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Rabat Summer - Francophone Studies

Old Medina Market in Rabat

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Overview
Quick Facts
City: 
Rabat [1]
Country: 
Morocco [2]
Program credits: 
7 credits
Language(s) of Instruction: 
French
Language prerequisites: 
Four semester of college-level French or the equivalent

As the capital of Morocco, Rabat is home to numerous NGOs, international organizations, and Morocco’s leading university, and boasts a cosmopolitan mix of European Modernism and North African and Islamic tradition. Its unique blend of cultures, religions, languages, and identities creates a perfect backdrop for studying issues in the francophone world. Rabat’s coastal location, moderate weather year-round, and blend of the old and new make it a fascinating city in which to live and study in the summer.

IES Abroad invites you to study abroad in Rabat, where, over the course of the summer, you will come to know the winding streets of Rabat's vibrant medina and the numerous cafés and boulevards of the city's modern Ville Nouvelle.

Designed for students interested in Francophone Studies, this program offers courses in Gender Studies, Migration Studies, Maghrebian Studies, and Political Science, all of which are taught in French. You are required to take a 1-credit course in Colloquial Moroccan Arabic as well.

 

Program Dates

These dates are preliminary and are subject to change. Students should not book flights according to these dates.

Academics

Our mission is simple: to provide you with the best study abroad program possible—which includes the highest quality academic and cultural experiences.

You enroll in a 1-credit course in Colloquial Moroccan Arabic and two 3-credit electives for a total of 7 credits. All area studies courses are be taught in French.

These courses will give you the opportunity to study the North African and Sub-Saharan Francophone regions and will be enhanced by your field study experience in Dakar, Senegal.

Courses

This is a list of planned course offerings. After you are accepted, you will see a list of final course offerings in your MyIESabroad account.

Field Study

IES Abroad Rabat organizes field study trips that complement what you’re learning in the classroom, and contribute to your general knowledge of Moroccan culture and society.

Housing

Homestays – Live with a Moroccan family in a homestay to experience first-hand the culture, traditions, and cuisine of Morocco with three meals per day.

 

Student Life

Part of making you feel at home in Rabat is doing our best to help you feel safe and cared for. Whether it is an orientation program that makes you feel prepared, housing that is well-located and comfortable, or field trips that take you to places off the beaten path—we’re all about our student services. This is just one of the things we’re known for.

Orientation

Upon arrival in Rabat, you participate in a three-day orientation, which includes an introducution to the IES Abroad program, the city of Rabat, and basic language instruction. During orientation, the IES Abroad staff discuss the following subjects:

  • Academics
  • Intercultural Issues
  • Housing
  • Transportation
  • Health & Safety

You take part in guided tours by Moroccan students, lectures, tours, and excursions related to the history, art, and culture of Morocco, and an introduction by IES Abroad faculty to IES Abroad courses.

Additionally, IES Abroad's Comprehensive Orientation & Re-entry Experience (CORE) begins during orientation and continues throughout the summer with activities focusing on cultural adjustment, goal achievement, and preparing for the return home.

All of these activities are designed to prepare you for living and studying in Rabat and to help you adjust to speaking Arabic every day.

Extracurricular Activities & Cultural Events

Many cultural activities are scheduled throughout the semester such as:

  • Trips to Rabat's kasbah and medina
  • Cooking and dancing classes
  • Visits to a women's association and religious school
Field Trips

Multi-Day Field Trips
Exciting multi-day trips takes you to important cultural and historic locations in Senegal and Morocco. Field trips may include:

Fez & Meknes:

  • Travel to the historic city of Fez and take a tour of its medina, which is one of the largest in the world
  • Visit the famous Fez tanneries
  • Visit the tomb of Morocco's former ruler, Moulay Ismail in Meknes, the agricultural Center of Morocco and former Moroccan Imperial City
  • Explore the ancient Roman ruins of nearby Volubilis

This trip is included in the IES Abroad program fee.

Dakar, Senegal:

  • Spend five days visiting Dakar, and exploring another part of the Francophone world.  
  • You will be hosted by the Université Cheikh Anta Diop and stay in university housing.
  • Visit key organizations that focus on Francophone Studies, Women's Rights, and Development,  
  • University faculty will offer special lectures on Francophone Literature, Islam in Senegal, and the Trajectory of African Migration.  You will also have the opportunity to debate with local university students on topics such as Islam in Senegal and Migration.  
  • Visit important sites in and around Dakar, such as an archaeological museum and Gorée Island.  

This trip is required and is included in the IES Abroad program fee.

Center

IES Abroad Rabat [3]

IES ABROAD RABAT
89, Avenue Moulay Ismail | Rabat-Hassan, Morocco

The IES Abroad Rabat Center is located within easy walking distance of the Medina and is just steps away from the Mausoleum and Hassan II Tower. Features include:

  • High-speed wireless Internet and printer access
  • Five multimedia classrooms
  • Student library and reading room
  • Outdoor patio
  • A beautiful Berber tent on the roof-top terrace
Center staff: 

Mohamed Baghdadi
IES Abroad Director
Mohamed Baghdadi is a leading Moroccan specialist on language teaching with experience in teaching and training teachers of Modern Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Berber (Tamazight), and English. He earned his B.A. in English literature from Université Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah in Fez and pursued further studies at the Moray House College of Education of the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, and the Centre Nationale de Formation des Inspecteur de l’Education Nationale where he earned a diploma for the supervision of language teachers. For more than 13 years, he served as Program and Curriculum Coordinator of The Arabic Language Institute in Fez (ALIF), the leading school of Arabic as a foreign language west of Egypt. In addition to overseeing the language program, Mohamed was responsible for orientation, student life, curricular design of area studies courses, and customized programs. His research interests focus on the interaction between the teaching of language and the teaching of culture. He has a lifelong interest in Tamazight music and culture.

IES Abroad Staff

Fatima Ezzahra Lahna
Program Assistant and Accountant 

Shaakira Raheem 
Student Affairs Coordinator 

Faculty

Salaheddine Abbadi
Arabic

Driss Adli
Literature

Fatima Amrani
Gender Studies, Sociology

Leila Bouarfa
Colloquial Moroccan Arabic

Jamila Boulima
Communications

Badia Bouslikhane
French

Khalid Chegraoui
International Relations, Political Science

Yamina El Kirat
African Studies

Elhabchi Elaasri
Arabic

Boutaina Ismaili
Economics

Khalid Chegraoui
History

Abderrahim Oulbouch
Arabic

Aziz Radi
Communications

El Mostafa Rezrazi
Political Science

Khalid Saqi
Religion

Mohammed Yacine
Arabic

Cost

Source URL: http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/programs/rabat-summer-francophone-studies

Links:
[1] http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/rabat
[2] http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/morocco
[3] http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/ies-abroad-rabat