Highlights

Live and study in Morocco's capital.
The program is based in Rabat. Most classes will be held at the Center for Cross Cultural Learning--SIT's in-country partner--located in a 19th-century Moorish-style Riad in the city's historic medina. The Center is situated near important cultural sites, including the 12th-century Kasbah Oudayas and the Ville Nouvelle, established by the French colonial administration in the early 1900s. Some lectures will take place at the Higher Institute of Information and Communication, at the Mohammed V University campus.

The city's forthcoming tramway is expected to make transportation in the city smoother and more fluid, helping students more easily execute reporting assignments, as well as explore different neighborhoods, such as Madinat al Irfane. For much of their time in Rabat, students will live with a working or middle class Moroccan family. Learn more about the program's homestays.

Advance your journalism and intercultural communication skills. The program is designed to help students better understand:

* The main challenges affecting the practice of journalism in Morocco and North Africa;
* The dominant issues in Moroccan society, such as youth culture and (un)employment, gender and power, identity and ethnicity, urban-rural divisions, and mass and social media;
* How to produce original journalism that demonstrates an awareness of and respect for local value systems and ethical standards;
* How Arabic or French (depending on the student's course selection) functions in Moroccan culture;
* How to formulate an original, well-researched feature story of interest to a global audience.

Learn from a diversity of in-country resources and partners. Lecturers will include experts from the following institutions:

Round Earth Media, a nonprofit media organization, based in the United States, that works with experienced and early-career journalists to unearth stirring, life-changing stories in under-reported areas of the world. These stories find a global audience in many of the world's most prestigious media outlets.

* Higher Institute of Information and Communication, Morocco's only public school for journalism.
* Research Group on Migration and Culture, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Mohammed V University
* National Council for Human Rights
* Ecole Superieure de Journalisme et de Communication (Higher Institute of Journalism and Communication), owned by Ecomédias Press group
* Students will likely be able to draw from these resources to advance their learning throughout the semester.

Craft an original, feature-length story for a global audience.
Students will spend part of the semester researching and executing a story topic of their choosing under the expert guidance of journalists from Morocco and Round Earth Media. Outstanding features may ultimately be considered for publication (in print, broadcast, or online) in Round Earth Media news outlets in the United States and/or Morocco.

Sample topic areas for the Independent Study in Journalism include:

* Social change and youth movements
* The role of self-taught art and global circulation
* Women's health issues in rural Morocco
* Alternative energies and sustainable development
* Music festivals as political statements
* Local farm issues, such as the impact of the Morocco-US free trade agreement
* Indigenization of global cultural commodities
* Media and the democratization of the political process

Gain new competencies in Arabic or French.
Students will take either Modern Standard Arabic (at the beginning or intermediate level), or French or Arabic (at the intermediate high or advanced level). Students who enter the program with intermediate high or advanced skills in French or Arabic will be encouraged to produce reporting in French or Arabic. (Although Arabic is Morocco's official language, French is primarily used in business and government settings.)

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$:

contact provider

Cost Includes:

Cost Include Description:

SIT Study Abroad program fees include all courses, educational excursions, health insurance, and full room and board (all meals and accommodation) for the entire program period. Fees and additional expenses are based on all known circumstances at the time of calculation. Due to the unique nature of our programs and the economics of host countries, SIT reserves the right to change its fees or additional expenses without notice.

Credit Available

no

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participant.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel to Morocco

Independently

Application Process Involves

• Essay
• Letters of Reference
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Transcript

Typically The Application Process Time is

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad

SIT Study Abroad's Mission Statement

A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad, SIT offers semester, summer, and academic year programs for undergraduate students in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations.

Programs focus on critical global issues in specific geographical and cultural contexts using an interdisciplinary approach. Studying with host country faculty and living with families, students gain a deep appreciation for local cultures and become immersed in diverse topics ranging from the politics of identity to post-conflict transformation, from global health to environmental policy. 

Year Founded

1932