Founded in 1919, The American University in Cairo (AUC) — Egypt's global University — is a leading English-language, American-accredited institution of higher education and center of the intellectual, social and cultural life of the Arab world. Its diverse community of students, parents, faculty and staff, trustees, alumni and other generous sponsors represents more than 60 countries. AUC alumni are part of a global network of more than 38,000 leaders, creators and innovators. The University stands as a crossroads for the world's cultures and a vibrant forum for reasoned argument, spirited debate and understanding across the diversity of languages, facilities and human experiences.
The University offers 37 undergraduate, 44 master's and two PhD programs rooted in a liberal arts education that encourages students to think critically and find creative solutions to conflicts and challenges facing both the region and the world. It also offers a globally recognized, professional, community-based education in English to meet the needs of the dynamic Egyptian and broader regional economies.
The University takes inspiration from Cairo, using it as a site for learning and integrating it into the curriculum. Drawing on Cairo as an extension of the classroom means AUC students are actively engaged in the society and world around them.
AUC faculty members are engaged in groundbreaking research, from making Pharaonic discoveries and designing unique architecture for individuals with autism to using nanotechnology for the conversion of solar energy to electricity or clean, renewable fuels and utilizing robotics for reliable, low-cost hepatitis C diagnostics. Many are also working to develop innovative ways of tackling cancer, including researching personalized cancer treatment as an alternative to standardized chemotherapy, using biochips for advanced cancer detection and investigating innovative, more effective ways of delivering anticancer drugs to cells.
The University's educational assets include the largest English-language academic library collection in Egypt, three modern theaters and 15 cross-disciplinary research centers. The University's modern, 260-acre New Cairo campus constitutes a visionary investment in the future of Cairo, Egypt and the region — a state-of-the-art facility for advanced research, innovative teaching, lifelong learning and civic engagement.
Among AUC notable alumni include:
• Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah '91, Queen of Jordan
• Maumoon Abdul Gayoom '69, Former President of the Maldives
• Yuriko Koike '71, Tokyo's First Female Governor; Japan's Former Defense Minister
• Abdullah S. Jum'ah '65, Former President and CEO, Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)
• Haifaa Al-Mansour '97, Saudi Arabia's First Female Filmmaker
• Nicholas Kristof '84, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times
• Thomas Friedman '74, Columnist, The New York Times
• Ben Wedeman '81, Senior International Correspondent, CNN
• Mourad Wahba '80, '82, Assistant Administrator and Director of Regional Bureau of Arab States, UNDP
• Sahar Nasr '85, '90, Minister, Ministry of Investment and Ministry of International Cooperation, Egypt
• Tarek Amer '80, Governor, Central Bank of Egypt
• Rania Al Mashat '95, Adviser, Research Department, International Monetary Fund
• Omar Samra '00, First Egyptian to Climb Mount Everest and the Seven Summits, First Egyptian to Complete the Explorers Grand Slam, First Worldwide to Climb Three Antarctica Mountains
