American University students can study in Morocco in a new enclave program starting in fall 2007, AU Study Abroad representatives announced on the AU Abroad Web site.
This will be the first AU program to take place in Morocco. Centered in Rabat, Morocco's capital, the program will offer courses in anthropology and art history, as well as the economics and politics courses traditionally offered by AU abroad programs.
AU Abroad Director Sara Dumont said they chose Morocco because it has a rich mixture of African, Arab, French and Islamic influences. AU Abroad also has Arabic-focused study abroad options in Cairo, Egypt, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and until late this summer, Lebanon. Demand for Arabic-speaking study abroad programs has grown as interest in studying Arabic has grown. AU's Arabic language program began officially in 1999 with around 50 students. This year, there are almost 200 students studying Arabic at AU and proposals are in the works to add an Arabic minor, according to Jacques Nalabandian, director of the AU Language Resource Center, who also teaches an upper-level Arabic class and has worked at AU since 2001.
AU Study Abroad spent two years developing the program in Morocco.
There is no language requirement to apply, but knowledge of French is helpful, according to Dumont. Content courses will be taught in English, and students who score well on a language placement test will also be able to take content classes in French at Mohammed V University. Students participating in the program will study modern standard and colloquial Arabic.
All of the enclave teachers are Moroccans with experience teaching international students. During the program, AU students will have access to the library, computer lab and events held at the Mohammed V University.
Homestays with "ordinary working families" will be a central part of the program, Dumont said.
"It won't be an artificial experience, this is real life," she said.
Besides giving students special access and insight into Moroccan culture, Dumont said the homestay program will challenge students to adjust to different cultural norms and different forms of plumbing, because some houses in Morocco have "squat" toilets instead of "throne" toilets.
The AU program, which Dumont said will hold between eight and 25 students, will be one of only two study abroad programs in Rabat.
"You won't be tripping over Americans everywhere you go," Dumont said. "We don't want our students to be living in an expatriate bubble."
Lauren Spink, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said she will probably apply for this program. Spink said she was interested in going to Lebanon until the war this summer disrupted the program. She first heard about the Morocco program from an Arab studies professor.
Spink said she was excited about the prospect of going to Morocco because of the mix of cultural influences and the combination of tradition and modernity existing side by side.
Noelle Slaoui, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs who is from Morocco, said she was pleased that AU was starting a study abroad program in her native country.
"Since I moved here, not many people have heard of Morocco, or they're like 'Where is that again?'" she said. "Every time I mention where I'm from people jump at the chance to ask me about it. This will give people an opportunity to see how beautiful the country is."
AU Study Abroad is now accepting applications for its fall semester programs. Applications, which are accepted on a rolling basis, are due by March 15 or April 1 depending on the program. The AU Abroad Web site offers further information about the programs available.
