CASA Program

__
The Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) was established in 1967 to offer intensive advanced Arabic language training at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Since its inception, CASA has trained more than 1,350 American college level students, graduate students, and professors specializing in various areas of Middle Eastern Studies.


CASA is currently administered at University of Texas at Austin by a U.S. Director and Program Coordinator. Academic programs are offered at the American University in Cairo (AUC), under the guidance of an Egypt Co-Director (who is also the Director of the Arabic Language Institute at AUC), an Executive Director and Program Coordinator and at the University of Damascus, under the guidance of a Damascus Co-Director.

CASA is represented by a Consortium of thirty-six American universities and colleges who serve a vital role in directing various academic, financial and administrative aspects of the CASA programs.

CASA receives its primary funding from the United States Department of Education, under the Group International Study Abroad Program. In addition, CASA is currently supported by two endowments from the Ford and Mellon foundations, with additional funding from the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt.

The Summer and Full-Year programs are designed for graduate and undergraduate students.


The CASA II program aims to provide further opportunities for CASA fellows who have completed the CASA Full-Year program within the past five years, to continue to enhance their language skills and advance their Arabic-based research in Egypt.

The CASA III program is designed to meet the linguistic and research needs of professors with specialization in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.

All CASA programs provide intensive language, culture, and specialized area studies training, with 12 to 20 hours of classroom instruction per week plus homework. A series of lectures, tours, and visits to places of historical interest, both in and outside Cairo and Damascus form an integral part of the CASA programs. Efforts are made to provide opportunities for CASA participants to interact with their Egyptian and Syrian counterparts and experience life in Egypt and Syria to the fullest extent.

Please visit the CASA website for detailed information and an application.