, he co-founded an application design consulting company with fellow UNC alumni.

He earned his undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and completed his graduate studies at Brown University. Outside of academia, Kris is exploring his newest hobby – learning to sail – and looks forward to finding a chance to sail around the Cape of Good Hope!

Highlights

UNC’s Honors Semester in Cape Town enables students to learn about the achievements, complexities, and challenges of post-apartheid South Africa through a range of academic and experiential learning opportunities.

While living and learning in one of the most beautiful and diverse cities in the world, you will not only learn about the country’s rich and complex history. You will also immerse yourself in the living history of South Africa by interning with institutions that are helping to create a democratic civil society.

You will have the opportunity to visit significant South African historical and cultural sites such as Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other anti-Apartheid leaders were imprisoned, and the historic District 6 in the city’s center. Educational excursions to these and other sites are embedded in the academic courses, all of which are designed to help you contextualize your experiences.

You will also have the opportunity to get to know the country’s historical and cultural richness during week-long excursions to other parts of the country, including one or more of its unmatchable wildlife reserves.

All participants remain enrolled at UNC, earning graded Honors Carolina course credit for a full semester’s work. Courses count toward fulfillment of general education as well as major requirements.