<p>I am entering my fourth year at Berkeley where I'm majoring in Islamic Studies. I decided this year that I want to enter graduate school to do a PhD in Islamic Intellectual History. I have a 4.0, but what is worrying me is the language requirements. I have completed Arabic, and will begin studying Persian this summer. I am worried, however, that my lack of knowledge of French and German will work against me during the application process. Should I begin studying these languages now? Or is it possible to be accepted and then work toward proficiency? I plan to take a year off before applying. My goal schools are harvard, georgetown, and columbia. Any advice would be much appreciated.</p>
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<p>What do the individual program say?</p>
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<p>From Harvard NELC [Graduate</a> Requirements: Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations](<a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~nelc/graduate.htm#modernlanguages]Graduate”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~nelc/graduate.htm#modernlanguages)</p>
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<p>See the link for more.</p>
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<p>Judging from that quote, I assume it is required to know French or German for admission. I would advise you to start studying French right now. French, especially in the context of studying Islam and the Middle East will be of more use to you than German; it is spoken in a number of Middle Eastern countries as a second language. You can start studying Persian when you start grad school.</p>
<p>I am having trouble making the decision as to what language I should focus on now. I am taking an intensive persian course this summer, although i can also take french. the problem is that i dont want to take any language courses over the year except arabic literature because i’d rather take theoretical courses. i also dont feel like taking a class five days a week. maybe i should just move to paris upon graduation. i don’t know what to do.</p>
<p>grad,</p>
<p>Check with the department on the proficiency tests. My wife talked to them (different department) at length last year, and as I understand it you do not have ANY problem here. My observations:</p>
<p>(1) While knowing the languages ahead of time certainly helps, they do admit people with zero knowledge of those languages. As long as you have at least some knowledge of a non-English language under your belt you are probably in an okay place. You have Arabic and will be starting Persian - that is probably plenty.</p>
<p>(2) Because people may not have the required languages, acquisition is built into the program - note that your advisor has some say in what they are. As the paragraph stated, you have until the end of your 3rd semester to demonstrate proficiency in language #1, and the other can usually wait another year or so. Consider that your first language could be Arabic or Persian, that gives you up to 3 years if needed to get French or German.</p>
<p>(3) The requirement in the off-program language (French or German) is reading proficiency, which can be demonstrated by test or by taking a course. Usually 1-2 courses in the language are sufficient - i.e. less than 1/3 of your time for no more than a year. If you take the test you are allowed a dictionary. They do not expect you to be able to speak fluently, they just want you to be able to use the references. Plus its Harvard and they like the language requirements.</p>
<p>My wife was looking at Celtic Languages and Literatures (which requires upwards of 4 languages!), with only some mostly-forgotten high school French under her belt, and the professors there did not see that as a real impediment.</p>
<p>You should be fine.</p>
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<p>Thank you so much for your reply cosmicfish. You have calmed me down 
Thank you.</p>
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<p>Concuring with everyone’s postings, you have a really good chance for admittance in an Islamic studies program (pending GRE scores). Maintaining a 4.0 ugrad GPA with a Near/Middle East studies or related major is extremely difficult, so great there. </p>
<p>The biggest question re your admittance will be the number of years and courses you’ve taken in Arabic. Islamic studies, unlike a more general Middle East studies program, requires a very high level of competency in classical Arabic. If you haven’t already, you will encounter traditional Islamic literature (e.g., Qur’an, ahadith, etc.) in addition to the more grueling intellectual literature, such as Islamic philosophical treatises, fiqh manuals, apologetic tracts, etc. With that said, most PhD Islamic Studies programs like to see 4-5 or more years of classical Arabic training, along with an intermediate-level proficiency in Persian (which you will have) and/or Turkish. If you were applying to an MA program, the standards wouldn’t be quite as rigorous, but since you’re starting a PhD, advisors will expect you to be able to read advanced texts on your first day.</p>
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<p>Oh, and about the French and German, you’ll actually need German more than you would French, because it is Islamic studies that you’re pursuing and not regional studies (in which case you’d need French). Germans pioneered Islamic studies as we know it today in the West and most of the older literature on the subject (e.g., Noldeke, Goldziher, Van Ess, etc.) is written in German. Two courses should suffice and you can even find these offered online at community colleges, so no classes to attend!</p>
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<p>Thank you neareast for your informative and insightful reply</p>
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<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I am new here, and therefore did not know how to make a new post. Sorry to be using this post to ask a few questions, which are however related to the topic currently under discussion.</p>
<p>I want to persue a Ph.D in Islamic Studies too, but there are a few problems that I have been finding a solution. These are:</p>
<ol>
<li>I have a business degree from Pakistan (16 years of education). </li>
<li>I am married with a son, and need to support my family. Is there anyway i can persue my education AND take care of my family?</li>
<li>I have been searching for universities, however I really have NO CLUE on where to go.</li>
</ol>
<p>I am pretty blind as of yet, and I would appreciate if someone can help.</p>
<p>to grad_app: perhaps you could do an MA program in the meantime where you could take the time to get a few years of french under your belt in addition to taking the language requirement for the MA (you could do Persian or classical/qur’anic arabic)…in my opinion, it would be the best way to boost up your application AND help you fulfill the requirements for admission to PhD programs.</p>