AUC students doing an art project on campus

The Academy of Liberal Arts (ALA) is the cornerstone of liberal education at AUC. Established July 1, 2013, the academy provides foundational language, writing, critical thinking and cross-disciplinary courses for AUC undergraduate students, as well as providing intensive Arabic and English-language instruction for a wider community, including graduate and international students. In addition to this, the academy offers many extracurricular activities and centers that help students develop a wide range of skills that will help them successfully pursue their personal and professional goals.

The focus of the ALA is on students transitioning into study at AUC as an American-style, liberal arts University; at the heart of its mission is providing students with an educational experience that will reinforce and expand both their linguistic competencies and their intellectual boundaries, and equip them with the skills in effective reasoning, reading and self-expression so vital to success later both in University and life.

Mission

The mission of the Academy of Liberal Arts is to foster intellectual, personal and social growth through providing all AUC students, regardless of major, with a common core of enriching learning experiences that advance the liberal arts outcomes. As the home of the undergraduate student, ALA provides cohesiveness and integration to the student experience by focusing on interdisciplinary connections, transfer of skills and lifelong learning. 

Vision

The Academy of Liberal Arts prepares students for lifelong learning and success by providing them with challenging twenty-first century learning experiences that engage them in examining complex personal, social and global issues that affect our world.

Message from the Dean

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all undergraduate students of The American University in Cairo. AUC first made its name as an institution unique in Egypt — an American-style liberal arts University focusing on undergraduate studies — and this mission remains at the heart of everything we do.

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Ghada Elshimi, AUC Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Academy of Liberal Arts

The Academy of Liberal Arts Curriculum

The Core Curriculum

The Core Curriculum is the foundation of every AUC student’s education — the heart of the liberal arts experience. It includes courses in writing, language and information literacy; philosophic and scientific thinking; Arab history, literature and society; and foundational classes in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.

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AUC international students sitting in the campus gardens.

Honors Recipients 2022

Publications

arabic-studies-brochure

Arabic Studies

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Building and grass

Contact Information

Ghada Elshimi

Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Academy of Liberal Arts
Director, Core Curriculum
gelshimi@aucegypt.edu

t: +20.2.2615.3593

Matthew Hendershot

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Academy of Liberal Arts
mnhende2@aucgeypt.edu 

t: +20.2.2615.3595

Iman Zarif

Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Academy of Liberal Arts
imanzarif@aucegypt.edu

t: +20.2.2615.1312

Related Links

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