-- Photo courtesy of Africa Focus

The Republic of Chad extends across three distinct geographical regions: the heart of the Saharan desert in the north, broad savannah in the center, and the fertile lowlands in the south. Chad is rich in natural resources, and the recent discovery of large oil deposits has created great enthusiasm for the country's future economic development.

A combination of the colonial history of Chad and a strong Islamic influence has led to two official national languages: French and Arabic.

Parade for Opening of Hospital and Bridge, Sarh -- Photo courtesy of Africa Focus

Approximately 50 percent of Chad's ethnically diverse population is Muslim.

Chad's education system is based on the French model, making French the primary language of instruction in most higher education institutions. The University of N'Djamena is the country's main university, comprised of three faculties: the Faculty of Law and Economics, the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, and the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences.

Camels at Water Hole, Mao -- Photo courtesy of Africa Focus

Since the birth of the Université du Tchad (now the Universite of N'Djamena) in 1971, seven Fulbright grants to lecture or conduct research in Chad have been awarded. Three-quarters of U.S. Fulbright Scholars in Chad have renewed their grant for an additional year. Fulbright grant packages for Chad include tuition support for accompanying children.

CIES encourages interested applicants to make use of the following links to complement their research into potential opportunities available in Chad. Please also feel free to use the contact information to get in touch with CIES program personnel.

Embassy of Chad in Washington D.C.
http://www.chadembassy.com/
Embassy of Chad website with general information, government information, recent news, photographs, and a bulletin board.

U.S. Embassy in Chad
http://ndjamena.usembassy.gov/
Bilingual website of the U.S. Embassy in N'Djamena with information about commercial development, democracy, and public affairs.

Embassy World website
http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/Maps_Of_Chad.html
Maps of Chad, including city maps and interactive maps.

The Africa Guide
http://www.africaguide.com/country/chad/index.htm
Visitor information, with sections on safaris and books related to Chad.

The Lonely Planet
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/chad/index.htm
Traveler's information on Chad, including sections on events, activities, culture, and history.

U.S. Department of State
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/index.cfm?docid=5230
Background information on Chad including political conditions, foreign relations, relations with the U.S., history, people, government, economy, and business.

Library of Congress
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/tdtoc.html
In depth country profile of Chad with sections on the nation's history, society, environment, economy, government and politics, and national security.

All Africa
http://allafrica.com/chad/
Top news stories from Chad.

Mbendi - Information for Africa
http://www.mbendi.co.za/land/af/ch/p0005.htm
Information on Chad including news, politics, and economics.

Africa Online
http://www.africaonline.com/

General news for all of Africa including business and discussions.

Panapress - The African Perspective
http://www.panapress.com/
Panapress - the Pan African New Agency - provides the latest African news, with lots of country-specific information. It is a bilingual English/French site, reporting news on issues such as Africa's economy, technology, politics, gender, health, sports, environment, and culture. There is also an archives section with over 15 years of African news.

Africa Focus - Sights and Sounds of a Continent
http://africafocus.library.wisc.edu/
An Online collection of photographs and digitized sound recordings from every country in Africa, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries and the University of Wisconsin-Madison African Studies Program.