School of Humanities and Social Sciences Departments

The Department of Applied Linguistics at AUC has as its primary focus the application of linguistic knowledge to language pedagogy, particularly the teaching of Arabic as a foreign language and the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. The department also focuses on issues pertaining to language and society, language and identity, language and politics and language and discourse.  Courses in our department aim to prepare students to community based careers and research.

The Department offers a wide range of specializations and degree options. It has world-class, international faculty with diverse course offerings in fields such as Arabic Literature, Middle East History, Islamic Art and Architecture, and Islamic Studies. While specializing in a specific area of study, interested students also have the opportunity of immersion in the Arabic language. 

The Department of the Arts is comprised of film, graphic design, music, theatre, and Visual arts programs. All five programs contribute courses to the Core Curriculum. The Department of the Arts provides an education that encompasses the fine arts as a historical, cultural and social study within a liberal arts context. The curriculum strives to prepare students for the engagement of the imagination and the intellect through a comprehensive analysis of theory and application of practical skills.

Recognizing the challenges facing Egypt and the region, the Department of  Educational Studies contributes to education reform by providing theoretical and applied components needed to build the capacity of professionals and policymakers in the education system. The Department of Educational Studies consists of various academic and professional development programs.

ECLT is the only department of comparative literature in the Arab world and Africa. It also offers the only graduate degree in comparative literature within the liberal arts tradition in the Arab world. ECLT is regionally distinctive in its coverage of ancient and modern Anglophone, European and Latin American literary traditions; and it is distinctive worldwide for emphasizing Arabic literature as one of the many cultural competences of the comparatist. 

The study of history functions to "relativize the present." The overwhelming pressure of present values and institutions can only be counteracted by a knowledge of the very different values that have informed social formations of the past. The study of history gives rise to a chastening consciousness of the smallness of the present moment, an appreciation for the qualitatively significant changes that have occurred over long periods of time, and a positive skepticism towards the information deluge of the day.

AUC’s Philosophy Department dates from 2004. The faculty’s research interests in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy on the one hand as well as recent and contemporary Continental European Philosophy on the other, give the department an unusual character and add to the unique nature of its degree programs. The Department offers a range of courses from the introductory level to upper-level courses in epistemology and metaphysics, ethics, Islamic philosophy, political philosophy, aesthetics, and other subjects.

The Department of Political Science at the American University in Cairo was founded in 1962. Today it has grown to become one of the largest programs at AUC and the largest among its School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The department faculty spans the range of specializations in the discipline, with training from some of the finest programs worldwide. 

Transforming communities, empowering lives! Our mission is to lead, promote and advance the discipline of psychology as a basic and applied science in Egypt, the wider Arab World, and beyond, and to further the understanding of human behavior, thinking, and emotion through teaching, research, and community engagement.

The department aims to provide quality education to students from Egypt and the world and to engage in scholarly research and publication relevant to the department’s disciplines and to Egypt, the wider Arab World, and beyond. It also strives to provide appropriate community service, participation in development programs and activities, and efforts toward the preservation of cultural heritage.