Fulbright Morocco Welcomes New Cohort of American Grantees

Rabat – The Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE) and the U.S. Embassy in Rabat welcomed 24 American Fulbright grantees to Morocco on September 2 for the 2026-2027 academic year. 

The group began an intensive orientation in Rabat that week, with English Teaching Assistants continuing on to a dedicated training program the following week to prepare for the classroom, according to a statement by MACECE.  

As part of their welcome, the grantees gathered that evening at a networking reception at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, where they met Moroccan and American Fulbright alumni, MACECE Board members, and diplomats from the U.S. Mission. 

Their arrival came in a milestone year for both countries: 2026 marks 250 years of Moroccan-American friendship, dating back to Morocco’s recognition of U.S. independence in 1777, as well as the 80th anniversary of the Fulbright Program itself, founded in the wake of the Second World War to build understanding between nations through education.

This year’s cohort includes six Fulbright U.S. Student Researchers. Their projects range from Amazigh representation in Moroccan cinema, studied in Ouarzazate, to the experiences of French-born Muslim families relocating to Morocco, examined through fieldwork in Meknès. 

Other researchers will investigate sustainable tourism models for preserving kasbah and ksar sites in the Souss-Massa and Drâa-Tafilalet regions, the role of the calligrapher-sultan in late medieval Maghribi manuscripts, the knowledge traditions of Amazigh women in a saffron cooperative near Taliouine, and participatory AI tools for heritage reconstruction with High Atlas communities recovering from the 2023 earthquake.

Five Fulbright U.S. Scholars will teach and conduct research at Moroccan universities this year. Their work spans the Qur’an and the human senses at Université Moulay Ismaïl in Meknès, agentic AI for next-generation education at Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi in Tangier, drawing-based urban and landscape research along the Bou Regreg at the École Nationale d’Architecture in Rabat.

It also spans inclusive AI-driven physics education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Université Mohammed V in Rabat, and the digital preservation of Moroccan Jewish heritage through the Rabat Genizah Project, in partnership with Ibn Zohr University and the Museum of Moroccan Judaism.

Twelve Fulbright English Teaching Assistants will spend the year in classrooms across the country, from Salé, Casablanca, and Mohammedia to Tétouan, Fès, Oujda, El Jadida, Safi, Essaouira, Berrechid, and Ouarzazate, with two placed in Marrakech. 

Rounding out the cohort is a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching participant, an elementary educator who will spend the fall researching how Eco Schools programs can strengthen sustainability education in both rural and urban Moroccan schools.

“This new generation of American Fulbright scholars, researchers, and English Teaching Assistants arrives in Morocco at an exciting moment for our bilateral partnership,” said Dr. Rebecca Geffner, Executive Director of MACECE. 

“From Tangier and Tétouan in the north to Marrakech, Essaouira, Ouarzazate, Agadir, Meknès, Oujda, and Taliouine, they will bring American expertise, ideas, and energy to communities and institutions across the country. 

Their work reflects the breadth of American knowledge and the growing importance of the issues shaping Morocco’s future, from AI and education to urban development, cultural heritage, and human capital. 

Through research, teaching, and direct engagement with Moroccan communities, these Fulbrighters will build the relationships and practical partnerships that strengthen the strategic relationship between the United States and Morocco.

At its core, Fulbright is about investing in people and advancing cooperation, and this cohort will help deepen the shared capacity both countries need to innovate, compete, and prosper in the years ahead.” 

“Fulbright has been a cornerstone of educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Morocco for decades, creating lasting connections between our people and institutions,” said Benjamin Ziff, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat.

“As we celebrate 250 years of U.S.-Moroccan friendship and 80 years of the Fulbright Program, this new cohort carries that partnership forward. Their work across Morocco will strengthen academic ties, foster the exchange of ideas, and build relationships that will benefit both our countries for years to come.”

As the American grantees began their year in Morocco, a new cohort of Moroccan Fulbright recipients also departed for the United States. Nearly 50 Moroccans will spend this year there on Fulbright scholarships for master’s-level study, doctoral and senior-scholar research, Arabic teaching, and professional development.