In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:
Independent Study Project
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)
The Independent Study Project (ISP) is a self-designed research project offering students the opportunity to undertake a personally significant and independent investigation, which highlights the regional and cultural reality that can only be encountered during a study abroad experience. The ISP is the academic component in which the student most directly applies the concepts, skills, tools, and techniques of experience-based learning articulated through the Research Methods and Ethics course and the thematic course, while enabling students to further integrate their language skills and the contacts they have developed at the level of the international community in Rabat as well as the regional (Moroccan, North African) levels.
Each student will plan, develop, and independently undertake a research project with the advice and guidance of the academic director and the ISP advisor. The topic may be anything of interest to the student, within the scope of the program, and is usually developed out of lectures, discussions, field visits, and educational excursions. The final project should provide material evidence of students’ capability in utilizing appropriate methodologies and in synthesizing experiences in the host culture in Rabat. Students are expected to complete field-based (non-archival, non-library) research on their topic, submit a written paper, and/or creative project, and accompanying oral presentation. It is not uncommon for ISPs to strongly contribute to students’ choice of subject for graduate studies or professional career.
Sample ISP topic areas:
- The relationship between the Kingdom of Morocco and its residents abroad
- Consequences of irregular migration on racial perceptions
- African migrants in Morocco
- LGBT refugees in Morocco
- Migrant images in Moroccan media
- Youth and emigration
- Sub-Saharan immigrants and their integration in Moroccan society
- European immigration laws and their impact on migration trends in Morocco
- Migrant remittances and local development
- Life narratives of migrants
- Sub-Saharan migration and access to healthcare
- NGOs and the informal education of migrants in Morocco
- Migrant women’s activism in Morocco
- Intercultural mediation and migration
- European ‘expatriate’ community in Morocco
Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.
OR
Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO. The aim of the internship is to enable the student to gain valuable work experience and to enhance their skills in an international work environment. Students will complete an internship and submit a paper in which they process their learning experience on the job, analyze an issue important to the organization, and/or design a socially responsible solution to a problem identified by the organization. A focus will be on linking internship learning with the program’s critical global issue focus and overall program theme.
Sample internships:
- Working within a local NGO advocating migrants’ rights
- Teaching English to adult migrants at a local NGO
- Participating in the evaluation of migrant startups
- Cultural animation with a local NGO
- Defending women’s rights within a local NGO
- Advocacy and fundraising for a migration NGO