Montana State University
 

Morocco: Sustainable Community Development-2013

Country:      MOROCCO  

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

Dates:   May 9 - June 13, 2013

 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)

Click here for details about the ARCH course.

Intercultural Studies - ICS 491, ICS 404 (6 credits)

Click here for details about the ICS course.

 

     

Cost: $5300 (excludes airfare- covers all expenses from pick up at the Marrakech airport on May 9 to drop off at the Marrakech airport on June 13.)

 

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 the opportunity to assist 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 partners to assist with community development projects in addition to living and learning with the local community. All majors and academic levels can apply to the program.

 

The program offers a five-week international experience for undergraduate and graduate students to travel to rural Morocco accompanied by Montana State University faculty and live and work in a small community.  The student work will directly benefit ACF’s long-term programs in this region.

 

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 is then tested and 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)

INTERCULTURAL STUDIES ICS 404 AND 491

Undergrad:    Special topics (6 credits)

 

 

Click here to see a tentative Itinerary for this program

One of the Berber villages in the Upper Atlas Mountains where this program takes place

 

Program Learning Outcomes:

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

 

Technical Skills

  • Develop technical skills in such areas as 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 your field
  • Participate in and gain knowledge of sustainable community development and international non-profit management

Personal Skills

  • Increase self-awareness
  • Increase cross-cultural observational and 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: