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What is Near and Middle Eastern Studies?

Near and Middle Eastern Studies is a field of study focused on the study of politics, history, culture, geography, and economics of the Middle East.  A program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies is far more broad than a study of a specific ethnicity yet more precise than a study of people residing on a particular continent.

The Near and Middle East is often defined as the following set of countries: Oman, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.   In addition to the core curricula of a Near and Middle Eastern Studies program, a student may be required by the college or university to perform specific types of research to help advance the field of study.

Career Summary

MEDIAN SALARY

$73,750

PERCENT ABOVE NATIONAL
INCOME AVERAGE

49.74%

TOTAL SECTOR EMPLOYMENT

28,720

Degree Median Salary vs Adjacent Degree Types

Source: BLS, US Census, and IPEDS

2024 Best Near and Middle Eastern Studies Degree

Harvard University's Master's Degree in Middle Eastern studies (AM) is a rigorous two-year academic program designed for entrepreneurial students who wish to develop new academic interests or pursue professional skills. Students in the program have diverse profiles and come from the United States and around the world. Sharing a capacity for scholarly exploration of the Middle East region in all its richness and complexity. Master's students are encouraged to participate in a range of activities, programs, and workshops. Graduates pursue careers in academia, government, business, media, human rights, and non-governmental work.

Acceptance Rate

4.64

Student to Faculty Ratio

7:1

The top ranked Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University offers both a liberal arts concentration designed to give students competence in a Near Eastern language and broad knowledge of the field. Recognizing many interdisciplinary programs of studies that break out of the artificial constraints imposed by the traditional geographic focus. The Department offers a program of study leading to the Ph.D. There is tremendous flexibility in the individual's course of study and the choices of dissertation topics. The program in Near Eastern Studies also offers a two-year degree curriculum leading to the MA as a final degree. This is governed by an Interdepartmental Committee.

Acceptance Rate

5.78

Student to Faculty Ratio

5:1

Yale University's Council on Middle East Studies provides students and faculty a place to debate the myriad contemporary, historical, political, and cultural issues of relevance to the Middle East and North Africa, and beyond. Serving as a central resource for the Yale Community, the region, and the nation on issues about the Middle East. Working with local, regional, and national k-16 educators and students. Offering professional development programs as well as studying your opportunities abroad.

Acceptance Rate

6.08

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

Columbia University in the City of New York's Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) is a leading center for the study of the culture, history, and politics of the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Their faculty of distinguished scholars and outstanding teachers represent some of the most innovative and influential figures in their fields. Their approach to learning stresses knowledge of the language and intellectual traditions. The subjects they explore deeply cover a range of fields from literature and the history of ideas to contemporary history and politics.

Acceptance Rate

5.45

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

Brown University offers a degree in Middle East Studies that promotes research, teaching, and public engagement on key issues of the Middle East in s historically and culturally grounded manner. They house a thriving undergraduate concentration connected to an extensive interdisciplinary curriculum. Acting as a second intellectual and social home for a large group of graduate students spread across Brown's departments that grant advanced degrees. The institution works as a global university especially dedicated to seeking a just and prosperous future for all.

Acceptance Rate

7.07

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

The University of Pennsylvania's Modern Middle Eastern Studies Major and Minor is an interdisciplinary degree designed to allow students to specialize in the Middle East as a region of the world and human experience. Students will work with faculty committed to supporting interdisciplinary, applied, research-oriented advanced study. Giving them opportunities to work on problems of politics, policy, history, ideology, social thought, economic development, and international relations. Consisting of at least twelve-course units to be distributed by Disciplinary distribution, Language, and Regional coverage.

Acceptance Rate

7.66

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

The University of Chicago's Center for Middle Eastern Studies aims to guide students in acquiring firm grounding in an academic discipline or a professional field and specialist knowledge of the languages and civilizations of the Middle East. It is an interdisciplinary unit achieving different objectives by helping to plan degree programs for students who intend to use their knowledge of the Middle East. Bringing to the University visiting scholars whose work strengthens and complements that of the regular faculty.  Serving as a forum for the open, responsible, and informed exchange of ideas among the institution's students, faculty, staff, and members of the outside community on all issues relating to the Middle East. Recognizing the centrality of the principles of freedom, civility, and conscience in the presentation of ideas and opinions in all forms of communication and all programmatic activities.

Acceptance Rate

6.17

Student to Faculty Ratio

5:1

Swarthmore College's Medieval Studies provides students an array of distinct intellectual experiences and significant cultural breakthroughs. Their faculty explored medieval cathedrals, castles, and cloisters, and was inspired to want to know more about the lives and thoughts of the societies that produce those structures. Students study medieval Latin poetry accompanied by the tunes of the poems and appreciate how poetry has always been intimately connected with music. Offering a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approach.

Acceptance Rate

8.93

Student to Faculty Ratio

8:1

Cornell University's Department of Near Eastern Studies offers undergraduates and graduate students the opportunity to study the languages, literature, cultures, religions, and Near Eastern history. With its interdisciplinary and comparative research and its commitment to the undergraduate experience, the department is unique among its peers. The department enrolls over 1000 students each semester, mentoring over 20 majors, and operates a small and dynamic graduate program. It has grown enormously in recent decades, thanks to institutional and alumni support.  

Acceptance Rate

10.85

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

Pomona College's major in Middle Eastern Studies provides students the study of the people, culture, politics, history, networks, and languages of the Middle East. Helping students deepen their knowledge by having the opportunity to study abroad. The interdisciplinary curriculum provides opportunities to develop complementary skills in different fields. Students study Arabic or Persian and are encouraged to study abroad in locations in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean region.

Acceptance Rate

7.4

Student to Faculty Ratio

7:1

Williams College's Global Studies must be completed by the students who want to pursue the concentration. The topics and regions covered will vary and be selective, but all will be designed to place cultural, political, economic, and technological issues. Students are asked to select a track that will structure their global studies curriculum. There are two types of tracks, the first focuses on a particular region of the world and the second type is organized thematically and permits students to explore the field. Each track is administered by faculty teaching in that track in consultation with the advisory committee. At present, the program consists of tracks such as a degree in Middle Eastern Studies, Latin American Studies, East Asian Studies, just to name a few.

Acceptance Rate

12.6

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

Northwestern University's North African and Middle East Studies is a vibrant community of scholars committed to offering students and the community at large a rigorous understanding of the field. Their faculty consists of award-winning faculty drawn from the disciplines of anthropology, art history, classics, comparative literature, just to name a few. The institution's trademark is its embrace of comparative approaches and border-thinking. Students develop invaluable skills through the program. Undergraduates can go on to enter careers in a variety of fields.

Acceptance Rate

9.05

Student to Faculty Ratio

6:1

Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies serves as a major hub of regional study. They have a strong commitment to a global outlook and interreligious dialogue. They actively pursue fruitful partnerships and scholarships related to the Middle East across schools and disciplines. Amplified by the institution's location, where students and scholars have access to relevant policy institutions and cultural centers.

Acceptance Rate

14.36

Student to Faculty Ratio

11:1

Washington University in St Louis' Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies (JIMES) is devoted to the study of the history and cultures of the Near East, and of the Jewish and Islamic civilizations, both individually and comparatively. Offering a focal point for cross-cultural academic exchange that highlights the shared experiences and mutual influences of the two civilizations. The members of the faculty conduct their research and teaching through a wide array of methodologists and disciplinary approaches. They offer courses in different languages, literature, religion, politics, and culture.

Acceptance Rate

13.85

Student to Faculty Ratio

7:1

Johns Hopkins University's Department of Near Eastern Studies has a unique approach to studying ancient Near Eastern civilizations with all the modern tools of analysis but primarily through ancient written records and physical evidence. Providing students the knowledge of language and script forms the core of the program, with great emphasis on gaining the ability to access sources in the original. Emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach to the civilizations of the regions. Consisting of a major area of concentration, a minor from another area, and a series of history seminars.

Acceptance Rate

11.17

Student to Faculty Ratio

7:1

Tufts University's Middle Eastern Studies (MES) is an interdisciplinary program that encourages breadth in coursework and significant immersion in one or more Middle Eastern cultures. Providing students an opportunity to study the history and culture of the Middle East. Offering studies in areas of the world whose territories were part of Middle Eastern empires or were under the influence of Middle Eastern civilizations in pre-modern and modern times. The institution highly encourages its students to study abroad to widen their knowledge in the field.

Acceptance Rate

14.95

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

The University of Southern California's Department of Middle East Studies (MDES) is committed to the teaching and study of the languages, cultures, peoples, and societies throughout the Middle East region. It is home to an interdisciplinary major and minor in Middle East Studies. Organizing lively and exciting lectures, colloquia, conferences, and film series on a broad range of topics ranging from politics and economics to history and the arts. The department awards competitive fellowships to displaced scholars to attend conferences, workshops, and meetings.

Acceptance Rate

11.42

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

Claremont McKenna College's Middle Eastern Studies degree is an interdisciplinary major designed for students preparing for graduate work or professional careers in the government, business and finance, or with international and non-government organizations. Providing students with the essential skills to understand the complex issues of the Middle East. Preparing them for careers in which a deep understanding of the region is essential. The program is an area of tremendous political, strategic, and social importance and one that possesses a great historical and cultural heritage.

Acceptance Rate

10.3

Student to Faculty Ratio

8:1

The University of California-Los Angeles' Middle Eastern Studies' main mission is the discovery, interpretation, dissemination, and preservation of human values created over a period of five or more thousand years. UCLA faculty provide an interdisciplinary approach to studying the history, culture, politics, geography, economics, language, and philosophy of the region. Students can choose from either a range of modern Middle Eastern Languages or choose an ancient language from the region. The department hosts a variety of events and presentations from world-renowned professors that discuss pressing issues of the Middle East.

Acceptance Rate

12.32

Student to Faculty Ratio

18:1

Middlebury College's Middle East Studies major highlights the social, historical, political, cultural, and linguistic traditions of this varied region and illuminates the area's centrality and relevance in today's world. The program draws upon and showcases the expertise of its diverse faculty from multiple departments and programs. Students will be exposed to a rich array of disciplinary and intellectual perspectives. They develop advanced proficiency in either Arabic or Hebrew through coursework at the campus.

Acceptance Rate

15.36

Student to Faculty Ratio

8:1

Boston College's M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies is designed for students who wish to acquire a broad background in Middle Eastern history, cultures, and politics. A significant feature of the program is the extensive and diverse range of resources available to graduate students throughout the program. Students have considered flexibility in designing their programs of study and have access to the resources of the fine arts, music history, political science, theology, and other departments at Boston College. The program seeks to prepare students for a variety of post-graduate opportunities in academia, government and public service, non-governmental organizations, museums, and cultural institutions in the United States and abroad.

Acceptance Rate

27.22

Student to Faculty Ratio

13:1

The University of California-Berkeley's Department of Near Eastern Studies offers both general instruction and specialized training in Archaeology, Art History, Assyriology, Egyptology, Iranian Studies, Judaic and Islamic Studies, just to name a few. Offering a wide variety of courses to supplement such related fields as classics, linguistics, history, political science, comparative literature, anthropology, and art history. Offering a comprehensive body of information on past and present Near Eastern civilizations. The Department of Near Eastern Studies is becoming the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures in Fall 2021.

Acceptance Rate

16.25

Student to Faculty Ratio

20:1

The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor's Department of Middle East Studies teaches diverse histories, religions, languages, and literature. Their faculty provide students majoring in Middle East Studies with an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to societies. It is designed to provide an understanding of the dynamics that have shaped the literary, linguistic, visual, social, and political histories of Middle Eastern societies past and present. Programs are customizable to complement another declared major or aid in specific professional pursuits.

Acceptance Rate

22.91

Student to Faculty Ratio

11:1

Wellesley College is a lively academic community that places a high value on rigorous, probing inquiry, and creative, cross-discipline thinking. Its collaborative approach to scholarship encourages students to question, debate, and refine their points of view. The institution's education fosters the highest standard of readiness for the real-world in its graduates. Students participate in a wide range of extracurricular projects to widen their knowledge and experience.

Acceptance Rate

21.56

Student to Faculty Ratio

8:1

Emory University's Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies (MESAS) is a humanities-based, cross-disciplinary area studies department. Built upon strengths in the cultures, literature, and histories of the region. Dedicated to understanding the region through primary sources, whether textual, oral, or material, as well as through multiple theoretical and disciplinary perspectives. Specializing in the languages of Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, and Tibetan.

Acceptance Rate

15.6

Student to Faculty Ratio

9:1

Popular Degrees in Middle Eastern Studies

Degree pathways in Near and Middle Eastern studies can include a traditional on-site classroom program, distance learning, and/or hybrid programs. A hybrid modality blends the flexibility of an online learning environment with a traditional classroom setting by requiring students to meet at scheduled intervals. Various learning modalities afford students the ability to earn differing degrees via platforms that work best for them. A student may choose to earn degrees such as an Associates of Arts (AA), Bachelors of Arts (BA), Master of Arts (MA) or a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies.

Each degree level will require students to take different levels of classes on a path towards completion. For example, a student enrolled in a bachelor degree program can be expected to take undergraduate classes that fuse liberal arts course work with core curricula in a four-year program. Meanwhile, a graduate student may be able to select their coursework via a unique arrangement of approved electives in conjunction with a thesis or dissertation project, for a masters degree and doctorate program respectively.

Classes in Middle Eastern Studies

The classes you may find in a Near and Middle Eastern program may not be exactly identical from institution to institution. However, you will find a number of overlapping classes that include the following topics:

  • Introduction to Middle Eastern Studies
  • Methods and Theories of Middle Eastern Art
  • Modern Middle Eastern Economies
  • History of the Middle East
  • Globalization and Gender Studies
  • Urbanism in the Middle East
  • Middle Eastern Culture & History
  • Economic Analysis of Middle Eastern Countries
  • Social & Cultural Change
  • Contemporary Middle Eastern Literature & Language
  • Anthropology
  • Middle Eastern Poetry
  • Middle Eastern Music and Art

Employment Information & Regional Specializations

For students that earn a college degree in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, there are several fields of specialization that one can pursue. he options range from middle school teachers, high school teachers, postsecondary teachers, researcher, curriculum designer, historian, politician, community advocate, public policy specialist, marketing, advertising, and media specialist to name a few possible career tracks.

Job Growth and Related Careers

Near and Middle Eastern Studies jobs will vary along with the industry chosen by graduates. Similar career profiles are easier to illustrate as employment for college professors is expected to increase by 13% and public relations specialists by 9% in the coming years.  Dive into research about his exciting field by locating top majors that interest you or online graduate schools of interest.

Additional Resources in Middle Eastern Studies

Students that seek connections outside school, may find the following organizations and associations of benefit.  Associations provide students and practitioners with learning opportunities, tools, resources, and professional networking within a dedicated field of study.

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