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:: about the department

The Department of Near Eastern Studies is part of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, which administers its undergraduate programs leading to the B.A. degrees, and of the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, which administers its graduate programs leading to M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. The regular faculty numbers about 26 of which 12 are full professors. The Department offers several programs of study at the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. levels, covering Near Eastern languages, literatures, civilizations, linguistics, history, Ancient studies, Biblical studies, Egyptology, Medieval Islamic history and Islamic studies.

M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in the following fields of specialization are available:

  • Mesopotamian and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
  • Ancient Israel/Hebrew Bible
  • Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins/New Testament
  • Egyptology
  • Arabic Literature
  • Arabic Linguistics
  • Modern Arabic Language
  • Arabic Studies
  • Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL)-MA only
  • Armenian Literature
  • Armenian Studies
  • Persian Studies
  • Persian Literature
  • Turkish Literature
  • Iranian Studies
  • Islamic Studies
  • Cultural Studies

Other degree programs may be arranged with permission of the student's Ph.D. committee and the Director of Graduate Studies in the department. Programs and courses on the Near East are also offered through the following departments: Anthropology, Classical Art and Archaeology, Classical Studies, Economics, History, History of Art, Judaic Studies, Linguistics, Political Science, and Sociology.