Students applying for admission into the Ph.D. program in Near Eastern Studies are normally expected to have completed a BA or MA in Near or Middle Eastern Studies.  However, students with degrees in related fields demonstrating substantial and outstanding coursework in Near Eastern Studies are also encouraged to apply.

All applicants should, at the very least, demonstrate intermediate proficiency in one Middle Eastern language.  For details on how to apply, see admissions requirements.  All applicants should apply for NES financial aid.  U.S. citizens and permanent residents should also apply for Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships, which are administered through the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.  Students with appropriate interests should apply for the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Graduate Fellowship for Persian and Iranian Studies.  Applicants are expected to make an effort to seek out all possible sources for graduate funding.

Specialization

The doctorate in Near Eastern Studies consists of four tracks:

• Critical Studies in Modern Middle Eastern Culture and Society
• Islamic Studies
• Linguistics of Middle Eastern Languages
• Middle Eastern Literatures (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish)

Applicants to the Ph.D. program should specify which track and primary language they wish to pursue.

DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM in Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology

Students must apply to and be accepted into each program to qualify for admission into the Dual Ph.D. Degree program in Anthropology and Near Eastern Studies.  This program attracts the best students in both fields to a unique opportunity to combine comparative and theoretical breadth with linguistic and textual depth, while developing critical research methods.