Summer Study Abroad Programs in Rabat, Morocco

My experience studying with IES Abroad in Rabat was truly life changing! The small and tightly-knit community that formed here amongst students, program staff, and faculty, as well as our loving and hospitable host families, contributed to a warm, inclusive, and welcoming environment. IES staff went above and beyond to ensure my classmates and I felt supported and safe, and enjoyed our experiences in Morocco. Navigating culture shock and language barriers became much more doable and fulfilling with the preparation IES gave us. Our classes were rigorous yet enjoyable, with many opportunities for students to expand their knowledge in fields of interest to them. Additionally, weekly cultural activities and field trips ensured that we saw many perspectives of life in our host country, while also becoming immersed in Moroccan culture. Without a doubt, I would recommend IES Rabat to any students looking for an immersive and exciting study abroad experience different from a typical exchange semester.

The staff here at CIEE Morocco are the most considerate and genuine people I have ever met. They want you to immerse yourself into the country, and even help you in the process of your own personal goals.

One of the best part of IES Abroad's program in Rabat, Morocco is how immersed you become in Morocco and its culture, even to the point where waiters will tell you in Darija that you're "100% Moroccan" by the end of your program! The courses in Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic (Darija) induce an almost exponential growth in your language abilities, while our elective courses taught in French help you with the lingua franca of this linguistically diverse country. Then, the weekly cultural activities show you the diverse identities in Morocco such as the indigenous Amazigh nations and the Sahraoui peoples through food, dress, art, and music. Our field trips take you all over the country, and even to our Spanish neighbor to show you the expansive culture and influences of the Maghreb. Finally, I also had the amazing opportunity to intern with the Moroccan Fulbright Commission during my time in Morocco, where I got to develop my interests in international education and gain some priceless professional development and experience. Overall, I found myself fully entrenched in Morocco, especially while living with my loving host family for the entire year, and now I can confidently call Rabat my home away from home.

I really enjoyed my time here! The program coordinators made it extremely easy to adjust to the program and Morocco itself. They also coordinated so many cultural activities and visits to other cities and museums, which I appreciated since it made it feel like my time was well spent.

Everyone involved in the program are truly such kinds souls and always helped whenever I needed it. The teachers offered extra tutoring hours at their own expense and the cultural peers/staff were amazing people. The program improved my language skills and educated me so much on a different culture which aids in my worldview and my ability to connect with others around the world.

The only words to describe the experience was life changing. Incredible staff, interesting course topics, and an even better host family. Adjusting is a little challenging but so so worth it. As a woman I often felt safer in Rabat than in the US. I got very close to my host family, and the other students in the program become your extended family, too. One of the fondest memories of my life.

I had a phenomenal experience and I don't want to leave at all. If at the end of a program you want to stay forever that's a wonderful bittersweet feeling that I would love other friends to experience.

The staff is friendly, flexible, and above all - passionate. Every expectation was exceeded. They are here because they want to be here, and it makes me want to be here too. I can’t wait to recommend CIEE to my friends at home.

The staff is friendly, flexible, and above all - passionate. Every expectation was exceeded. They are here because they want to be here, and it makes me want to be here too. I can't wait to recommend CIEE to my friends at home.

I had a phenomenal experience and I don't want to leave at all. If at the end of a program you want to stay forever that's a wonderful bittersweet feeling that I would love other friends to experience.

My time at IES Rabat was a quality experience, getting to live with a host family and enjoy the immersion into the culture. There was something highly rewarding about implementing my Arabic learning in a true environment. Though Rabat is at times not the most lively city, it was a good introductory city that was not very overwhelming, even given the cultural differences.

This past summer, I traveled with IES Abroad to Morocco for a seven-week intensive language program. Overall, the experience was terrific and I would highly recommend it. The biggest strength of this program is its cultural and linguistic immersion, with classes taught solely in the focus language and an important homestay and cultural activity component. Before departure, the information provided seemed a bit sparse, but upon arrival it became clear that things like homestay address were inherently difficult to provide - due to the simple reason that many of the program's homestays had no codified address. Upon arrival, the staff was very helpful with cultural integration and navigating the new locale. Academically, the language-intensive program was very beneficial. The Modern Standard professors were excellent at teaching Arabic to English-speaking learners. The homestay structure was incredibly useful for learning the language as well. Overall, I would highly recommend this program.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Boarding my flight from Paris to Rabat, I was excited and full of nervous energy. This being my first journey outside of my home country, I could hardly wait to step foot on Moroccan soil and meet my host family. Of course, some aspects of my eight-week experience worried me. For one, I didn't speak a word of Arabic. The language of sweeping letters and beautiful calligraphy was at once intriguing and daunting. Secondly, it would be the longest period of time I had spent away from my family, and with a family of a different faith than my own, during Ramadan, no less! As I entered my new home away from home, which was situated in the heart of Rabat's medina (the old part of the city) I was greeted with warm smiles and hot mint tea. It seemed we would get along just fine. Thus began my two months in the magnificent Maghreb. Morocco chewed me up and spit out a completely different person. The at times grueling, but ultimately rewarding 6 hour school days provided me with just the rigor I needed to build a solid foundation in Arabic. I found myself speaking full phrases in mere days, and when I returned to the States, I had advanced to Arabic III. The excursions I took all enlightened me in unique ways. A trip to an Amazigh village in Marrakech taught me about the native people of the region, and gave me a new appreciation for them. The whistling dunes of the Sahara reminded me of just how small I was, and to be humble in all I do. The blinding white and electric blue of Chefchaouen gave me a glimpse into heaven- and a look at how I could coexist with those around me. I always say this, but it bears repeating: The best part about Morocco is, by far, the people. Coming home to my host family every night and eating their mouth-watering cuisine (usually tajine!) was something I will never forget. This aspect of my trip was heightened during Ramadan, when, in the evening, the whole house seemed to be on the edge of their seat. In the pregnant pauses before the last call to prayer, signaling that the day's fast had ended, I learned an invaluable lesson about patience. The harira and dates we savored were manna to me, and I wasn't even fasting. In those dinners, I was also able to completely bond with the members of my family. After a while, I didn't even refer to them as my host family, only as family. On Eid, I felt a closeness that I had seldom experienced before or since. It was something I will cherish forever. The CIEE staff are incredible as well. They care so much about the students on the program, and bent over backwards for me multiple times. Between our sometimes seven hour conversations and the excursions we took together, I made what are sure to be lifelong friends. Moroccan kindness even extends to complete strangers, but who is really a stranger in Morocco? If you are willing to drink a pot of tea and have a meaningful exchange, you're as good as family. The night before I departed, I sobbed uncontrollably. My family was right there with me, my host sister embracing me and crying with me. The bonds we forged will never be broken, and we still contact one another frequently. And so I returned, with a gift the new members of my family had given me, a more advanced understanding of the Arabic language, and a light heart. I had gained compassion, kindness, an open mind, and peace. I had lost my proclivity to anger, my preconceived notions of others, and my unnecessary worry and anxiousness. My study abroad will be something I will keep with me for the rest of my life, and I will take the lessons I learned on it and apply them at home and elsewhere abroad. I could not recommend this program more.

IES Abroad Rabat, Morocco provided one of the best semesters of my college experience. One of the great things about this program was the placement with two host families – one during orientation and one for the rest of the semester. The organization chose great families and homes for us to live with. My first family had the smallest home I’d ever seen, but they were kind and so very loving; my second family had the most beautiful home I’d ever seen but the family was less talkative. It was nice to have the chance to experience two different local families. IES places you about a 30-minute walk from their school. This walk to/from school was always very exciting, as you get to experience the old medina streets full of merchants and neighboring families, and the busy Rabat streets full of taxis and buses. IES also provided amazing organized excursions and field trips. I was able to camp in the Sahara Desert, spent a night with an Amazigh family in the Middle Atlas Mountains, and explore southern Spain. However, one downfall while abroad was when I became very ill from severe food poisoning. IES Rabat directors were very helpful in getting me the help I needed (from doctors and pharmacists) but also providing comfort and support during my recovery. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, but with their help, my study abroad semester was still incredibly amazing. I never learned so much, and I wish I could do it again. The only major downfall of this program was the lack of opportunities to meet local Moroccan students. Unless you opt to take a course at one of the local universities or have contacts of your own, it's very difficult to make local friends outside of your host family.