History and Mission
History
Founded in 1919, the American University in Cairo was established by Americans devoted to education and service in the Middle East. For its first 27 years the university was shaped by its founding president, Charles A. Watson, whose goal was to create an English-language university based on high standards of conduct and scholarship and to contribute to intellectual growth, discipline, and character of future leaders in Egypt and the region.
Mission
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, non-sectarian and equal-opportunity institution. We aim to provide high quality education to students from the diverse segments of Egyptian society as well as the rest of the world. AUC enriches Egypt's cultural and intellectual life by means of programs at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels as well as an extensive continuing education program. The language of instruction is English.