SIT Study Abroad Logo

Morocco

Migration Practices and Impacts on North Africa and Europe

Explore the experiences of migrant communities in Morocco and the Netherlands and how migration policies affect their lives.

At a Glance

Credits

16

Prerequisites

None

Language of Study

Arabic

Courses taught in

English

Dates

Sep 7 – Dec 20

Program Countries

Morocco

Program Excursion Countries

Netherlands

Program Base

Rabat

Visa

Varies

Critical Global Issue of Study

Identity & Human Resilience

Overview

Why study abroad in Morocco?

In a globalized world, it’s important to understand the complex drivers of migration, the policies that govern human mobility, and how human rights are key to fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. International migration is at the top of the global policy agenda with an understanding that migration can bring economic, social, and cultural benefits, and yet proponents of nationalistic political movements argue that the challenges posed by documented and undocumented migration outweigh these benefits.

This program explores the interconnectedness of these issues in the context of Moroccan and Sub-Saharan migrations to the European Union through the analysis of the experiences of the migrants themselves, the challenges they face, the policies that affect their lives, and the impact of migration on Morocco’s development. Students examine the global governance of migration through issues of poverty, climate change, integration, and the human rights of migrants. The program allows students to put forward scenarios and solutions to the challenges of current and future migration trends in Morocco, sub-Saharan Africa, and the EU.

Excursions to Agadir and Tiznit in the south inform the nexus of issues that complicate and intersect with migration, from climate change to poverty to local development. Visits to migration networks in Tangier, Tetuán, and the Spanish enclave Ceuta in the north provide insights into the lived realities of migrant communities, and a nuanced understanding of attempts to achieve social justice on local, regional, and global scales. An excursion to the Netherlands provides a comprehensive understanding of migration politics, integration, and social justice in the EU.

Highlights

  • Study the challenges of migration and policy solutions being implemented and put forward in Morocco and the European Union.
  • Complete a five-week internship with an organization working in migration or a related field, or work on an independent project on a topic of your choice.
  • Visit Dutch Moroccan communities in the Netherlands to understand the everyday realities of diaspora communities.
  • Enhance your perspective on the impact of migration on development in Morocco as a sending and destination country.
  • Explore climate change as a major driver of migration through visits to Amazigh communities in southern Morocco where changing ecosystems adversely affect the population.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites; however, students with a background in French will find ample opportunity for French language practice while also learning Arabic.

program map

Excursions

Tangier-Ceuta Excursion

In the Mediterranean city of Tangiers, you will visit NGOs providing socioeconomic support for Sub-Saharan migrants, empowering migrant women, and advocating for human rights and social justice. You will also learn about humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees by civil society organizations, and collaborative relationships within a regional protection network (Groupe de Travail et de Protection – GTP).

In the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, learn about cross-border movement between Morocco and Spain, issues of undocumented migration, the externalization of borders and the extent of global injustice.

Agadir-Tiznit Excursion

In the Agadir region, you will learn about the situation of Sub-Saharan migrants working in the export-oriented agricultural sector in Ait Melloul, their resilience, and social struggles. In the Tiznit region, you will observe the impact of climate change on local ecosystems, limited local development, and sustained migration.

The Netherlands

Interact with three generations of Dutch Moroccan migrants in Amsterdam during a site visit to the NGO Al Maarif Stichting, and discuss issues of integration, identity reconstruction, and cultural resilience in the European context. You will also visit the Dutch NGO Wereldhuis, which supports undocumented migrants in the Netherlands, to learn about the political and legal framework of international migration in Europe. On a boat trip in Amsterdam run by the NGO Rederij Lampedusa, you will ride on vessels once used to smuggle people across the Mediterranean, listen to migrants share about their journeys to the Netherlands, and learn about the city’s history of welcoming and settling migrants. You will also visit the Wereldhuis and Van Gogh Museums to explore art, world cultures, and learn about efforts to decolonize museums and their educational programming.

Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.

Academics

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Articulate main theories, research methods, and ethics in migration studies.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of migration scholarship and its relevance to global development and justice.
  • Analyze the complexities of humanitarian assistance and risk management faced by migrants.
  • Integrate field-based observations into a critical analysis of societal integration and cultural representation.
  • Assess the policies and institutional practices used to address issues of poverty, equity and inclusion, and social justice.
  • Develop communicative and writing proficiency in Standard Arabic and conversational skills in Moroccan colloquial Arabic.

Read more about Program Learning Outcomes.



Coursework

Access virtual library guide.

The following syllabi are representative of this program. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.

The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.

Please expand the sections below to see detailed course information, including course codes, credits, overviews, and syllabi.


Key Topics

  • Factors driving migration in Morocco, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa
  • bullet list icon
  • The EU management of migration in the Mediterranean
  • bullet list icon
  • The resilience of African migrant communities in Morocco
  • bullet list icon
  • Migration and human rights
  • bullet list icon
  • Resettlement and identity among Moroccan migrants to the Netherlands
  • bullet list icon
  • Gender and migration

Migration Practices and Impacts on North Africa and Europe

Migration Practices and Impacts on North Africa and Europe – syllabus
(INTS3000 / 4 credits)

Morocco’s location at the junction of Africa and Europe makes it a most-favored country to explore international migration issues. Over decades, human mobilities from Sub-Saharan countries to and through Morocco have strengthened due to poverty, climate change, global injustice, and lack of human rights. Transit migration in Morocco and final settlement in the European Union are two distinct yet intertwined phenomena that present alternative choices for migrants to improve their human condition.

Through a multidisciplinary approach drawing on sociology, political science, economy, and anthropology, the seminar first provides a comprehensive analysis of the structural causes of Moroccan and African migration to the European Union, including poverty, climate change, and social unrest. Then, it examines the forms of migration and indicators of socioeconomic integration in the host countries, social injustice and human resilience, remittance sending and local development, and future migration trends. The seminar engages critically with the governance of migration through the Global North economic development policy and its impact on African countries, migration and development, EU migration policy rationale, and implications for Moroccan and sub-Saharan migration, migration and co-development, world migration institutions, and the pledge for migration with a human face.

Arabic

Beginning Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB1004-1504 / 4 credits)

Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB2004-2504 / 4 credits)

Advanced Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB3004-3504 / 4 credits)

The course is designed to equip students with a proficiency level in spoken Modern Standard Arabic to engage in everyday communication. The course integrates the skills of reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. Students with prior study in Arabic will find reinforcement of Modern Standard Arabic through the media. Homestays, field excursions, and everyday interactions assist in language acquisition.

Research Methods and Ethics

Research Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)

The Research Methods and Ethics course (RME) introduces students to the conceptual and practical tools for gathering primary data and the knowledge and skills that are essential to forming constructive relationships with internship organizations and/or individuals, which are necessary for completing an academic project or internship in the cultural context of Morocco. In particular, the course enhances students’ skills at building rapport; initiating purposeful dialogue in the cultural context of Morocco; gathering, recording, and analyzing primary data; and writing a scholarly academic report or internship paper. The course also pays particular attention to U.S. higher education ethical considerations and how these could be translated within the local cultural context of Morocco. Broadly, the course introduces students to both qualitative and quantitative approaches of social science field research, which are useful for primary research and in understanding the data and research organizations use to advance their work.

The course includes lectures on qualitative methods of research in social sciences and development of a research proposal or internship proposal. Ethical considerations related to conducting research or completing an internship will be discussed. The overall aim is to help students hone their experience-based learning processes and prepare them for the development of an internship or Independent Study Project (ISP).

Independent Study Project or Internship

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 / 5 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:

  • Creating a common culture among Moroccans and Sub-Saharan Africans through Gnawa music
  • The relationship between the Kingdom of Morocco and its residents abroad: Fostering a sense of shared Moroccan identity
  • The female worker: An analysis of women residing along the Moroccan-European and U.S.- American Borderlands
  • Understanding residential segregation: Community relations and marginalization for migrants from South of the Sahara in Rabat, Morocco
  • The consequence of irregular migration on racial perceptions: Sub-Saharans in Rabat
  • Foreign aid and investment from the European Union as a mechanism of Neocolonialism and Globalization: A Moroccan case study through the lens of migration and human rights
  • Migration, healthcare system, local NGOs, Covid-19 pandemic context, accessibility, protection, perception
  • Transnational sharing economies & neoliberal urbanism: Airbnb in the city-region of Tangier
  • Youth perceptions and constructions of urban space in Morocco

Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.

OR

Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 5 credits)

This seminar consists of a five-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:

Tangier:

Rabat:

 

Housing

Rabat

For seven weeks, you will live with a host family in the historic section of Rabat. You’ll experience daily life and get a deeper understanding of the culture. You will participate in every facet of your host family’s life including mealtime, shopping, cafes, attending family events, visiting relatives, and socializing with neighbors.

The family is the center of life in Morocco. You’ll break bread with your host family twice a day as mealtimes are an integral part of the day. Spending time with your host family, you’ll become familiar with the sounds and gestures of Arabic as it is spoken in Morocco (darija).

You will have plenty of opportunities to practice Arabic and gain insight into the multiple uses of this language in real life settings.

During your five-week ISP/internship period, you may choose to continue living with your host family or receive a stipend to arrange your own accommodation.

Excursion & Orientation Accommodations

Hostels, private homes, or small hotels.

Career Paths

A diversity of students representing different colleges, universities, and majors study abroad on this program. Many of them have gone on to do amazing things that connect back to their experience abroad with SIT. Recent positions held by alumni of this program include:

  • Intern at an immigration law firm

  • Intern at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland

  • Fulbright scholars

  • Education volunteer with the Peace Corps working with a Haitian immigrant community in the Dominican Republic

  • Graduate coursework in humanitarian assistance and crisis management

Faculty & Staff

Morocco: Migration Practices and Impacts on North Africa and Europe

Et-Tibari Bouasla, PhD bio link
Et-Tibari Bouasla, PhD
Academic Director
Ahlam Baoui bio link
Ahlam Baoui
Program Assistant
Asmae El Laouzi, MA bio link
Asmae El Laouzi, MA
Arabic Instructor
Mariam Bakkali, PhD bio link
Mariam Bakkali, PhD
Founder and Director of LangZone

Discover the Possibilities

  • Cost & Scholarships

    SIT Study Abroad is committed to ensuring that international education is within reach for all students. We believe in the transformative power of immersive, intercultural experiences and are dedicated to supporting students in their educational journey.

    See All Costs
  • HEALTH, ACCESS &
    IDENTITY

    A critical step in preparing for your study abroad program is planning how you will maintain your health and wellbeing. Please review the following information carefully and contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns.

    Learn More
  • Visa
    Requirements

    Depending on your passport of origin, you may need a visa for this program. Please contact your admissions officer for more information.

6NaPWEIiPnc
  • Facebook

    SIT Study Abroad Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity
    @SitMoroccoMigrationAndTransnationalIdentity

    Facebook
  • Site visitors experience what makes SIT special

    This site visit to Morocco was specifically designed for new international education professionals to give them a better understanding of SIT’s history and values and how we provide students with unique experiential learning through rigorous and immersive academics.

    Read more