American University in Cairo
Encyclopedia : A : AM : AME : American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo (AUC) in Cairo, Egypt, was founded in 1919 by American Methodist Episcopal Missionaries, but quickly moved away from missionary endeavors in favor of being a more secular educational institution. While physically is located on Tahrir Square in the center of Egypt's capital, its Board of Trustees and some administrative offices are maintained in New York City, and the university responds to both American and Egyptian regulatory bodies. Additionally, while 90% of the students are of Egyptian nationality, the language of instruction is in English.
Historical Development of Programs
Initially, AUC was intended to be both a preparatory school and a university. The preparatory school opened on October 5 1920, with 142 students in two classes that were equivalent to the last two years of an American high school. The first diplomas issued were junior college-level certificates given to 20 students in 1923. At first an institution only for males, the university enrolled its first female student in 1928, the same year in which the first university class graduated with two B.A.'s and one B.S. degree awarded. Although Master's degrees were first offered in 1950, PhD diplomas are not currently available. AUC's high school division, known as the Lincoln School, was discontinued in 1951.In 1960, AUC enrolled approximately 400 academic students. By 1969 the university had more than tripled its degree enrollments to over 1,300 students, 450 of whom were pursuing graduate studies. Since then academic program enrollments have grown to 5,022 students (Fall 2001), with 749 students at the master's degree level. Adult education expanded simultaneously and now serves approximately 30,000 individuals each year in non-credit courses and contracted training programs. The school is accredited by Egypt's High Board of Universities and by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. With this accreditation and its history, the University remains perhaps the most comprehensive and prestigious in the Middle East.It is considered the best university in Egypt.
Recent Events
Currently, there are three campuses located in Tahrir Square area of Cairo. Due to the constrictions of the dense urban environment, these campuses are not surrounded by park-like areas in the traditional sense of American campuses. However, the three campuses' common areas and courtyards are a significant divergence from the bustle of downtown Cairo, acting as a welcomed oasis of sorts to students. A new campus is currently under construction in New Cairo, a suburb in the desert east of the main city. This new campus is expected to open in the Fall Semester of 2007, and one hope is that it will provide enough laboratory facilities for the University to begin a more developed and mainstream Engineering program.The University has recently been portrayed in the Egyptian movie Sa`idy f-el Gam`ah al-Amrikiah (Arabic: صعيدى في الجامعة الأمريكية). The title literally means "An Upper-Egyptian enrolled in the American University" It met with some controversy, leading the University to initiate legal action. However, this was averted, and the AUC president invited the main character to the University for a public event.
The university is host to Egypt's only Masonic lodge , the Cairo Lodge No 5 F & AM, established in 1973.
The Main Campus also houses the American University in Cairo bookstore which holds the largest and widest array of English language literature in the Middle East. An auxiliary bookstore may be found at the school dormitories in Zamalek.
Attending the University
As stated on the American University in Cairo's official website, the University's mission is "to provide high quality educational opportunities to students from all segments of Egyptian society as well as from other countries, and to contribute to Egypt's cultural and intellectual life." Although the University's tuition, at [$13,000 per year]—which is ten times the average annual income ([$1,390]) of Egyptian citizens—might at first seem to preclude such accessibility, there are at least limited programs in place to reduce tuition for Egyptians.Research Centers at AUC
The Social Research Center (SRC), the Desert Development Center (DDC), Arabic Studies Bio-bibliographic Research Unit, Forced Migration & Refugee Studies (FMRS), Institute for Gender and Women's Studies (IGWS), Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research, Science & Technology Research Center (STRC) and the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber Center for Peace, Democracy and Sustainable Development.Presidential Internship Program
Every year, the AUC gives a set of fellowships to young Americans of promise, known as the Presidential Internship Program. For the 2005-2006 Academic Year interns were placed in the Office of the President, Office of Marketing and Communications, the Desert Development Center, the Rare Books and Special Collections Library, and the Office of Web Communications. Respectively, the interns placed in the offices mentioned above are Juliet Frerking, Lily Hindy, Dominic Bocci, Masha Kirasirova, and Ben Danforth. As part of their compensation they receive rooms in the dormitory (Beit at-Tulaab, Arabic for "House of the Students") at the crossroads of Muhammad Marashly and Ibn Thakib streets, in the well-known district of swank expatriate hang-outs and former pre-revolution aristocrat villas known as az-Zamalek (Arabic "الزمالك").
External links
- [American University in Cairo] Official university website
- [American University in Cairo's official donation website] to buy books for the library and to provide scholarships to deserving students.
- [Human Rights Watch: The Repression of Academic Freedom in Egyptian Universities including the American University in Cairo.]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.