South Africa is a land of great physical beauty, as well as a place of complex human struggles. The Cape Town program offers the visiting student an opportunity to study on site some of the challenging environmental and contemporary issues of South Africa. Cape Town is regarded by many as one of the world's most beautiful cities. Set on a small peninsula at the southern tip of Africa, the city offers striking panoramas of mountains and sea.

The Macalester-Pomona-Swarthmore Consortium Program offers its students a new and unique opportunity for focused study on the theme of "Globalization and the Natural Environment." The program has been designed by environmental studies faculty of these three liberal arts colleges in consultation with the University of Cape Town (UCT). The program's overall educational purpose is to enable participants to experience the lure and durability of a deeper understanding of the natural world and its interconnections with human activity. To do so, students will grapple with the philosophical , scientific, social, aesthetic and ethical dimensions of the program theme. The academic program provides high-quality teaching, discussion, reading, educational excursions, and includes an optional directed study project.

The program is based on the understanding of two key concepts. Globalization is the dynamic and complex process involving the interplay between the universal laws of science across diverse environments and the particular challenges confronted by local populations as they engage with the natural world. Natural Environment investigates the physical and biological systems of the planet and its connection with the human condition. Students will investigate the claims humans make on other species and on the earth's resources and how this has been expressed over time and across cultures, with a specific focus on South Africa