Montana State University
 

Morocco: Sustainable Community Development-2012

Country:      MOROCCO  

Project Coordinates:   31◦ 50’ 16.90” N, 6◦ 06’ 38.72” W

Dates:   May 10 - June 14, 2012

 Language: English                                                                                                           

Level(s): Graduate and Undergraduate

Prerequisites: 2.5 GPA,  Instructor consent via interview process

Courses:

Architecture- Arch 471 or Arch 525 (6 credits)

Health and Education- ICS 491, ICS 404 ( 6 credits)

Education Leadership (Graduate):  EDLD 592 (6 credits)

     

Cost: $4,900 (excludes airfare- covers all expenses from pick up at the Marrakech airport on May 10 to drop off at the Marrakech airport on June 14.)

 

Funding Sources: Follow this link to find sources to help finance your study abroad trip

 

Academic Program:

The Morocco: Sustainable Community Development program is an international service learning program that offers university students in the fields of architecture, education, and health the opportunity to participate in ongoing community development projects in the rural communities of the Zawiya Ahansal region in the Central High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  The program is accredited through Montana State University and is partnered with the Atlas Cultural Foundation (ACF), a non-profit organization with the mission of helping underserved Moroccans, especially women and children, improve their quality of life, through locally determined development projects in the fields of cultural preservation, community education, and rural health.

Students will work with ACF and their education partner the Iqra Fund (iqrafund.org) to assist with community development projects, conduct needs assessments of the local communities, interact with local and regional governmental and community officials, and complete their own special projects, in addition to living and learning with the local community.

The program offers a five-week international experience for graduate and undergraduate students to travel to rural Morocco accompanied by Montana State University professors and live and work in a small community.  The student work will directly benefit the ACF Igherm Restoration Project, Iqra Fund-ACF Community Education and Literacy Program, and the Iqra Fund-ACF Community Health and Midwife Training Program.

The foundation of the program is a real world experience of living, working, and learning in a rural Moroccan village. Students engage in meaningful, community-identified work; are immersed in an intercultural living environment in which they engage in cross-cultural dialogue; observe, study, and participate in the host culture; work with faculty and professional mentors; and generally engage in a variety of formal and informal intercultural exchanges. These experiences are then reflected upon in direct and indirect methods with peers, leaders, or cultural informants. Through reflection and observation, new learning occurs and then is tested or applied in the field.

Click Here for Information Session Details

 

What to Expect:  Click here for more information

Important Dates and Timeline: Click for more information

 

Application Information and Forms: Click to access Application Instructions

 

 

Courses Offered:

ARCHITECTURE  ARCH 471

Undergrad:    Special topics (total of 6 undergraduate elective credits)

ARCHITECTURE  ARCH 525

Graduate:       Seminar/ Directed Research-Creative Activity (total of 6 graduate elective credits)

EDUCATION/HEALTH  ICS 491

Undergrad:    Special topics (3 credits)

EDUCATION/HEALTH   ICS 404

Graduate:      Seminar/Intercultural Experience (3 credits)

EDUCATION/lEADERSHIP   EDLD 592

Graduate:    Independent Research (6 credits)

 

Click here for most recent syllabus for architecture course

Click here for most recent syllabus for education, health and human development

Click here to see a tentative Itinerary for this program

 

   

Professor Bill Rea and local kids

Program Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will learn, do, and obtain the following:

Technical Skills

  • Develop technical skills in the areas of cultural preservation, community education, and rural health
  • Develop an understanding of traditional methods and techniques
  • Develop interpersonal communication and collaboration skills
  • Develop problem solving and critical thinking skills

Knowledge

  • Obtain models of alternative career development in their field
  • Participate in and gain knowledge of sustainable community development

Personal Skills

  • Increase self-awareness
  • Increase cross-cultural communication skills
  • Enhance intercultural sensitivity and understanding

Community/Global Citizen Skills

  • Develop increased civic responsibility
  • Increase global awareness
  • Increase participation in and/or knowledge of global events

 

 

   

For additional information about this program, contact: