Students in the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Amman carry a 14 to 17 credit hour course load per semester. All students enroll in Arabic and two or three other courses from offerings in Middle East and North African studies in a variety of disciplines taught in English. In addition to academic coursework, students benefit from an on-site orientation, opportunity to live with a Jordanian family, structured ways to meet local students, and organized excursions to exciting locations around Jordan. AMIDEAST prioritizes the high quality instruction of both Modern Standard Arabic and Jordanian colloquial to beginning through advanced speakers of Arabic. Students also select from a variety of English-taught courses focused on the Middle East and North Africa.
Students enrolled in AMIDEAST's Education Abroad Program in Amman will have opportunities to study fascinating Middle East topics in a program based at the AMIDEAST Center in Amman's Abdoun district. AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program courses are taught by a select group of Jordanian professors from a variety of institutions in and around Amman. These lecturers possess a strong instructional experience in English-speaking environments. All faculty members have received post-graduate degrees from North American or European universities, or have spent considerable time at English-medium institutions as students, faculty members, visiting faculty or visiting researchers.
Housing
Students enrolled in the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Amman, Jordan have a choice of living arrangements and meal plans:
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Living with a Jordanian Family – students who select this option will live with a Jordanian family that has been carefully screened by AMIDEAST/Jordan from a database of qualified applicants; families generally host two AMIDEAST students at a time. All host families are Arabic-speaking; English, however, is spoken in most of the homes.
AMIDEAST matches students with host families using a variety of criteria. While all placement preferences may not be met in every case, AMIDEAST will strive to make the best match to ensure a rewarding and pleasant living experience. In the event of a problem, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program staff members will be available either to mediate or to arrange a new host family placement. Students living with host families will be provided with all meals by their host families but may find that some days it is not possible to return to the family for lunch because of class schedules.
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Living in a shared apartment with other students from the program. The apartments are carefully selected by AMIDEAST to be safe, comfortable and convenient to program facilities and public transportation. Students purchase or prepare meals on their own.
Electives
Students select 2 or 3 electives; options may include:
· The Arab-Israeli Relations
· Community-Based Learning
· Contemporary Islamic Thought
· Contemporary Issues in the Arab World
· Contemporary Jordanian Culture
· Environmental Issues in the Middle East
· Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
· Traditional Islamic Arts
· Women and Society in the Arab World
The Qasid Arabic Institute is the partner for AMIDEAST's Education Abroad Program in Amman.
The Qasid Arabic Institute has developed a reputation as one of the leading programs in the Middle East for Arabic language learning. Its comprehensive curriculum begins with the proper pronunciation of Arabic letters and continues through to a high degree of proficiency. As the Qasid Arabic Institute's reputation has grown, its programs have made it the program of choice in Amman for embassies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and U.S. colleges and universities seeking excellence in Arabic language instruction. In 2008 and 2009 it hosted the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Summer Intensive Institute in Jordan. Though its programs are designed mainly for university-level students and busy professionals, Qasid students range in age from 15 to 65. They include embassy and consular officers, Fulbright researchers, full-time mothers, medical doctors, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship recipients, and Ivy League graduates.
Orientation
Upon arrival in Amman, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program students participate in an in-depth, week-long orientation designed to introduce them to Jordanian culture and daily life and familiarize them with program logistics of the program. Students stay in a hotel in Amman during orientation, and move to their accommodation for the semester at the end of the first week. The orientation combines structured informational sessions with organized activities and free time to familiarize participants with Amman. Topics such as safety and health, Jordanian family life, cultural adaptation, program regulations, participant responsibilities and other essential information are all discussed during orientation. During the on-site orientation students also meet their professors, take language placement tests, and become familiar with the program's IT environment.
Excursions
AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Amman, Jordan students participate in three program-organized excursions outside of Amman to visit major points of interest. The excursions are coordinated by AMIDEAST/Jordan in conjunction with the program's academic staff and are led by a member of the faculty. Organized activities are combined with limited free time, allowing students to explore independently within a safe and structured framework. Among the sites visited may be
- Petra, the ancient Nabatean city in the south, and Wadi Rum
- Biblical Jordan – Madaba, Bethany, Mt. Nebo, and the Dead Sea
- Northern Jordan – Jerash, Ajlun Reserve, Ajlun Castle, Um Qais
Transcripts
Students in Jordan receive an AMIDEAST grade report which indicates letter grades and credit received. One grade report will be sent to your university and one will remain at the AMIDEAST office in Washington, D.C. Alternatively, students in Jordan can request (for an additional fee) a transcript issued by AMIDEAST's Institution of Record, Northeastern University.
