ALIF Course & TERM Descriptions
ALIF offers intensive Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (CMA) courses throughout the year, September through July. To ensure that every student gets individual attention, all ALIF courses are kept small, generally no more than ten students per class. In the summer there may be up to twelve students per class.
A full course module is six weeks in length with 120 hours of classroom instruction (four hours per day, five days per week). Students may enroll for the first three weeks of any six-week course, (half module) for 30 hours of instruction. Courses in these 1/2 modules are marked with an "S" on the application (MSA103 vs MSA103S). Modules may be combined for 9-, 12-, or 18-week sessions. Students may also opt for a full academic year of study consisting of 30 weeks. Refer to chart below to see how modules and 1/2 modules may be combined to create a term that suits your needs.
A full course module is six weeks in length with 120 hours of classroom instruction (four hours per day, five days per week). Students may enroll for the first three weeks of any six-week course, (half module) for 30 hours of instruction. Courses in these 1/2 modules are marked with an "S" on the application (MSA103 vs MSA103S). Modules may be combined for 9-, 12-, or 18-week sessions. Students may also opt for a full academic year of study consisting of 30 weeks. Refer to chart below to see how modules and 1/2 modules may be combined to create a term that suits your needs.
The core textbooks for regular six-week MSA courses are Alif Baa (3rd edition) & Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya, Volumes I (3rd edition), II and III (2nd edition, Georgetown University Press). All course materials for CMA are ALIF publications.
Enrollment & Placement
Students are requested to indicate their preferred course and level on their application, but are required to complete the ALIF Placement Test before arrival. The Arabic language coordinator may adjust placement according to the student's Arabic ability. The language coordinator may also conduct an oral interview for placement purposes upon arrival.
For details about course offerings, click buttons below:
U Minnesota students at ALIF
Private/specialized lessons
Any student studying either CMA or MSA outside the framework of the scheduled ALIF courses is considered a private student and may study between two and twenty hours/week. Private students may select from regular ALIF course offerings or request a tailor-made tutorial in a specialized field, such as Arabic Poetry, Advanced Grammar, Islamic Law, Commerce, etc. Advanced students or researchers may request to read specific texts with a private teacher. Private courses are available throughout the year but depend on teacher availability, so it is important for students to submit requests for private study as early as possible.
Transfer Credits
For transfer purposes, ALIF can provide credit recommendations and any other relevant information needed by the student's home institution; however, that institution determines the final allocation of credits for ALIF course-work. Whether a student applies directly to ALIF or indirectly through a university with which ALIF maintains an overseas study partnership, it is the student's responsibility to negotiate with his/her home institution the appropriate number of credits to be awarded.
