VCU Summer in Egypt

Location: Egypt: Cairo

Term: Summer

Dates: June 18- July 19, 2012

Virginia Commonwealth University

817 W. Franklin Street, Room 122 Box 843043 Richmond, VA 23284-3043 United States

Description

Arabic Language and Culture in Cairo

The Global Education Office and the School of World Studies are pleased to offer a unique opportunity for students to study Arabic language at the Arabya School in Cairo, Egypt. This four-week program will take place from June 18 to July 19 and will provide students with an immersive Arabic language and cultural experience.

Course and Credit Options: 6-7 VCU Credits
Students are required to enroll in 3-4 credits of Arabic from the following:
* ARBC 101 Elementary Arabic
* ARBC 201 Intermediate Arabic
* ARBC 301 Low Advanced Arabic
* INTL 398 Intermediate Advanced Arabic

Additionally, students are required to enroll in WRLD 391 Egyptian Culture for 3 credits.

Course Description:
Course 1: Arabic language course (3-4 credits)
Course 2: WRLD 391: Egyptian Culture (3 credits)

Students will enroll in a 3 or 4 credit language course corresponding to their level. In addition, all students will take the same culture course WRLD 391; students will be given different assignments according to their language level.

Course 1: Arabic language course (3-4 credits)
Course description: The course consists of 80 teaching hours of Modern Standard Arabic. Students will attend class five times per week from 9 AM to 1 PM (for a total of 20 hours/week). The classes will be conducted by the program director, Mrs. Salwa Sheibany. Students will also participate in an average of 18 hours of conversational activities that consist of 2 hours of role play per week at the institution plus 3 conversation hours per week with local, native speakers. These classes will run for 4 hours each day.

ARBC 101: novice elementary Arabic
ARBC 201: low intermediate Arabic
ARBC 301: low advanced Arabic
INTL 398: intermediate advanced Arabic

Textbooks:

ARBC 101: the Whole Alif Baa (third edition), we will cover all 10 chapters; and Al kitaab (third edition) we will cover only chapters 1 and 2.
ARBC 201: we will use Al Kitaab part One (third edition) and cover chapters 2 to10
ARBC 301: we will use Al Ktitaab part Two (second edition) and cover chapters 1-5
Less chapters will be covered because the chapters in this text book are very long and intensive
INTL 398 level: we will use Al Kitaab part Two and cover chapters 6-10. Less chapters will be covered because the chapters in this text book are very long and intensive

Course 2: WRLD 391: Egyptian Culture (3 credits)
Course description: The course will cover the history of Egypt. Students will explore traditional and contemporary Egyptian culture. All students will participate in 7 days of historical and cultural field trips to Cairo, Alexandria, and Dahab. Transportation will be provided in private, air-conditioned mini-vans, and an English-speaking Egyptologist guide will be available at all sites.

Highlights

While in Egypt

On the weekends, students will visit Dahab, Alexandria, the Cairo pyramids, the Sphinx, Sakkara (and museum), a relaxing one-hour trip on a traditional Egyptian sailing boat (a felucca), Abdeen, al tahreer, a Pharaonic village, Mount Sinai, and St. Catherine's Monastery. In addition, students will attend an opera and Darwash dance event. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to snorkel at the Blue Hole El-Fayoum Oasis.

The program will be led by Mrs. Salwa Sheibany of the VCU School of World Studies. She was born in Libya and grew up in Egypt. Mrs. Sheibany has been teaching French and Arabic language classes at all levels for the past eight years. She has also taught cinema and literature courses. She developed and taught a cinema course entitled "Le Cinema du Monde Arabe." Mrs. Sheibany is the former director of the Arabic Film Festival and the Arabic Club at VCU. This will be her first time directing the Egypt summer study abroad program.

Housing
Students will be housed in the President Hotel in Cairo, Egypt. Breakfast is included. The hotel and language institute are located in a residential district, surrounded by restaurants offering various cuisines, in addition to cafes, shops, cinemas and embassies.

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$:

Approx. USD1,900 + airfare + VCU tuition

Cost Includes:

Cost Include Description:

The program fee is approximately USD1,800 - USD2,000 and includes the following:
* Accommodations
* Breakfasts
* Study visits and tours
* Ground transportation for all field trip and to/from airport
* On-site Program Director support
* Application fee and deposit
* Pre-departure orientation
* VCU administrative fees
* International Student Identification Card

The following are not included in the program fee. Students are responsible for:
* Airfare
* VCU tuition and fees
* Passport application fee
* Lunches and dinners
* Personal expenses during the program (estimated at USD1,000 including USD200 for meals during weekend trips)
* Anything not specifically mentioned above

Please budget for these additional expenses.

Airfare is not included. Participants are responsible for their own round-trip travel arrangements from the U.S. to Egypt. Professor Sheibany will assist participants in identifying low-cost options. For best fares you should purchase your ticket no later than May 1, 2012.

Credit Available

no

Experience Required

yes

    Students must have at least a 2.0 GPA in order to participate. An academic letter of reference is required. Please submit this with your application materials after submitting the online form.
This Program is open to

Worldwide Participant.

Typical Living Arrangements
  • Other

Participants Travel to Egypt

Independently

Application Process Involves
  • Essay
  • Letters of Reference
  • Online Application plus Application Assessment
  • Written Application
Typically The Application Process Time is
2-4 weeks
Post Services Include
  • Exit Debriefing Abroad
Year Founded

1838

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