Introduction

In an effort to give U.S. undergraduate engineering students the opportunity to study in one of the most dynamic regions of the world, AMIDEAST is proud to offer a Civil Engineering Semester at Cairo University (CU). Although many engineers follow career paths that take them to a variety of countries, there are limited opportunities for undergraduates in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines to study abroad.  This unique study opportunity in the heart of the Arab world will help to prepare future American engineers to work effectively with people from that region.

Academic Information

Students on the AMIDEAST-Cairo University Civil Engineering Program will be integrated in CU’s Credit Hour Program (CHP) within the Faculty of Engineering for one semester or an academic year of study. The CHP is a division of the Faculty of Engineering with more stringent admissions processes and where courses are taught exclusively in English and follow international engineering accreditation standards. Students take a total of 15-18 credits during a semester. For 9-12 of these credits, they will be able to select three or four Civil Engineering courses (the number varies based on the student’s preference) from a list of possible options. Students will take courses directly at Cairo University along with Egyptian colleagues. In addition to the integration into the Faculty of Engineering at CU, students will also take two courses offered at AMIDEAST facilities nearby CU. Students will take one course on Contemporary Egypt and the Arab World (3 credits) and one Egyptian Colloquial Arabic course(3 credits) .

These two courses will help students both gain an understanding of the context in which they are living while also providing them with the basic communication tools necessary for daily life in Cairo. The bulk of these two courses will take place in the three weeks prior to the official start of the semester at Cairo University, but will continue throughout the semester with the colloquial course meeting once a week and the Contemporary Egypt and Arab World class meeting every other week for the duration of the semester.

Background information

The Civil Engineering Program was developed with funds provided by the U.S. Department of State as part of a larger capacity building project. Since 2010, AMIDEAST has partnered with Cairo University to enhance institutional capacity for receiving U.S. undergraduate study abroad students and, in particular, for engineering undergraduate study abroad in Egypt. The specific goals of the proposed project are to expand both administrative and programmatic capacity at Cairo University to receive study abroad students.

In early 2011, a team of two American civil engineering department heads visited the Cairo University Faculty of Engineering in order to assess the Credit Hour Programs (CHP) in Construction Engineering and Management (CEM), Structural Engineering (STE), and Water Engineering and Environment (WEE).  The review team examined courses, syllabi, and facilities in the Faculty of Engineering and found the program suitable for American students in ABET-accredited programs seeking to study abroad in civil engineering.  The reviewers were deeply impressed with the enthusiasm of the faculty teaching in the programs as well as with the enthusiasm of the students in these programs.