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Center for Arabic Study Abroad @AUC (CASA@AUC)

CASA@AUC is a competitive immersion program for advanced learners, offering rigorous instruction in Arabic language complemented by cultural engagement to achieve near-native fluency.
  1. Academics
  2. Center for Arabic Study Abroad @AUC (CASA@AUC)

CASA@AUC: A Legacy of Excellence

The Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) was founded at AUC in 1967 through the collaboration of American universities committed to offering intensive Arabic language and cultural studies for advanced students and academics. Since then, the program has graduated over 1,500 accomplished scholars and professionals. 

The CASA program, recognized as a leading immersive Arabic-language initiative, provided American students with a full year of intensive Arabic study and cultural immersion, led by AUC’s esteemed faculty. Over time, it gained a reputation for producing graduates with highly sought-after language skills, propelling them into influential roles across professional and academic fields.

Today, maintaining the same standards of excellence it has built over more than a half century, AUC manages the CASA@AUC program independently under the Center for Advanced Arabic Study in Cairo (CAASIC), which also oversees a variety of advanced language programs.

More About CASA@AUC
 

Important Announcement

The Department of Arabic Language Instruction (ALI) at The American University in Cairo (AUC) announces the release of the 2025 -2026 applications. Applications are open for serious, advanced Arabic language learners from all parts of the world. 

Deadline for Application: March 18, 2025

Quick Facts

  • 1,500

    CASA students studied at AUC

  • 5,400

    International students studied Arabic at AUC

  • 1,967

    Center for Arabic Study Abroad opened
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Notable Alumni

Todd Mostak

Todd Mostak (CASA '10)

CEO and Founder, MapD

Margaret Litvin

Margaret Litvin (CASA '11)

Associate Chair, Department of World Languages and Literature Associate Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature, Boston University

David-Bonderman

David Bonderman (CASA '69)

Businessman; Philanthropist; Chairman and Founding Partner, TPG

Highlights

A group of international students from the CASA@AUC program are walking and smiling together in the historic palace at AUC Tahrir Square.
AUC international students taking a tour around Cairo

Support CASA@AUC in Cairo

Widely recognized as the world's premier, full-immersion, Arabic-language program, CASA@AUC has trained more than 1,500 undergraduates, graduates and professors, who now occupy senior academic positions around the world and hold leading roles in the U.S. Department of State, international nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. 

I immersed myself, absorbing Arabic and the Egyptian culture. Not only was I able to meet some of my best friends and become proficient in Arabic, but my own core beliefs in life's purpose dramatically transformed.

Colette Ghunim ('YAB 13)
Documentary Filmmaker; Digital Media Associate, Skill Scout

For people in the Middle East, and Egypt in particular, being friendly and polite is taken for granted. You walk down the street here and exchange more niceties in a morning than you do in a year in other places.

Ben Wedeman (YAB ’81)
Senior International Correspondent, CNN

Related Links

Contact Us

Iman Soliman

CASA Co-Director
[email protected]

Azza Hassanein

Executive Director
[email protected]

Hany Serafeen

Program Officer
[email protected]