The American College of the Mediterranean: A Gateway to Global Education
The American College of the Mediterranean (ACM) offers a unique educational experience, blending the American academic model with the rich cultural landscape of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, with a campus in Barcelona, Spain, ACM provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs designed to foster intercultural awareness and prepare students for success in an increasingly interconnected world.
A Unique Institution
ACM is a non-profit, American-style university that seeks to integrate the best practices of international higher education with the structure of a degree-granting American institution. ACM leverages its location to provide students with exposure to European and Mediterranean countries. The majors and minors build upon ACM’s academic tradition as a leader in international education.
History and Affiliations
The foundation of ACM lies in its study abroad institute, the Institute for American Universities (IAU), established in 1957. IAU was founded by academics and former diplomats, including Dr. Herbert Maza, who served as its first President, Dr. Evron Kirkpatrick, and Ambassadors Jeane Kirkpatrick. Initially operating under the authority of Aix-Marseille University, IAU provided a study abroad program for American students seeking transfer credit.
Over the years, IAU expanded its offerings, incorporating the Marchutz Program of Fine Arts in 1984 and launching a summer program in Barcelona in 2013. Multi-country January term/intersession seminars in Europe and North Africa were introduced to leverage the institution's Mediterranean location. In 2015, ACM launched its initial tranche of degree programs and welcomed its first MFA (Master of Fine Arts) students at The Marchutz School (now the School of Art).
In 2016, IAU filed articles of incorporation for The American College of the Mediterranean (ACM) to house its degree programs. ACM is a founding member of the Association of American International Colleges and Universities (AAICU), a network of American institutions of higher learning located throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, dedicated to promoting American-style education abroad.
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Academic Programs
ACM offers undergraduate degrees in 11 majors and graduate degrees in International Relations, French Studies, Art History, Media Studies, Fine Arts (MFA in Painting), and Business Administration (Global MBA). The college offers ten different bachelor’s programs, as well as the option to self-design a field of study from a wide range of course offerings. The flexible and individualized curriculum allows students to design their own major, in conversation with their academic advisor, to fit individual academic interests.
The curriculum emphasizes the study of European and Mediterranean history, languages, cultures, and contemporary issues. ACM strives to provide excellence in international education, inspire intercultural awareness, and prepare students for success in a global community through the study of European and Mediterranean history, languages, cultures, and contemporary issues. It does so through a unique combination of courses, internships, and curricula that combine to create American-style undergraduate and graduate degree programs in an international and cross-cultural setting.
Some courses offered include:
- History of architecture and urban design in Spain
- The work of three international artists with distinct cultural roots is explored on an individual basis within the wider framework of European art movements
- Photography in Barcelona
- Creative Writing in relation to the city, and explores the particular challenges of writing about place
- Strategic Brand Management and Luxury Brand Management in an international and national setting
- Intercultural management and the aspects of management within an international and culturally complex environment
- Business Ethics in 21stcentury businesses and organizations
- Advertising and society
- Consumer behavior in the marketplace
- Social media is changing how business is done around the world in almost every industry which has helped give consumers a voice and connect them with their friends and other like-minded people, and also opened up numerous new forms of communication
- Marketing and distribution channels management
- Social and environmental issues of today’s fast-paced, global fashion industry
- Wine commerce with some aspects of marketing across various channels and market locations worldwide
- Sport as a prism to understand the Spanish society
- The role media play in the progression and public perceptions of conflict
- Economics and politics of European integration
- How fundamental economic theory can be applied to decision making within the firm
- Macroeconomics
- Environmental issues, with a special focus on their relation to climate change
- International Finance
- The history of Spain from its prehistory to the present
- The long and complex relationship between the Muslim world and the West
- The Global Internship Program (GIP) is a unique and innovative opportunity for students to combine their internship placement experience with a weekly in-class and mentoring experience
- Operations Management
- The elements and techniques of Marketing
- Women’s engagement in global politics
- Study of human development from a psychodynamic perspective
Student Life and Housing
The American College of the Mediterranean has different housing options available to both undergraduate and graduate students, including a homestay with a French host family, residence halls, or apartments/independent housing. ACM encourages students to live with a host family for at least one semester. Aix-en-Provence is known for being a bustling university town, with French students enrolled at neighboring Sciences-Po, Aix-Marseille University, and other nearby universities. As the second-largest college town in France, Aix-en-Provence is the perfect backdrop for ACM to provide an American-style education in a genuinely French setting.
Admissions
ACM reviews applicants for its graduate and undergraduate programs through a rolling admissions process. ACM welcomes students from all backgrounds and identities and encourages them to fully engage in the rich and complicated history of the Mediterranean. Transfer students are accepted year-round and are not required to complete 2-years of institutional work before applying. This means you can complete even 1 semester of community courses and apply for transfer to ACM. ACM currently provides its own transcripts to students who complete its degree and study abroad programs. This is done through direct affiliation agreements which allow for the direct transfer of academic credit. Schools of Record are in place with Fairfield University and Northern Illinois University, either of whom can provide an accredited transcript.
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Locations
All courses are offered in-person at our main campus in Aix-en-Provence, as well as our satellite campuses in Italy, Morocco, and Spain.
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