A guide to the Egypt education system and how your credentials compare to US standards for immigration, university admissions, and employment.
Need your Egypt credentials evaluated? Fast, USCIS-accepted reports from $85.
Apply Now →Egypt operates a 12-year system of general education overseen by the Ministry of Education and Technical Education. Arabic is the official language of instruction. English and French are taught as foreign languages and used as mediums of instruction in international schools and language schools. The academic year runs from September to June. Egypt has one of the largest education systems in the Arab world, with over 20 million students enrolled in basic and secondary education.
Compulsory and free. Divided into Primary (Grades 1–6) and Preparatory (Grades 7–9). At the end of Grade 9, students sit the Preparatory Certificate Examination.
General Academic (Aam) or Technical/Vocational track. General secondary students culminate in the General Secondary Education Certificate (Thanaweya Amma), administered by the Ministry of Education. Results in the Thanaweya Amma determine university placement through the national coordination system (Tansiq).
Cairo University, Alexandria University, and Ain Shams University are major public institutions. The American University in Cairo (AUC) is a prestigious private institution. Bachelor's degrees take 4–5 years. Master's degrees are 2 years.
| Grade Scale | Description | US Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Excellent (Momtaz) | A |
| 80–89 | Very Good (Jayyid Jiddan) | B |
| 70–79 | Good (Jayyid) | C |
| 60–69 | Pass (Maqboul) | D |
| 0–59 | Fail (Rasib) | F |
A formal credential evaluation is required for US university admissions, employment-based immigration petitions (H-1B, EB-1A, EB2-NIW, O-1, L-1), and professional licensing.
All Egypt academic documents must be accompanied by certified English translations. Evaluation World offers Arabic-to-English translation services combined with your evaluation order.