CAASIC Short-Term Programs: Fall Program

• Duration: September - December
• Credits: 12 credit hours
• Instruction: 20 contact hours per week
• This semester emphasizes Egyptian and Middle Eastern culture, focusing on developing and enhancing all language skills while exploring their relationship with the global context. Students attend classes that delve into social, cultural, literary, and political issues from multiple perspectives. The program includes a lecture series featuring renowned Arab authors and prominent leaders, field trips to significant cultural and historical sites, and various extracurricular activities. These components provide students with opportunities to engage in intellectual discussions, practice critical thinking skills such as summarizing, paraphrasing, reflection, and note-taking, and interact exclusively in Arabic with Egyptian and Arab intellectuals. By the end of the fall semester, students will have developed the linguistic and cultural competence necessary for advanced study in the spring.

This dedicated academic program offers in-depth instruction in both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and spoken Egyptian dialect, aiming to help students achieve near-native fluency in written and spoken Arabic. The curriculum is theme and content-based, integrating specialized materials with essential skills and real-world tasks.

The program fosters cultural understanding through community engagement, including trips, tours, and lectures that complement classroom learning. This allows students to practice Arabic in the streets of Cairo while gaining insights into Egyptian culture, values, and traditions.

This program is ideal for serious, research-oriented individuals, including graduates, senior undergraduates, and those pursuing or planning to enroll in post-graduate studies.

To apply for CAASIC, each applicant must complete the application form and submit an electronic portfolio that includes the following:

1. ACTFL Examination Results: Applicants must demonstrate an advanced level of Arabic language proficiency in reading, listening, writing, and oral proficiency (OPI). The exam results must be dated no more than three months prior to the application submission.
2. Statement of Purpose: The applicant should clearly articulate their interest in CAASIC and their commitment to the field of Arabic Language and Middle Eastern Studies.
3. References: Three references are required—two from previous language instructors and one from an academic professor who can assess the applicant's overall academic competency.
4. Transcripts: Official transcripts from the applicant’s academic institutions.

Assessment of the Applicant’s Portfolio

1. The chair of the Department of Arabic Language Instruction (ALI) forms the CAASIC selection committee. This committee consists of four to five members, including the ALI chair, the CAASIC executive director, two senior instructors, and two external experts from AUC partner universities.
2. Upon receiving the ACTFL results, the selection committee establishes the cutoff score for eligibility. Electronic portfolios of applicants who meet or exceed this score are distributed to the committee members for review two weeks prior to their meeting to discuss and standardize their evaluations.
3. Each portfolio component is independently assessed by the committee members. The ACTFL score, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and transcripts are each assigned a maximum of 10 points. The statement of purpose must demonstrate the candidate's long-term commitment to Middle East Studies and an interest in learning the Arabic language.
4. Applicants are ranked based on their total scores, and selections are made accordingly. CAASIC then communicates with all applicants, confirming acceptance with those selected and notifying others who were not.
5. After confirmations from finalists are received, the CAASIC office begins preparations for their arrival. This includes gathering travel itineraries, issuing ID numbers, coordinating meet-and-assist services, providing AUC housing information, setting up AUC email accounts, offering visa guidance, and announcing dates for both the International Student Orientation and CAASIC academic program orientations.
6. Additionally, a date is scheduled for the oral Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) placement interview.

Language Pledge

Like all CAASIC scholars, CAASIC Summer participants are required to adhere to an Arabic-only speaking policy both on and off campus, whenever possible.

Selection Exam

Applicants must submit their scores in the following four skills after taking the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) exam:

• Oral Proficiency Interview on Computer
• Writing Proficiency Test
• Reading Proficiency Test
• Listening Proficiency Test
• Arabic Exams Instructions

For technical support during the exam, email  [email protected].

The ACTFL selection exam provides the selection committee with a comprehensive assessment of the applicant's current Arabic proficiency level. These scores are essential for ensuring the proper placement of accepted students in the appropriate classes, to optimize the teaching/learning experience at each level

Explore the courses offered in the CASA@AUC program here

For the Fall program, all applicants are responsible for paying their own tuition, whether they have external funding or are self-financing their participation through the Pay-Your-Own-Way (PYOW) option.

If you are applying for or have secured outside funding, please select the PYOW option on the application form. All CAASIC applicants, regardless of their funding status, must follow the same application procedures and will be evaluated in the same way. After the AUC Selection Committee has made its decisions, we will confirm with those who selected PYOW status and verify their external funding status.

Please be aware that PYOW expenses for CAASIC applicants are subject to change.

For more information about tuition and fees, visit the AUC website

An announcement detailing the exact dates for each year will be made in early November. The following are approximate timelines:

Announcement: First week of November

Application Deadline: Mid-March
Acceptance Emails: The first half of April
Finalists Confirmation: Finalists must confirm their acceptance within 5 working days after acceptance
Arrival to Cairo: Arrival in Cairo at least one week before the first day of classes
First day of classes: Please refer to the AUC calendar for the first day of classes.

Orientation day: will be announced and sent by email

Selected scholars have the option to stay in AUC housing or find accommodations outside the university. For more information about AUC housing, please contact [email protected].