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THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY AT CAIRO Information for Applicants for Admission to The Faculty of Arts and Sciences General Information The Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the American University at Cairo offers courses of study in a number of fields leading to either the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science degree. These are liberal arts degrees. That is, the University expects that either will represent the student's successful study and grasp of knowledge assumed to be essential to an understanding of himself, the world in which he lives and the other people in it, as well as to his ability to make his way in that world. The University, therefore, requires of every student courses selected from these basic, or core, areas. The University believes,too, that study for a liberal arts degree should not only broaden a student's horizon by introduction to many fields of knowledge but should also deepen his understanding by means of a concentration in one field ; in other words, that he should come out of his university experience a little closer to making one corner of the vast treasury of knowledge his own. For this reason the University has established a program of major concentrations. The University makes an effort to select for admittance those applicants whose records of accomplishment in secon. dary schools show evidence of the capacity to carry on academic work of university quality. Because most courses are taught in the English language, the University considers high proficiency in understanding and using both written and spoken English to be necessary for satisfactory work at the university level. The English Essentials Program All applicants for admission to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are required to sit for the English Proficiency Entrance Examination. • The University expects the results of this examination to show that some ap-plicants, otherwise eligible for admission, do not possess the ability in use of the English language required for entrance into the freshman class. Of these appli-cants, those who score above a certain level are eligible, however, to enroll in the special program of instruction in English which has been established by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences under the title : English Essentials. This program requires regular atten-dance at 15 to 20 class periods each week. The intensive, practical work of the English Essentials course is designed to increase the student's ability to under-stand and use English. Applicants who enroll in the English Essentials course may find it necessary to spend an additional academic year in order to earn the degree. That is, five years, rather than font-, may be required to complete the requirements, the first year being spent in the English Essent-ials program. Every English Essentials student is offered the opportunity, however, to sit for the English Proficiency Entrance Ex-amination at the end of each semester. Students who pass this examination will be permitted to enter the freshman class at the beginning of the next semester. Students of the English Essential