Cairo University Launches French-Taught Medical Program

Cairo University’s Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine has opened a new programme that will teach medicine in French, starting this fall. The school began accepting applications from international students earlier this summer, and interviews for Egyptian students wishing to enrol in the programme started this month.

Since it was announced last spring, the Kasr Al Ainy French (KAF) programme has generated widespread discussion  on social media and elsewhere, including among followers of Al-Fanar Media’s Facebook page.

The university announced the programme in April after French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Cairo, during which he spoke of the long partnership between Egyptian and French universities. Macron attended a forum on Franco-Egyptian scientific and academic cooperation, held at Cairo University, where new academic and research agreements were signed supporting student exchange programmes and the development of joint initiatives.

‘A Bridge between Egypt and the World’

The dean of the medical school, Professor Husam Salah, said, the French programme was “not only an educational addition but also a window for scientific communication with our African and francophone neighbours, and an extension of Kasr Al Ainy’s role as a bridge between Egypt and the world”. 

In an interview with Al-Fanar Media, Professor Nadine Alaa Sherif, a professor of gynaecology and director of the Kasr Al Ainy French programme, provided more details about the programme and sought to allay any concerns that have been raised about it.

The programme offers a five-year Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree, she said, and is accredited by Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine. Its graduates will be eligible to apply for further study or to practise medicine in any country, Arab or foreign, on passing any equivalency exams the destination country requires. 

Sherif said the Kasr Al Ainy French programme was primarily for students of francophone African countries, because Egyptian students usually prefer to study medicine in English.

She said the programme was in keeping with Egypt’s pivotal role in the African continent, “to serve our brothers in francophone countries such as Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, and Chad,” but she added that any Egyptian students who graduated from French schools were also welcome to apply.

Admission Procedures 

International students who want to apply for the French-taught medical programme at Kasr Al-Ainy must follow the rules approved by the Expatriates Administration and apply through the Study in Egypt portal.

Egyptian students, on the other hand, must first gain admission to a government medical school and then enrol in the programme after passing a French language test, showing they have proficiency in the language.

The programme, which will have 100 students initially, began accepting applications from international students in early July. Admission interviews for Egyptian students started more recently to coordinate with the country’s process for high school graduates seeking university places.

Sherif said the university had 150 faculty members who were fluent in French and capable of teaching in it. That number should be “quite sufficient for the start of the first semester, with the possibility of increasing it later,” she said.

Communicating with Patients

The practical component of the programme will take place in the university’s hospitals, as it currently does for international students from 39 non-Arabic-speaking countries, Sherif said. Professors from the Arabic Language Department in the university’s Faculty of Arts conduct workshops to teach those students how to communicate with patients in the local dialect during the practical phase of the curriculum, and will do the same for students enrolled in the French-language programme.

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery

Students in the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery programme will study all foundational subjects—including anatomy, histology, and physiology—during the first and second year, and the first half of the third year, Sherif said. In the second half of the third year, as well as in the fourth and fifth years, they will study pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology, ENT (ear, nose, and throat), ophthalmology, and other clinical specialities.

Successful graduates of the programme have the rank of general practitioner. Those who wished to pursue a medical specialisation would need to continue postgraduate studies in their chosen field.

Recently, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine welcomed delegations from several African countries, including Congo, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. Sherif said officials from these countries were seeking information about the French-language programme and related opportunities for students on scholarships, which some of the countries provide.

At the start of the new programme’s admissions process, several students already enrolled at Kasr Al Ainy gave a presentation in French to introduce prospective new students to the programme’s features, academic life, and faculty activities. According to the university, the presentation also conveyed an indirect message to new students that they would be joining a vibrant learning environment, supported by French-speaking senior students. The university hopes that this approach will help student integration and reduce feelings of linguistic or academic isolation.

During an open discussion with applicants, a lively dialogue took place between the students, college representatives, and the programme director, about  the motivations behind their choice of the French programme at Kasr Al-Ainy. Although most applicants are fluent in English, they expressed a strong desire to pursue their medical education in French, a language they have studied since childhood, according to the university.

The new students said the availability of a fully French-language medical programme in Egypt eliminated the need to travel overseas for their studies and offered a sought-after educational opportunity closer to home.

Jobs for Doctors Taught in French

In response to a question from Al-Fanar Media about the career prospects of the programme’s graduates, Sherif replied that the programme primarily targets francophone African countries. “Consequently, graduates will enter the medical workforce in their French-speaking home countries, serving patients and contributing to healthcare—this is the programme’s primary objective.”

Egyptian students, she added, typically study in English and practice medicine in Arabic with patients. “The same would apply if they studied in French; there would be no difference in their professional practice.”