Building on AMIDEAST’s mission, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World help develop mutual understanding through programs for Americans to study the Middle East and North Africa and interact with the peoples and cultures of the region, especially local university faculty members and students.  At the same time, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs strive to develop students’ intercultural and global competence and provide students with living and learning environments that are academically free and stimulating, intellectually rigorous and challenging, interculturally open and accepting, and physically safe.

Core Principles of AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World

AMIDEAST’s Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World are built on a set of core principles. These are that all programs are

• student centered
• structured to maximize students’
  • acquisition of the Arabic language
  • development of knowledge of the host country and region
  • exposure to the host culture
  • development of intercultural sensitivity and global competence
• overseen by an Academic Consortium consisting of U.S. colleges and universities that jointly provide quality assurance for the programs through ongoing review and periodic site visits to meet with students, faculty and program staff
• large enough, in terms of student enrollment, to assure valuable discussion and diversity but not so large as to isolate students from the host society or become unwieldy and unmanageable

Distinctive Features

While each program has its own unique character, heavily influenced by the national and local characteristics of the country and city where it is located, all AMIDEAST programs include a set of distinctive features:

• Arabic language instruction in both Modern Standard and Spoken Arabic
• Program-related excursions
• Facilitated dialogue sessions with students from local universities
• Activities to develop student intercultural and global competence
• Management by an AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program staff member who is familiar with the local environment and who coordinates housing, orientation, excursions, issues discussions, and other program-related activities