Location
  • Morocco
    • Meknes
Term
Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer
Need-based funding, Merit-based funding, General grants/scholarships, Payment plans, LGBTQIA+ funding, BIPOC funding
Health & Safety

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
High School Diploma
Housing
Apartment Host Family
Language
Arabic
Jun 19, 2024
Dec 21, 2015
10 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Students will take courses at the ISA Meknes Study Center, which is located in the central and dynamic district of Hamria. The study center offers exceptional academic programs taught by highly qualified local and visiting professors from around the world. Students can take courses focusing on language, politics, religion, international relations and more. Local NGOs are also based at the same facility, which offers program participants the unique opportunity to interact with organizations working to promote economic and social development in the area. Upon completion of the program, students will receive a U.S. transcript from Carroll College in Montana.

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

Our team at ISA is committed to providing exceptional support through identity-focused advising and resources for students, university partners, and ISA staff. We have developed our ISA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to help serve all students and stakeholders, particularly the needs of underrepresented student populations. Our country-specific diversity pages offer information about the societies and cultural history of ISA destinations. This information can be used to start your reflection about how your intersecting identities relate to the host community context.

LGBTQIA+ Support

Our team at ISA is committed to providing exceptional support through identity-focused advising and resources for students, university partners, and ISA staff. We have developed our ISA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to help serve all students and stakeholders. Our country-specific diversity pages offer information about the societies and cultural history of ISA destinations. This information can be used to start your reflection about how your intersecting identities relate to the host community context.

Neurodivergent Support

ISA is committed to facilitating quality programming to students with varying levels of neurodivergence. Our Health & Safety team is available to answer questions about insurance and medication, as well as provide students with materials on overseas access to support.

Accessibility Support

ISA is committed to facilitating quality programming to students with varying levels of accessibility. With our wide portfolio of program types and locations we’re confident there is a suitable and accessible program for each student. Accommodations abroad can be complex and take time, so those with accessibility needs should inform ISA of any accommodations requests as early as possible in the advising process. Please contact accessibilityteam@studiesabroad.com with questions or for more information.

Impact

Sustainability

We have partnered with Fill it Forward to engage team members and program participants in waste reduction practices. The goal is to encourage the elimination of single-use waste. Every QR code scan shows the impact of reusable bottles and unlocks a donation to environmental impact groups.

Ethical Impact

WorldStrides, a global organization, is committed to educate and serve communities worldwide. Our commitment is fueled by the passion of our team members and partners to make experiential learning accessible, while also being socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible. Together, we accomplish this by investing in initiatives to promote inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.

Program Highlights

  • Meknes is a very safe and welcoming city. It's easy to get around, and the locals are very friendly and helpful. Meknes is also a relatively inexpensive city.
  • Home to the Sahara, the world’s largest desert, Morocco has incredibly diverse landscapes
  • In Morocco, the locals speak a variety of languages including Arabic, French, and Spanish
  • From couscous to tagine, Morocco is home to savory, sweet, and sour dishes that will leave your tastebuds wanting more.
  • Morocco is known for its unique blend of Arab, Berber, Jewish, and European influences that translate into architecture, gastronomy, and lifestyle. 

Popular Programs

Meknes, Morocco

Located in dynamic district of Hamria, the ISA Meknes Study Center offers excellent academics with courses taught by local and visiting professors. Local NGOs working to promote human rights, economic, and social development operate out of the same facility. You’ll have the option to choose from a variety of course options in disciplines such as political science, Middle Eastern studies, gender studies, Arabic language, religious studies, French language, and international relations.

Program Reviews

4.90 Rating
based on 10 reviews
  • 5 rating 90%
  • 4 rating 10%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.4
  • Support 4.8
  • Fun 4.6
  • Housing 4.5
  • Safety 4.8
Showing 1 - 8 of 10 reviews
Default avatar
Greta
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best Experience In College

This was an incredible experience. I was able to travel through Morocco every weekend thanks to the structure of the program and the helpful staff. The excursions really added to the program. I went to the Sahara desert thanks to the help of the ISA staff members in planning the trip. The courses were serious, the teachers were very helpful, and I was able to learn a lot during my time in the classroom. The airport lost my luggage and had to travel to the next city to retrieve it when it arrived. One staff member was very helpful and helped me travel to Fes to retrieve my luggage. It was a program that I would recommend to an adventurous student looking for a safe experience in an Arabic speaking country.

What would you improve about this program?
This program could have been improved by giving the students a little more direction. For example, on the first day there, I was very jet lagged and tired, and the ISA staff told us to go find food for lunch. I was confused on where to go and what to order. However, I learned a lot this way, even though it was intimidating at first.
132 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Robert
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Semester Abroad in Meknes, Morocco

This was an amazing experience. The staff are incredibly helpful. The professors are knowledgeable and also understand that a lot of the learning and growth during a semester abroad take place outside of the classroom. The student housing was an amazing 9th floor apartment with a stunning view of the city. I loved living there however I wish there were more home-stays available so that I could be even more immersed in Moroccan life.
Meknes is a great city to live in. It is historically and cultural significant without the tourist traps and touts that other more visited cities have.

What would you improve about this program?
More home-stay options or living among other Moroccan students would be great.
It would be great is some of the Moroccan students who study or are proficient in English were involved in the classes.
132 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Taylor
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Peace, Love, and Travel

My experience studying abroad in Morocco has allowed me to meet others with similar passions as my own and work with locals to learn about issues that affect them on a daily basis. Using and improving my French and Arabic allowed me to make closer connections with my host family, and I was able to learn about the major religion, government, and politics within the nation from conversations with local friends and professors.

What would you improve about this program?
I only wish my program was longer so I could travel more throughout the country and further explore the different cultures and religions and how they interact with the dominant culture and social norms.
122 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Genna
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Nontraditional but worth it!

My summer semester in Meknes, Morocco was nothing short of spectacular. Morocco is an Islamic country so my family had hesitations of the safety for a young American woman. Not once did I feel unsafe. I lived in an apartment with five other girls from my program in the modern part of the city. We lived right next to three cafes and spent the evening there watching the World Cup or drinking Moroccan tea, coffee, and practicing our language with the locals. I spent a 5 weeks there volunteering at a local orphanage and created long lasting friendships with many of the kids there. I would then return back to the apartment for lunch that out house mom (she came 6 days a week and cleaned and prepared lunch and dinner). We would then go out. I spent the other six weeks taking classes at the ISA study center. It would have been incredible to take classes with locals, but the city is just not large enough to offer a variety of classes in English. I took beginning Arabic and Islamic Society and Politics. I loved my Arabic class and professor and everything I learned was reinforced everyday through living there. My professor would invite us to cafes after class, and even to his home during Ramadan. It was totally normal. My Islamic Society Professor was kind of a snob and there were people in my class with a wide knowledge base. Never having studied that before, I sometimes had to work a lot harder but my friends in class felt like everything wasn't challenging at all. We would travel all over the country on the weekends via train or grand taxi. The support staff was awesome in terms of helping us set things up that weren't included excursions. One complaint is that there was a lot wrong with out apartment. Our washing machine electrically shocked us so I hand washed my clothes for almost three months and we had a lot of plumbing issues. However I had the time of my life, discovered so much about my self, and have some incredible memories and new found friendships.

What would you improve about this program?
Going to school with locals, and maintenance issues with apartments being addressed.
124 people found this review helpful.
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Default avatar
Salwa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Meknes, Morocco

Morocco is a beautiful country. My stay in Meknes was nothing short of wonderful. Despite the occasional ups and downs of the study abroad experience, I learned and valued so many things. I am grateful to have had this experience!

What would you improve about this program?
scholarships
120 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ashley
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Meknes, Morocco!!!

The program in Morocco was great! The staff was super helpful and really friendly! The adventures around Morocco were awesome, especially going camping in the Sahara desert! That was by far the coolest thing I have ever done! There were some downsides as well. The teaching style of Moroccan professors was very relaxed and I did not learn as much as I could have. Also, if you do an elap internship be prepared to do create your own project and have little to no guidance. It was very difficult to get anything done. Overall, however, I really loved my program and think it would be a great experience for anyone who is open to different and exciting cultures!

What would you improve about this program?
I would change the quality of some teachers and the elap experience.
126 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Bre
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

ISA Morocco - A Home Away frome Home

I had a fantastic time in Morocco with ISA! All of the site staff was super helpful and fun. They welcomed us into their family and really made Morocco a second home. I am so glad thay the program was in Meknes instead of some of the other, larger cities. The classes were interesting and the excursions were great. I would highly recommend this program!

What would you improve about this program?
One of the things I felt the program was lacking in was in their advanced level of Arabic. I would have liked more class periods and with one professor. I feel like I didn't advance in my language abilities as much as I could have.
130 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
caroline
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Meknes, Morocco

Morocco is such a beautiful country with an amazing culture. My host family, the Alaouis, were fantastic and did become very much like my real family. ISA has a great program in Meknes- the city is not too big, and I feel like you get better experience because there aren't too many foreigners living in Meknes. The excursions are good too- we traveled to six or seven cities throughout Morocco.

What would you improve about this program?
I would make the program longer! I wish I was there for six months, not a little over four.
123 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers