Typical Academic Schedule & Placement Exam

Typical Academic Schedule

Single semester students and first semester academic year students enroll in:

  1. Modern Standard Arabic (6 contact hrs/week)
  2. Jordanian  Colloquial Arabic  (4 contact hrs/week)
  3. Two elective courses (3 contact hrs each/week/course)

Students who are at the Intermediate level entering the program typically are eligible to enroll in Media Arabic, Gender Issues in the Arab World, Translation, Exploring Jordan through Markets, Urbanism, and Agriculture, or Current Issues in the Middle East.

Advanced level students can enroll in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, Arabic Literature, Politics, Contemporary Issues and Challenges of the Middle East Economies, Civil Society in Jordan, Politics, Society, and Identity in Jordanian Movies, or The Palestinian Cause in the Jordanian Context.

(Students can refer to the course descriptions on the School in Jordan website for more details about these courses.)

Students can consult the Director or Assistant Director for more information regarding course offerings.

Course offerings vary from semester to semester, with a subset of the above courses being available in any one semester.  Course availability will depend on student interest and numbers, as well as availability of teaching staff.

Second semester academic year students’ curriculum will be developed based on their progress during the first semester, and may include an internship, and/or direct enrollment in a course at the University of Jordan(at the discretion of the Director).  Students who enroll in courses at UJ should be aware that they will have to follow the University of Jordan’s academic calendar for these courses, which is not always the same as the program’s calendar.

Placement/Proficiency Exams

The School in Jordan uses a number of factors to determine students’ language course placement: an internal OPI before or shortly after arrival, a writing test and a test in reading and listening (based on ACTFL standards) given a few days after arrival, previous language study, recommendations, and classroom performance during the first two weeks of classes.  Every effort is made to accommodate the academic needs of students.  In some cases, however, a class may not be offered if there are not enough students. Adjustments to course levels and offerings may be made during the first two weeks after classes begin.