Summer Study Abroad in
Morocco:
Islam, Islamic Culture, Arabic, and Intercultural Dialogue in Morocco
With an Intensive Arabic Option:
A Summer (Maymester)
Study Abroad Travel Program for 2013
of the University of Georgia
Under the auspices of the UGA
Office of International Education
Application and Information for Maymester 2013
UGA Morocco Program at the Hasan II mosque in Casablanca
Click here for
scenes from the first half of the 2007 UGA-Morocco program
Marrakech, Tinmal, Agmat, the Sahara
Click here for
scenes from the first half of the 2006 UGA-Morocco program
Urieka Valley, Gnawa Master
Performance, Wad D'ra, Tamagrout,
Ait Ben Hadou
Click here for
scenes from the second half of the 2006 UGA-Morocco program
Mosque of King Hasan II (Casablanca); Casbah of Oudaiya, Tour Hassan, Salee (Rabat-Salee), Fes, Azrou
Pictures
from the UGA-Morocco Program, Maymester 2004 (click on the thumbnail
pictures to enlarge them
The 2013 program will be from Sunday, May 12,
until Friday, June 7.
The new deadline for applications is February 15. If the program fills up, subsequent applicants will be put on a waiting list. Late applications will be considered until March 15 or until all spaces are filled, whichever comes first.
We are now taking applications for the 2013 program. Scroll down for more information. Students from all universites and any nation (as well as the interested public) are encouraged to apply. In the past, in addition to UGA students, we have had students from universities such as Duke, Cornell, NYU, George Washinton University, University of Akron, Auburn, and Georgia State University, Valdosta State University, as well as from Ireland and Malaysia.
The Composite Student Journal of the 2001 UGA Morocco Program
Pictures from the UGA Morocco Summer / Maymester Program of 2001 (To see the pictures, click on the links)
Glimpses of the First UGA-Morocco Maymester Program
Morocco has been an exception to the political unrest in the Middle East. Understand the possible reasons by reading the article The Moroccan Exception to the Unrest in the Middle East.
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Moroccan and UGA participants in the Intercultural Dialogue program.
UGA Maymester
in Morocco 2013
Overview of the Program
Nature and Purpose
Description of the Academic Component
Intensive Arabic Option
Students and Faculty
Costs
Questions About Costs
Applying
Homestays
Special Dietary Needs
Program Affiliations
Post-Acceptance Documents
Security and Travel Arrangements
Trip Cancellation and Refund Policies
Contacting the Directors in Morocco after the Beginning of
the Program
Overview
of the Program
Dates:
Sunday May 12-Friday June 7, 2013
Location:
Marrakech,
Morocco
Dr Godlas is the Administrative Director. Questions concerning your
application should be addressed to him at godlas@uga.edu
His mailing address, where you should mail your program application is as
follows:
Dr. Godlas-UGA/Morocco Program
Dept. of Religion
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1625
Dr. Ken Honerkamp (web page
is the Director in charge of program content. Please address questions about
the content of the program to him by email: hnrkmp@uga.edu
), and by phone at 706-542-1727 at the Religion
Dept., University of Georgia
Credit hours: nine undergraduate
hours.
Costs for 2013 (in brief, see below for greater detail):
· $4200 program fee NOT including airfare and tuition.
· $2600, estimated student fees & Georgia resident tuition (subject to change) varies from year to year depending on the Bursar's Office and on when one entered UGA, so see below under Costs for more details for tuition and airfare; although for Georgia residents who have a HOPE scholarship, the HOPE scholarship largely covers tuition if you make the arrangements with your financial aid office to have it apply your HOPE to our UGA summer program tuition).
· Roundtrip airfare to Marrakech (plus one-night in a hotel in Madrid on June 6, paid by each student separately from the ticket and reserved individually, because we arrive from Marrakech after the last Delta flight leaves from Madrid to Atlanta) will tentatively total $1600.
Very important note: You will buy your ticket individually after you have been accepted into the program. Many airlines randomly demand (when you get to the ticket counter at the airport and are about to check in) that you present the credit card used to originally buy your ticket. Hence, if your parents buy your ticket for you, one of them should come to the airport with you with the credit card that was used to buy the ticket. If you buy your ticket with your credit card, make sure that you bring that credit card to the airport with you when you are checking in.
See below for more details and for students who are not Georgia residents.
Participants: Undergraduate students enrolled in any university and the interested public. A limited number of graduate students may be able to go, but priority is given to undergraduates.
To get a sense of the schedule of
the program, see the Itinerary
for 2001 and the Itinerary for
2004. Note that in addition to starting and ending on different dates, the
itinerary for 2013 may be different in some ways from previous trips.
Nature
and purpose of the program
The
overall aim of the course is to introduce students to an in-depth and
first-hand understanding of Islam and Islamic culture in Morocco, in particular
to Sufism (which is currently undergoing a revival in Morocco), Moroccan
Islamic music, and Moroccan architectural art. In addition, through travel
students will gain first-hand experience with both urban and rural geography:
we will visit three major cities and a variety of villages off the beaten path
as well as Moroccan mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, forests, rivers,
waterfalls, and oases. Students will become acquainted with the socio-religious
and socio-political issues that are shaping both the Islamic world and Morocco.
Other objectives are to provide students with a beginning level facility in the
speaking and comprehension of Moroccan dialectical Arabic, to give them a
formal opportunity for intercultural dialogue with Moroccan students, and to
introduce students to the concept of emotional intelligence in order to facilitate
cultural adjustment to life in Morocco.
UGA-Morocco Maymester Program Orientation Handbook Clicking on the link will download the Handbook to your computer. Or you can read the handbook online by clicking here.
Description
of the academic component
a. Credit hours: Nine upper division credit hours, all of which are required.
b. Contact hours: 135 hours, Seven days a week, 9 am until 1 pm and 7 two hour dialogue sessions when not travelling; and additional hours when travelling.
c. Course titles and numbers:
--Islam and Islamic Culture in Morocco--RELI 4310, 4 credit hours (60 contact
hours) -- No prerequisites;
-- Moroccan Dialectical Arabic-- ARAB 4000, 4 credit hours-- No prerequisites.
-- Introduction to Intercultural Dialogue-- RELI 4311, 1 credit hour -- No
prerequisites.
d. Examples of the course-related activities/excursions outside the classroom:
· Guided historical tour of the "old city" of Marrakech and its
monuments;
· Trip to the
southeastern region of Morocco: to Tamagrout at the edge of the Sahara by way of the Draa River Valley, including visits to the Nasiri Zawiya, formerly one of
the most important centers of Moroccan religious culture, to a well-preserved Casbah, and to the Tinfou
Dunes;
· Day trip to Tinmal,
a fortified medieval mosque and center for the Almohad
dynasty.
· Concert of Moroccan Gnaoua music with Ustad Brahim (with whom Led Zeppelin recorded); Private Inshad performance by Ustad Bennis and ensemble; sometimes Sufi dhikr
performances (depending upon when the Fes Sacred Music Festival is scheduled),
and
· Tour of the architectural monuments and traditional crafts of
the "old city" of Fes,
assisted by a teacher who has a working knowledge of these crafts.
· See the linked course syllabi for detailed descriptions
Islam and Islamic
Culture in Morocco--RELI4310
Moroccan Dialectical
Arabic-- ARAB 4000
Intercultural
Dialogue--RELI 4311
Intensive
Arabic Option
Optionally,
students wishing to complete in six weeks an entire year of intensive Modern
Standard Arabic (fus'ha), taking Beginning
ARABIC 1001-2, Intermediate ARABIC 2003-4, or Advanced ARABIC 3005-6) (and to
obtain UGA credit for these classes) can plan to stay on in Morocco (after the
end of our Maymester Program). The dates for these
intensives will tentatively be Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 28 (session
one): and Monday, July 1st to Friday, July 19th (session two). Application for
the Arabic Intensive Options: For more details on this option (including
tuition fees and registration) and in order to apply, click on and download the Application for
the Intensive Arabic Option in Marrakech, and then fill in and email it to Dr. Godlas (per the
instructions
on the application). The
tuition for
the first year equivalent of Arabic is $1600 and the second and third year equivalencies is $1400. If you are planning on choosing the Arabic Intensive
Option, please inform Dr. Godlas by email ( godlas@uga.edu
). Note that the application processes and forms for the Intensive Arabic
Option, on the one hand, and for the UGA-Maymester
program in Marrakech, on the other hand, are two different processes involving
two different forms. Note: Students who take the Intensive Arabic Option (IAO)
should expect to spend about $180 per week on rent, food, and general living
expenses (not including souvenirs) during the IAO. See a breakdown of
these non-tuition IAO expenses.
Students
and faculty
Students: 12-22 students from the University
of Georgia, other universities, and the interested public. (Although the vast
majority of our participants are typical college-age students, we have had
"non-traditional" (i.e., "older") students in their
thirties, forties, and fifties.)
Faculty: 2 full-time faculty members (Dr. Kenneth Honerkamp, an
Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, Department of Religion, is
the director in charge of program content. He spent 20 years in Morocco as a
student and teacher. See Dr. Honerkamp's website for a more complete biography. Dr.
Alan Godlas, also an Associate Professor of the University Georgia Department
of Religion, is the administrative director; he has travelled, lived, studied,
and worked in various countries of the Muslim world, including Morocco. See Dr. Godlas' biography as well
as his Webby nominated-website for more
information about him. Both Dr. Honerkamp and Dr. Godlas will be the on-site
directors of the program in Morocco. They are specialists in Islamic Studies
and Arabic and have particular expertise in Sufism. They will be assisted in
Morocco by one native speaking Moroccan language instructor; local experts in
various subjects such as women, Sufism, music, and art and architecture; and
one on-site administrative and program assistant: Mr. Michael Fitzgerald,
Director of the Center for Language and Culture in Marrakech. .
Costs
Cost per each student includes the following: a) program
fee; b)tuition; c)airfare
Note that the program fee includes the cost of classes, internet and computer access, meals, accommodations, group activities, and transportation within Morocco. Students, however, will also need to budget for individualized expenses while in Morocco. See below for "Answers to Questions about Costs" for more about this.
Costs for students who are either currently attending a UGA system school or who are residents of Georgia:
A) Total Program fee: $4200 paid to the UGA Bursar's offfice (either online at https://studentacct.uga.edu/PCSA/index.jsp, with VISA, Master Card, or Discover card, or in-person); this does NOT include airfare to and from Morocco and does not include tuition. The full amount of this program fee must be paid to the UGA Bursar's Office (either online by credit card or by check payable to "University of Georgia", with the last four digits of your student ID) by March 1 (for those who have been accepted by that date) or immediately after Dr. Godlas has informed you that you have been accepted into the program if you have applied late.
B) Tuition estimate:
(payable online https://studentacct.uga.edu/PCSA/index.jsp,to
the UGA Bursar's office or in person at the UGA Bursar's office) for 9 credit
hours (the exact amount will be known only after the amount is set by the Bursar's
office, usually at the beginning of the spring semester):
Tuition for undergrads who entered the University System of Georgia after
Spring 2009: $2187 ($243/credit for 9 credit hours) to this UGA adds on a $450
institution fee and a $23 tech fee).
For students on HOPE scholarships, HOPE will cover this or a high percentage of it. UGA students should contact the financial aid office for more information. Call (706) 542-6147, press 1 after the automated message begins and ask to speak with a counselor). The tuition amount may vary slightly for UGA students not in the Franklin College of Arts of Sciences. This is paid when registering for classes on Oasis (whenever your OASIS date occurs).
Note that for residents of Georgia with HOPE scholarships, tuition will in
many cases be paid directly by HOPE when registering for the classes; but check
with the Financial Aid Office about this. Students not on HOPE scholarships
must pay the tuition when registering for the Maymester
classes online on OASIS. Students can also pay TUITION by check at Bursar's
office (phone: 706-542-1625) of the university, where tuition can normally
paid.
UGA students who are currently receiving other forms of financial aid such as Pell Grants may possibly be able to use this aid to cover certain costs of UGA-Morocco Maymester program. To enquire about this, please call Mr. Robert Tucker in the Financial Aid Office at (706) 542-6147 and press #1.
For NON-UGA students who are regular students at another USG institution,
your HOPE scholarship will cover your tuition for the UGA Morocco program if
you take the following steps:
(1) you must contact an advisor in your Financial Aid office while you are
applying for this UGA study abroad program, informing him/her of your desire to
have HOPE applied to your UGA study abroad tuition.
(2) In your application you must including the following information:
Name of advisor in your Financial Aid office with whom
you have spoken______________.
Date on which you spoke with this advisor_____________________.
Direct phone number (plus extension, if any) of this
advisor___________________.
Fax number of this advisor____________________.
Email address of this advisor_________________.
(3) Then immediately after being accepted into the UGA study abroad program,
you must inform the advisor of your acceptance so he/she can arrange for your
HOPE to cover your UGA study abroad tuition.
(4) Then following this second conversation of yours with your Financial Aid
advisor, you must email Dr. Godlas at godlas@uga.edu ,
informing him of your recent conversation with your financial aid advisor.
For Georgia residents who are non-UGA students and who wish to apply your HOPE
scholarship to the tuition, your application will not be complete without the
above information.
C) Airfare: Students must purchase their own tickets to and from Marrakech. By March 15, Dr. Godlas will email participants instructions about purchasing airline tickets (plus one-night in a hotel in Madrid on June 6, paid by each student separately from the ticket and reserved individually, because we arrive from Marrakech after the last Delta flight leaves from Madrid to Atlanta). Currently tickets and the hotel room in Madrid comes to a total of $1600.
Costs for non-Georgia residents not attending a school in the University System of Georgia
Students who do not attend a school in the University System of Georgia (or
not in the SEC) and who are not Georgia residents are called Transient
Students and must pay two additional costs:
(1) $60 covering the cost of processing of the Transient Student application.
(See "Applying" in the table of contents for more information about
the Transient Student application.) The only way to pay this seems to be by
check or money order sent to the following address:
Undergraduate Admissions Office
(Transient Student Admissions)
Terrell Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia 30602-1633
Do not forget to indicate your name and "Morocco Maymester
Program, Transient Studient application fee," on
the check.
(2) $250 "non-Georgia resident" fee, for which you will be billed by
the UGA Bursar's office and which that office will add to the tuition.
These additional costs and the process for applying as a "transient
student" are explained at Applying as an Undergrad
Transient Student ( http://www.uga.edu/oie/sa_transient_under.htm ) If you are a transient student, please carefully follow each
of the steps described at this url.
Answers
to Questions About
Costs and Payments concerning the Maymester Program
(not the Intensive Arabic Option)
a. What is covered by the program fee and tuition? Covered by the student
program fee and tuition are the following: All living accommodations (both on
site and on the road), including food, homestays, and hotel costs (when outside
of Marrakech); specialist native speaker teacher of Moroccan Arabic; lectures
by local experts in women, Sufism, music, art and architecture; also included
are costs of cultural performances, classroom building use, all transportation
(excluding free days), admission to monuments, insurance, administrative costs
and supplies, salaries of all faculty and guest speakers.
b. What other expenses might be incurred by the student? Laundry, souveniers, postage,
entertainment. How much can a student expect to spend on a weekly basis
for these other expenses? $100 per week.
c. When are the fees due? The
new deadline for applications is February 15, 2013. (If
the
programs fills up before then, subsequent applicants will be put on a waiting
list. (Late applications will be considered until March 15 or until all
spaces are filled, whichever comes first.) The program fee of $4200 must be
paid to the Bursar's office by March 1, 2013 (for
all who have been accepted by this date). Exceptions to these dates may be made
for late applicants if space is still available. UGA students will pay tuition
to the university when they register for the classes. UGA students must
register for the classes and pay their tuition by April 8 or later if their
registration date is later.
d. Can the payments all be made in one check? No. The
University of Georgia's accounting system requires that separate checks be
written and made payable as indicated under the description for each check.
e. Can a credit card be used? Yes. VISA, Mastercard, and Discover are accepted by the Bursar's
office.
Applying
Note:
Students enrolled in any university will be given priority, but applications
from the interested public may be considered if space is available.
Note as well that deadline for applying is February 15, 2013
although
late applications will be accepted until March 15, 2013 if space is available.
1)
Email Dr. Godlas godlas@uga.edu giving him
your usual email address and informing him that you are sending your
application
2) Fill out the linked program application
and apply immediately, since applications will be considered on a
"first come, first served" basis. Make certain that you provide a
phone number where you can be reached, especially one where we can reach you
during the last few days before our flight leaves, just in case there are last
minute changes. The url for
the application at the above link is
http://www.uga.edu/islam/morocco/application.pdf
3) Visas and Passports
No visas to Morocco for American passport holders are needed. If you are not an
American citizen, however, you will need to inquire from the Moroccan embassy
in Washington, D.C. or check the Moroccan consulate's webpage
to see if Morocco requires that citizens of your country obtain a visa.
If you do not have a valid passport (that will
continue to be valid until June 10), you should obtain one immediately, because
there may be a backlog of applicants and a long time-delay when you apply.
4)For All Non-UGA Students: Transient
Student Application In addition to submitting our program's application available through
this website, all non-UGA students (even if you are students at other schools
in Georgia) must submit a Transient Student Application to the
University of Georgia. It is essential that students at non-UGA and non-Georgia
System schools carefully follow the Instructions for Transient
Student Applicants. Please email Dr. Godlas as soon as you have completed
your transient student application and paid the $60 transient student
application fee. Also, at the "Instructions for Transient Students"
you will see the url for
various health related information and immunizations, www.uhs.uga.edu/appts_forms/open_comm.html
. These will take some time to fill out, because you will need to go to your
physician and get your immunizations certified or get new immunizations. After
you have faxed these into the UGA Health Center (706-542-4959 or
706-583-0777), please
email Dr. Godlas, informing him of this. You will not be able to register for
classes, until these have been received by the UGA Health Center and until the
UGA Health Center has cleared you for registration.
Homestays
Students
stay with Moroccan families when we are in Marrakech. See our information sheet on
homestays.
Special Dietary Needs
Special
dietary needs and food allergies cannot always be accommodated while
travelling. Therefore, if you have such needs and still desire to participate
in the program, while travelling be prepared to eat simple meals. For example,
if you are a vegan, it will be a good idea, when we are travelling, for you to
go the Moroccan markets (before we leave) and stock up on foods that you can
take with you and eat. Fortunately for vegans and vegetarians, dried fruits and
nuts as well as fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful.
Program affiliations
The
program is affiliated with the Center
for Language and Culture of Marrakech, directed by Michael Fitzgerald
Post-acceptance Documents
If
you have been accepted into the program, click on the following link, download
the MS Word documents linked on that document, and follow the instructions
there: Post-acceptance
instructions
On the "agreement of participation" found
at the previous link, you will be instructed to read the itinerary (which you
will be emailed shortly after April 2; you can find previous year's itineraries
at the beginning of this page) and read the Consular
Information Sheet published by US Embassy in Morocco. We have linked it
here for your convenience.
Note that among the post-acceptance documents that
you must fill out and bring in, send in, fax in, or scan and email are the
following three forms:
·
"Confidential health record,"
·
"Agreement for Participation," and
the
·
"Release, Waiver of Liability and
Covenant Not to Sue."
The latter two forms require your signature, hence
you cannot simply email them to Dr. Godlas unless you fill them out, sign them,
digitally scan them, and then email them. Consequently, you must either send in these two, fax them in (706-542-6724), or
scan and email them. Signing and submitting them is mandatory. Unless you sign
them and they are received by Dr. Godlas, the University of Georgia will not
permit you to participate in the program. Of course not signing them will not
subject you to any adverse (i.e. punitive) actions such as prohibiting you from
taking other classes at UGA, withdrawing financial aid, etc.
Security and travel
arrangements
· a.
Insurance: Students will use the UGA Study
Abroad insurance policy at a cost of $1/day per student. This is included in the
program fee and is contracted with T.W. Lord, Inc., the company that U.G.A.
contracts. Students staying for the Intensive Arabic Program will be billed and additional $44
for supplementary insurance. Maymester.
· b. Emergency contact list.
· c. Post
Acceptance Documents: After acceptance into the program, all students must download, sign,
and mail in the forms (to Dr. Godlas at his address listed above) accessed at
the following link Post-Acceptance
Documents Note that the tentative itinerary noted on the program agreement
and waiver will be emailed to students after March 8.
· d.
Travel arrangements:
· e.
Local transportation arrangements in Morocco:
All Moroccan group travel is by chartered
van. Outside of Marrakech various hotels will be stayed in.
·
f.
Local housing and meal arrangements: Homestays and meals are arranged by our affiliated
institution, The Center for Language and Culture in Marrakech. We will attempt
to honor requests such as a homestay with a primarily Arabic speaking family
or, on the other hand, a family that has at least one or more English speakers,
for example. The sooner such requests are made, the more likely they will be
able to be accommodated.
Trip Cancellation and Refund
Policies
a.
Date by which the program will be cancelled if there are an insufficient
numbers of students: April 9, 2013. (On occasion we have taken the maximum
number of students and have had to turn away some.)
b.
Refund information: Full refunds will be given
if the program is cancelled. In the event of student cancellation after the
program fee has been paid, if no replacement student can be found, $600 will be
refunded.
Destination Details and
Contact Numbers and Addresses in Morocco
Information about how to
contact the directors in Morocco
While in Morocco, Dr. Godlas, the administrative director,
can be reached at godlas@uga.edu.
Dr. Honerkamp can be reached at hnrkmp@uga.edu .
Informative Websites
