Modality
On Campus
Program URL
https://sfs.georgetown.edu/ma-arab-studies/
The Master of Arts in Arab Studies program offers comprehensive interdisciplinary training in politics, culture, history, economics, and language of the contemporary Arab Middle East and North Africa, as well as rigorous Arabic language training. Students design a program of study that allows them to develop expertise on the pressing issues relevant to the Middle East and North Africa today in one of five concentration areas: Politics, Culture and Society, Development, History, or Women and Gender. In addition to their main concentration, students select options from the full range of courses in Middle East Studies offered at Georgetown.
Academic Policies
Students in the Arab Studies program are expected to comply with the polices outlined in the program handbook and Graduate Academic Regulations.
Program Requirements
The Master of Arts in Arab Studies program is a demanding, full-time curriculum comprising 36 credit hours (12 three-credit courses),, not including acquisition-level Arabic classes. The program is designed for full time students to complete the degree in two years, but depending on the student’s level of Arabic language proficiency, it is possible to complete the program in a shorter or longer period of time.
To complete the program, students must meet the following requirements:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| ARST 5500 | Constructing the Modern MENA | 3 |
| ARST 5501 | Studying the Arab World | 3 |
| 9 |
| Politics & Society in MENA | |
| International Politics: ME | |
| Culture & Society: Arab World | |
| Women&Gender in Arab World | |
| Development in Arab World | |
| Political Economy: Middle East | |
| Social Cultrl Hist ME & N Afr | |
| 21 |
| |
| |
| Total Credits | 36 |
- Pass the oral and written Arabic Language Proficiency Examinations
- Pass the Oral Comprehensive Exam OR Complete a Thesis
Required Examinations
Students must pass the program’s oral and written exams for Modern Standard Arabic by the end of their tenure in the program.
Additionally, students have the option of taking an oral comprehensive examination in lieu of a thesis. The exam is designed to provide a cross-disciplinary conclusion to the student’s coursework and total educational experience in the program. The exam is administered by a panel of three faculty members and takes place after the student as completed all course requirements.
Thesis Requirements
Students may opt to write a master’s thesis in lieu of the oral comprehensive examination. The thesis is written in the final semester of the program. Students are required to take a Research Design course and enroll in the three-credit Thesis Colloquium. Both courses count as electives.
