In this semester/academic year program in Rabat, Morocco, students will take 12-17 credits per semester and have the option of both Arabic and Area Studies courses. Students live with host families in Rabat. There will be multiple excursions per semester, such as to Fez or Marrakech. The fall semester starts in late August and runs until mid-December. The spring semester beings in mid-January and runs until early May.
Academic Overview:
- Arabic: Blended Modern Standard & Colloquial Moroccan (8 credits) is recommended
- Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (3 credits) is required if not in the 8-credit course
- Elective Area Studies Courses (3 credits each) taught in English in a variety of disciplines including a Community-Based Learning course. Recent courses have been drawn from Middle East & North Africa studies, history, political science, sociology, and Amazigh studies.
- Media Arabic (3 credits) is also available as an elective
COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING
Every semester we offer our Community-Based Learning course. This interdisciplinary course aims at strengthening and deepening students' knowledge of the Middle East through direct experience in local organizations and a series of lectures aimed at providing the theoretical framework for studying and interacting with Moroccan society, culture, and politics.
Students will have a volunteer placement in a local organization where they are expected to spend at least five hours a week. There are also lectures/seminars to contextualize the placement, providing the opportunity to directly observe and analyze different aspects of Moroccan culture, social relations, and politics under the framework provided by the class readings and discussions.
If you're curious to see what topics are covered or need to confirm whether a class will count for your university, please download the latest available
syllabi here.
Rabat is one of Morocco's "imperial cities," as well as its political capital. It is home to the leading educational institutions in the country and offers students opportunities to move from the shops and cafes of the "European" city to the winding alleys and exciting markets of the old medina in a few minutes' walk. Students attend their classes at AMIDEAST's facilities in the bustling Agdal area of Rabat, near the Royal Palace.
