AUB-AUC Student Exchange Agreement Gives Undergraduates Chance to Study in Egypt

Back to Front (L - R) Aboulseoud, Chalouhi, Rifaat, and Heath

The American University of Beirut and the American University of Cairo, the two oldest American liberal arts universities in the Middle East, recently signed its first student exchange agreement, which will allow for the exchange of four undergraduate students per year.

The agreement, signed in the Office of the Provost at AUB on June 28, came as the result of six months of cooperation between Jan Demming Montassir, AUC's associate vice president and dean of International Student Affairs, and on the AUB side, by Associate Provost Waddah Nasr and Caroline Chalouhi, coordinator of International Student Services.

"I am delighted that this agreement has been finally signed and formalized," said Provost Peter Heath."Although both are Arab and located in the same region, Lebanon and Egypt each have their own specific cultures, so students moving from one to the other have much to gain from their exchange experience." Heath also pointed out that the agreement was a natural consequence of the good institutional relationship between AUB and AUC.

Representing AUB at the signing were Heath, Nasr, and Chalouhi, while from AUC, there were Tomader Rifaat, associate dean of International Student Affairs for Student Services and Programs, as well as Mohamed Aboulseoud, coordinator of International Student Services. The agreement gives students one of two options: "Student Exchange" and "Study Abroad." Under the Student Exchange program, AUB and AUC will endeavor to exchange two students per semester.

These students will be permitted to enroll for one or two semesters (excluding summer) of the academic year, and will be required to take a minimum load of 12 credits. Exchange students would pay the semester's fees to their home institution.

Meanwhile, the Study Abroad option allows students from the home university to visit and enroll at the host university for a semester or so, while taking a leave of absence from their home university. In both cases, AUB students will be given credit for coursework completed at AUC.

Chalouhi lauded the agreement as a "great opportunity" for students to be exposed to another culture. "An advantage is that Cairo is very close, but at the same time it's a world away from Beirut. AUC students have been coming to AUB for a couple of years now, and they adore the cosmopolitan lifestyle that Beirut offers," she said. "It's a good agreement for both sides, in that it gives the students the choice of how long they would like to stay, what course of study they would like to follow, and the opportunity to live in a new city only an hour away by plane," she added.

AUC is already hosting its first AUB exchange student, during the fall semester. While there are currently 21 registered Egyptian students at AUB, all are full-time and are not on an exchange program.

AUB currently has three student exchange agreements: one at the graduate level with George Washington University's Elliot School of International Affairs, and two at the undergraduate level with American University in Washington, DC, and with Bogazici University in Turkey.

AUB students interested in the AUC exchange program should meet with Caroline Chalouhi.