Pre-Session in Rabat Pre-Session Moroccan Arabic and Culture Course (3 credits) Academic Calendar Partner Institution – Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) Other Program Information Program Management Apply Now Costs

Nestled in the Middle Atlas Mountains, the Province of Ifrane is home to the largest cedar forest in North Africa and is the most biologically diverse area in Morocco.  Because of the year-round beauty of Ifrane’s natural surroundings, the town’s population of 12,000 swells to nearly 100,000 on weekends, holidays and in the summer. Both Fez, the intellectual capital of Morocco, and the imperial city of Meknes are approximately an hour away.  The capital city of Rabat is two hours from Ifrane; the Sahara desert is just six.

The AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Ifrane offers a diverse curriculum through direct enrollment at Al Akhawayn University (AUI), a private Moroccan university patterned on the American model of higher education.  Students on the program will live in residence halls on the 98-acre AUI campus, which includes modern classroom buildings and dormitories, as well as a library and IT facilities, sports facilities, and a student center including dining halls.

Pre-Session in Rabat

The AMIDEAST program at AUI begins with a 3-week academic pre-session in Morocco’s capital city of Rabat.  The pre-session consists of the following elements:

• A 3-semester credit hour course on Moroccan Arabic and Culture, including 35 hours of instruction in Moroccan Arabic and 10 hours of instruction on Moroccan culture
• Accommodation and meals with a Moroccan host family
• Cultural orientation
• Visits to key sites of historical and cultural significance in the Rabat area
  

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Pre-Session Moroccan Arabic and Culture Course (3 credits)

This is an integrated course encompassing both Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan culture.  Students will be placed in Moroccan Arabic at a level commensurate with their previous study of Modern Standard Arabic. There will be 35 hours of instruction in Moroccan Arabic together with a series of 10 lectures on Moroccan culture during the three-week program. Precise topics for the lectures are determined about one month before the Pre-Session begins.

Moroccan Arabic I
Students are introduced to words, expressions, and structures used frequently in everyday life. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Moroccans. By the end of the course, students are able to ask essential questions and understand the responses, express basic facts and opinions in simple sentences, and engage in basic conversations in Moroccan Arabic with native speakers. Living with a Moroccan family provides daily opportunity for practice.

Moroccan Arabic II
Students who have already studied Modern Standard Arabic are introduced to words, expressions, and structures used frequently in everyday life in Morocco. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Moroccans. By the end of the course, students are able to ask essential questions and understand the responses, express facts and opinions in simple as well as complex sentences, and engage in conversations in Moroccan Arabic with native speakers about non-academic topics.  Living with a Moroccan family provides daily opportunity for practice.

Moroccan Arabic III
Students with a strong background in Modern Standard Arabic are introduced to vocabulary, expressions, and structures used frequently in Moroccan everyday life. Students practice them in class before they are given assignments to carry out with native speakers in real situations. Evaluation combines performance in class and successful interaction with Moroccans. By the end of the course, students are able to ask questions and understand the responses, express facts and opinions in complex sentences, and engage in conversations in Moroccan Arabic with native speakers about a wide range of topics, both academic and non-academic.  Living with a Moroccan family provides daily opportunity for practice.

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Academic Calendar

Spring 2011

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Partner Institution – Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane

The AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in the Arab World partner for this program is Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI).  Founded in 1993 by Royal Dahir (charter), AUI opened it doors to students in January 1995.  The University is coeducational, residential and primarily undergraduate but has rapidly growing graduate programs. The outlook is international, with over 25 nationalities represented among students, staff, and faculty.  Tolerance is promoted and expected from all members of the community as they live and work together.

The majority of AUI’s 1000+ students study full-time and live on campus.  The student population is equally balanced between men and women. There is an increasingly international character to the student body, with over 160 students of 28 nationalities on campus in study abroad and exchange programs during the regular semester, or during the intensive Arabic and North African Studies summer program.  The student-faculty ratio is 11 students for each full-time faculty member.  Because the average class size is 17, students have ample opportunity to question, respond, and interact with their professors and classmates.

The administrative, pedagogical, and academic organization of AUI is modeled on the American university system, and English is the language of instruction.  

More information about AUI, including course offerings, can be found on its website at http://www.aui.ma.

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Other Program Information

Orientation and Pre-Session
Upon arrival in Morocco, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program students participate in an in-depth, three week-long orientation and academic pre-session designed to introduce them to Moroccan Arabic, Moroccan culture, and daily life and familiarize them with the logistics of the program. Students stay with Moroccan host families during this three-week pre-session that takes place in the Moroccan capital of Rabat.  Following the pre-session they move to Ifrane, where they participate in AUI’s international student orientation on the AUI campus.  The orientation combines structured informational sessions with organized activities and free time to familiarize participants with Morocco. Topics such as safety and health, family life in Morocco, cultural adjustment, program regulations, participant responsibilities and other essential information are all discussed during orientation.

Accommodation and Meals
Students enrolled in the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program at Al-Akhawayn University (AUI) in Ifrane will live in dormitories, in double rooms with Moroccan roommates.  There are seventeen dormitory-style residences on the AUI campus, ranging from small buildings with as few as 56 beds, to large buildings with as many as 234 beds.  All AUI residence halls include a common kitchen, and student rooms are well-equipped with telephone, television, and Internet connections.
AMIDEAST program participants will be enrolled in a full meal plan for their semester at AUI, which will give them full access to the three distinct dining facilities maintained by the university.

Activities
In addition to the academic program, the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program at AUI offers a variety of additional learning opportunities to enhance participants' study abroad experience.

• Weekend field trips will be arranged during the semester to ensure that students have the opportunity to visit key Moroccan sites (e.g., Fez, Meknes, the north, and Marrakesh) that are not necessarily visited during AUI’s course-related field trips.

• AMIDEAST’s Rabat-based Program Manager will make monthly visits to Ifrane to meet with program students and AUI staff.

• AMIDEAST will arrange homestays with Moroccan families in the Rabat area for students who are not invited to families of AUI students for Moroccan holidays such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

• Visiting students are fully integrated into the social, academic, and cultural life of AUI, and they are able to make strong and lasting connections with their Moroccan peers.  Students will find a variety of cross-cultural learning opportunities on campus.  AUI has a full range of student clubs, all of which are open to AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program students; they include sports, artistic, cultural, and academic groups.  The university also sponsors numerous activities each week.  Community service is required of all matriculated undergraduates at AUI; therefore, such opportunities are widely available to AMIDEAST students as well.

Visas and Immigration
American citizens must present a valid passport, but they are not required to obtain a visa prior to travelling to Morocco.  Citizens of other countries should check with AMIDEAST during the application process to ascertain whether they face different visa requirements.  Once at AUI, all students must obtain residency permits; the necessary documents will be handed out and completed during orientation.

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Program Management

The program is managed jointly by AMIDEAST/Morocco in conjunction with AMIDEAST headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Al-Akhawayn University. AMIDEAST works collaboratively with AUI’s Office of International Programs to manage many elements of the program, including the on-site orientation, planning of special events and extra-curricular activities.   AUI manages the academic aspects of the program during the semester, while AMIDEAST/Morocco coordinates the pre-session language and culture course. Finally, AMIDEAST/Morocco, working together with AUI, provides comprehensive support to both participants and administrators in the event of any problems or unusual circumstances.

America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST) was founded in 1951.  It has field offices in 23 cities in 14 countries in the region, giving it a well-developed infrastructure, capacity, and institutional record of successful exchange programs rooted in more than five decades of in-region experience administering scholarships and exchanges on behalf of U.S. and Arab governments, private companies, and individuals.

Since 1979, AMIDEAST has been providing quality educational services in Morocco. With offices in Rabat and Casablanca, AMIDEAST reaches thousands of students and professionals annually through English and Arabic language courses, academic advising, standardized testing, and cultural exchange programs. AMIDEAST/Morocco has designed and administered numerous programs for youth, undergraduates, and educators, and has arranged homestays, transportation, excursions, community service, language training, professional meetings, and lectures for groups of American students.

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Apply Now

Eligible applicants:

• Have completed at least one year of post-secondary study at an accredited college or university
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale); however, applications will be considered holistically
• Are physically and emotionally prepared to spend four months in Morocco
• Are willing to adapt to a new, potentially challenging environment

Application Deadline: Applications are accepted and considered on a rolling basis until the program is filled. We urge you to complete your application as soon as possible, as well as contact an AMIDEAST staff member prior to submission. Applicants will be notified of admission decisions by the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World Admissions Committee within two weeks of completion of their full application.

• October 15, 2010– Application deadline for spring 2011

for the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the
Arab World on-line application.

For more information contact:
AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Morocco
1730 M Street, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 776-9640
Fax: (202) 776-7040
Email: MoroccoStudy@amideast.org

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Costs

Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 Fees:

Estimated Personal Expenses:

Tuition and fees include:

• Enrollment in up to 15 credits at AUI
• All-inclusive three-week pre-session
• Housing in a double room in a student residence hall
• Meal plan at AUI
• Program-organized excursions
• Supplementary lectures and special events
• Medical insurance, including medical evacuation and repatriation, and political and security evacuation coverage

Tuition and fees are subject to change.

Tuition and Fees do NOT cover:

• International airfare
• Local personal transportation
• Communication and other personal expenses

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