<p>There are only three schools in the US offering Arabic as a masters and or phd program that I could find. Georgetown, UT Austin (my current school) and a school in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Does this hurt one's chances of getting into a program? Or is Arabic mostly studied abroad? Does this mean that no one gets a masters in Arabic...? </p>
<p>Also, I am currently a sophomore Russian major taking arabic informally.</p>
<p>There are many schools that have Mid-East departments with MA and PhD Degree programs. NYU and Columbia comes to mind here.</p>
<p>Also look at schools with Asian Studies departments.</p>
<p>At UW Madison, Arabic was taught in the African Languages/Literature department.</p>
<p>i’ve noticed that most schools have arabic programs listed under Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations/Cultures or Near Eastern Studies.</p>
<p>Almost every large university in the US offers graduate-level study in Arabic, but usually not as a graduate degree unto itself.</p>
<p>One could work toward an MA or PhD in Linguistics, or in Middle Eastern Studies, or in History, or in Religion, and all of these degrees would demand a good deal of study of Arabic language and literatures, if one’s subspecialization were in Arabic history/lit/religion/etc.</p>
<p>as someone who studies middle eastern studies, i know that there are few programs that are straight middle eastern studies phds, and even then, they are not language focused. Near Eastern studies, usually has more language focus, although in some universities ‘near eastern studies’ can be ancient near eastern studies…so you have to be careful if you’re interested in the modern version. </p>
<p>At UMichigan for example, they have a phd program in near eastern studies and you choose a focus within that from Ancient Studies, Arabic Studies; Armenian Studies; Christianity in Late Antiquity; Early Christian Studies; Egyptology; Hebrew Bible; Hebrew Literature; Jewish Cultural Studies; Islamic Studies; Persian Studies; Turkish Studies. Many other schools (like my alma mater, UCLA) set up things this way also. </p>
<p>i guess the best question to ask the OP is: what sort of arabic are you focusing on (Quranic, Modern Standard, a particular dialect) and what is your area of interest?</p>
<p>I don’t really want a degree in something like African studies just to take Arabic. That would look kinda weird on my resume. </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Near Eastern studies. What is the difference between that and Middle Eastern Studies?</p>
<p>Modern Arabic. I am not sure if this is what you mean but I am interested in counter-terrorism, government intelligence, humanitarian aid, genocide/war sort of stuff, etc. I’m trying to get into a program that helps students get research/internship experience and my ‘concentration’ would be transnational security and terrorism. </p>
<p>So there are no other degrees that specifically are ‘Arabic’ on their own? I’d have to take something else and specialize in Arabic Studies? </p>
<p>I guess I will go back and look up schools again to see how focused they are on the language.</p>
<p>I havent looked up UT or the other school but Georgetown has an Arabic phd program specifically for people who do not have a previous degree in Arabic. But of course I cannot only have one school on my list.</p>
<p>I think from your last post, you are better off getting a MA in international relations with a focus on Middle East or Arabic. You can totally do that- there are plenty of people doing it. </p>
<p>You don’t need to get a “degree” in Arabic just to get a job with the government to prove your language skills. You will have to take an exam anyway. If you only want to improve your Arabic language skills, then do intensive courses in which you may be able to put on your resume under Education. When employers look at “Middle East Studies” on your resume, they will assume that you have some competency in Arabic. Also you cannot study Arabic and understand it without learning about the religion and history of Islam as well as the Middle East so having an interdisciplinary degree like IR or Middle East Studies will be beneficial.</p>
<p>The difference between Near Eastern Studies and Middle Eastern studies mainly depends on the university. As a general rule, Middle Eastern Studies almost always refers to the modern Middle East (taken to mean from the birth of Islam to the present) while Near Eastern Studies could either refer to Ancient studies (like babylonian, biblical, ancient persian, quranic studies, Egyptology) OR a language specific major (EITHER modern or ancient). The issue you might find with the Near eastern studies major over a middle eastern studies major is that there are many more language requirements…french and german is necessary as is at least one other language in addition to Arabic. </p>
<p>The reason why i asked what sort of arabic you’re interested in was because i was trying to figure out if you were coming at it from a linguistic perspective, a religious perspective, or a security perspective. In each case it would require different advice. </p>
<p>ticklemepink is correct in assuming that if you are interested in counterterrorism/intelligence that you should be more well-rounded on the history/culture/politics of these countries. As someone who is similarly interested in that area (namely security studies as related to the M.E.), I have talked to several agencies regarding employment…and though language proficiency is important, knowledge of the area is even more desired (they said that merely in showing interest in pursuing language studies was enough, and that they could further train you until you are completely proficient)…a PhD isn’t even really necessary, and an MA would probably be a better bet for you. It would save you time and heartache. </p>
<p>I study Farsi and if you think that it’s hard to find an Arabic graduate degree, try looking for a Persian language one! This is one of the reasons why i opted for a Middle Eastern Studies BA and MA rather than straight language studies. From what you said, it seems that Georgetown’s Arab Studies MA would be your best bet.</p>
<p>There are more schools than that.
University of Michigan, Berkley, and Cornell (MA only I think) also have programs. UMD also has a graduate Arabic program I believe.
For someone like you I recommend the Georgetown Arab Studies. It’s more political, so I think it would suit you…
Hope that helps</p>
<p>The Master’s in Arabic for Professional Purposes at the University of Michigan is a great program. It’s not focused on literature at all (unless you want to take those courses as electives), which is something different from many of the degrees I researched.</p>
<p>No offense, but “Middle Eastern Studies experts” you see on TV are people who couldn’t hack the language. I admire your interest in learning the Arabic language rather than just the politics, as language gives so much insight into the culture. If you want an “in” to Intelligence, I recommend enlisting in the military as a linguist with a preference of Arabic so you can go to the Defense Language Institute for a year and a half in Monterey, California. The instruction is by native speakers 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. After that you’ll be in the Intelligence Community, have a top secret security clearance, and probably work at NSA, and the good thing is that you get paid to do all of this! After a 4-year enlistment which is mostly training, you’ll have the clearance to have an easy time getting higher profile government jobs or you could even work as a contractor. Also, you’ll have some experience that demands respect. :)</p>
<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>My daughter just graduated from Tbilisi Free University, and now we are searching for a master’s degree program in Arabic. Do you have any information for availability of this programs in the US for foreign students? Thanks inadvance for your replies! Nata</p>
<p>Check out NYU.</p>
<p>Why would anyone want to do a phd in arabic in States?</p>
<p>A friend who is pursuing a ph.d. at NYU said:
I would recommend NYU (and Georgetown), hands down. Excellent language instruction complemented by huge array of content courses, plus campuses in Abu Dhabi (NYU) and Doha (Georgetown). Doesn’t get much better.</p>