2012-13 Tuition and Fees*

Eligible applicants:

• Are enrolled at an accredited college or university and have completed one year of post-secondary study
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale); however, applications will be considered holistically
• Are physically and emotionally prepared to spend four to nine months in Morocco.
• Are willing to adapt to a new, potentially challenging environment
  

Application Deadlines

Fall 2012 or Academic Year 2012-13            May 15, 2012

AMIDEAST - Education Abroad in Morocco

The program is managed by AMIDEAST/Morocco in conjunction with AMIDEAST headquarters in Washington, D.C.

AMIDEAST works collaboratively with Mohammed V University-Agdal to oversee the academic curriculum and implementation of the program. It also manages all logistical elements of the program, including the on-site orientation, host family placement and supervision, arrangements for optional travel excursions, and the planning of special events and extra-curricular activities. Finally, AMIDEAST provides comprehensive support to both participants and administrators in the event of any problems or unusual circumstances.

Orientation

Upon arrival in Rabat, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program students participate in an in-depth, week-long orientation designed to introduce them to Moroccan culture and daily life, and familiarize them with the logistics of the program. During orientation students also are introduced to the principles of intercultural communication. Students stay in a hotel in central Rabat during orientation, and move to their accommodation for the semester at the end of the first week. The orientation combines structured informational sessions with organized activities and free time to familiarize participants with the city of Rabat. 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.

The AMIDEAST Education Abroad partner in Rabat, Morocco, is Mohammed V University – Agdal. 

Founded in 1917 in Rabat, Mohammed V University – Agdal is Morocco's most prestigious public university. It enrolls over 25,000 students in its various schools, including over 10,000 in its College of Letters and Humanities, where the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program is focused. Its faculty includes many of Morocco's pre-eminent scholars, while its students are among the most promising in the nation.

Mohammed V University – Agdal is an international academic leader committed to the global exchange of ideas and people. In particular, it participates in a wide variety of bilateral and multilateral research initiatives, hosts visiting scholars from throughout the world, and works cooperatively with several international organizations, most notably the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The university is also home to a growing number of international students, most of them from African and Asian countries.

AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program courses in Rabat are taught by a select group of Moroccan professors from the College of Letters and Humanities as well as others from other colleges of the university and from other institutions in Rabat and elsewhere in Morocco.  Guest lectures by visiting scholars from Algeria and Tunisia will be arranged by AIMS.  All have both fluency in English and experience teaching in English. Participating faculty earned post-graduate degrees at universities in North America and Europe or have spent extended periods at English-medium institutions as students, visiting faculty or visiting researchers.

More information about Mohammed V University – Agdal can be found on its website: http://www.um5a.ac.ma/en/

The American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) was founded in 1984 to promote the study of North Africa among scholars, specialists, students, and others concerned with the region.  AIMS sponsors The Journal of North African Studies (published by Francis and Taylor); publishes a biannual newsletter; sponsors annual academic conferences in North Africa; provides funding support for students and scholars to undertake research in the region; maintains overseas research centers in Tunis, Tunisia (CEMAT), Oran, Algeria (CEMA), and Tangier, Morocco (TALIM); hosts an annual advanced summer Arabic language program in Tangier; administers a yearly dissertation workshop for doctoral students; and provides other professional services to its members.

AIMS is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), which is housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.  It is the only CAORC affiliate that administers three overseas centers, covering an entire region.

Further information about AIMS and its activities can be found on its website at http://aimsnorthafrica.org.

Dr. Amal Rassam
Dr. Amal Rassam is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.  Dr. Rassam is an Iraqi-American anthropologist whose academic career focuses on field research and teaching courses on the political culture of the Middle East, and the ethnic, religious, and tribal dynamics of Middle Eastern societies. Published works include a widely used textbook on the Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East, and a number of academic articles on gender politics, tribal organization, and minorities in the Arab world. Dr. Rassam’s research and work on development projects has taken her to a number of countries in the region, including Morocco, Iraq, Egypt and Yemen.

The core of the AMIDEAST Honors Program in North African Studies consists of two seminar style courses.

Seminar in North African Studies (3 contact hours per week; 3 credits)

This is an intensive reading seminar organized around a series of topics focusing on the contemporary Maghrib (19th–21st centuries).  Students are expected to read one book (or its equivalent) each week in English, French and/or Arabic, depending on individual student language abilities.  The seminar is coordinated by a senior American scholar of the region, selected jointly by AMIDEAST and the American Institute of Maghrib Studies (AIMS); the scholar for the 2010–2011 academic year will be Dr. Amal Rassam.  Individual sessions will be led by the senior scholar and/or scholars from the Maghrib countries when the topic is in their area of expertise.  Students will write a series of short papers on their reading as it relates to the themes addressed in seminar sessions.

Research Seminar (3 contact hours per week; 3 credits)

Students make initial research proposals as part of their application to the AMIDEAST Honors Program in North African Studies.  In the Research Seminar in North African Studies, students then refine their proposals under the guidance of the senior scholar leading the seminar (Dr. Amal Rassam in 2010–2011).  Once the proposal is finalized, program participants undertake the research, make periodic presentations to their colleagues and faculty, and produce a research paper to be published in an on-line journal produced by AMIDEAST and AIMS.   

Arabic Courses on AMIDEAST Programs

Arabic is a diglossic language.  That is, there are two varieties of Arabic, one for reading and writing and another for speaking. The textbook series used in Arabic courses in all AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World, Al Kitaab fii Taallum al Arabiyya, introduces both from the beginning to help students engage easily in their host country and learn the language as its native speakers learn it. However, in the AMIDEAST programs separate courses address two the different varieties of Arabic – Modern Standard Arabic and the local dialect.