Independent Study Project

(4 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The Independent Study Project (ISP) is a self-designed research project offering students the opportunity to undertake a personally significant and independent investigation, which highlights the regional and cultural reality that can only be encountered during a study abroad experience. The ISP is the academic component in which the student most directly applies the concepts, skills, tools, and techniques of experience-based learning articulated through the Research Methods and Ethics course and the thematic courses, while enabling students to further integrate their language skills and the contacts they have developed at the level of the international community in Rabat as well as the regional (Moroccan, North African) levels. Each student will plan, develop, and independently undertake a research project, with the advice and guidance of the Academic Director and the ISP Advisor. The topic of study may be anything of interest to the student, within the scope of the program, and is usually developed out of lectures, discussions, field visits, and educational excursions. The final project should provide material evidence of student capability in utilizing appropriate methodologies and in synthesizing experience in the host culture including the complexity of multiculturalism and human rights in Rabat. Students are expected to complete 120 hours of field-based (non-archival, non-library) research on their topic, submit a substantial written paper, and deliver an accompanying oral presentation.