Arabic and Persian Language Institute

The summer Arabic and Persian Language Institute offers you the opportunity to acquire or master skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in Arabic and Persian. Language instruction is proficiency-oriented and imparts cultural experiences and knowledge. The materials used are broad-based and help students develop communication skills. You will learn how to accomplish language tasks in formal and informal situations. Assessments reflect the model of an educated native speaker as well as proficiency (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL)) guidelines.

Classes are small and you will benefit from individual attention inside and outside the classroom. You will learn from experienced, dedicated, and diverse faculty, who use current techniques and incorporate technology-based instruction.

Courses are supplemented with experiential activities to expose you to the Arabic and Persian culture and history outside of the classroom, which might include the following:

Meet with fellow students and faculty during coffee hours to test your conversational skills.
Visit embassies, museums, and other cultural institutes that host summer activities.
Watch weekly screenings of current and classic films from the region.
Learn from real-time and on-demand current media resources as well as the latest classroom language learning technology in the CNDLS Language Lab.

Intensive and Non-intensive Options

Intensive language courses offer 3 hours of daily instructional contact for 5 days and award 6 credits.

Non-intensive language courses offer 1.5 hours of daily contact for 5 days and award 3 credits.

Language and Dialect Course Offerings

Arabic: A comprehensive undergraduate program of intensive and non-intensive learning in Modern Standard Arabic will last ten weeks, with courses in basic, intermediate, advanced, as well as media Arabic.

Content Arabic: Advanced Arabic language courses for advanced learners are taught entirely in Arabic. They offer undergraduate and graduate students essential subject matter learning (linguistic, cultural, and political) while building their language proficiency.

Colloquial Arabic: Undergraduate courses in spoken Levantine Arabic will be offered with continuation in the Second Session. This course is not open to native speakers of Arabic, heritage speakers of Arabic, or students who have completed three years or more of Arabic at Georgetown.

Persian: In cooperation with the Division of Eastern Mediterranean Languages, Persian courses are offered at the undergraduate level. Intensive First Level Persian and Intensive Second Level Persian will be offered during both sessions.

Application Requirements

Georgetown Students

Georgetown students are not required to apply; however, they must complete the pre-registration process.
Georgetown students who had a break in their study of Arabic or Persian are required to take an online/on-site placement test prior to the start of classes. Students registering for beginning level Arabic or Persian are not required to take the placement test.

Visiting Students

All visiting students must complete the general admissions requirements in addition to the supplemental application requirements below for the Arabic and Persian Institute.
The Summer Arabic and Persian Language Institute welcomes undergraduate and graduate students seeking academic course work for credit and others who wish to acquire or improve proficiency for professional or personal reasons.
A complete application includes the Summer School Application, a one-page response to the Summer Arabic and Persian Language Institute question on the Supplemental Application form, and an official transcript. Please send all materials to:

Georgetown University
School of Continuing Studies
Office of Admissions
3307 M Street, NW
Suite 202
Washington, DC 20007

All visiting students registering for courses beyong the beginner level Arabic or Persian are required to take an online Arabic placement test or Persian placement test. Students who have not taken the online Arabic placement test or Persian placement test prior to the start of classes must take the on-site placement test on the first day of each session.

Placement exams are administered prior to or on the first day of each session to place students in courses according to individual proficiency level.

For further information, contact the Institute Assistant Director, Meriem Tikue, at (202) 687-2735.

Registration Requirements

Registration for introductory or basic-level courses can be done online through MyAccess.

Any language courses beyond the introductory level must be coordinated through the Arabic and Persian Language Institute after completing the placement exam. This includes any second session courses if the first half of the course has not been completed already.

See Registration Process for more information.

Tuition Scholarships

See Tuition and Fees for more information on scholarships, policies, refunds, and loans.

View Courses

Non-Int 1st Lvl Mod Stand Arab ARAB-001-10

Credits: 3

1st Summer Session
Lecture

Day and Time

M 5:45 - 7:15 p.m.
T 5:45 - 7:15 p.m.
W 5:45 - 7:15 p.m.
R 5:45 - 7:15 p.m.
F 5:45 - 7:15 p.m.

Not for native speakers of Arabic.
There is no pass/fail option for this course.
Please contact the Summer and Special Programs Office at (202) 687-8200 for more information.

Summer School