UCLA students have a wealth of courses on the Middle East to choose from, both at the graduate and undergraduate level. Graduate students are encouraged to study and conduct research in the region itself.
UCLA undergraduates may declare either a major or a minor in a Middle East discipline. The department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers BA degrees in Ancient Near East, Arabic, Egyptology, Iranian Studies, Jewish Studies, Armenian Studies, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Israel Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies.
The College of Letters and Science provides a systematic introduction to the study of Islam and of Arabic language and literature.
Students can specialize in the Middle East in many other UCLA departments, among them Art History, Comparative Literature, Ethnomusicology, History, Political Science, and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Interdepartmental degrees offered through UCLA's International Institute combine the resources of several departments so students can focus on a geographic region such as the Middle East, or an international issue such as Global Health or International Development.
UCLA provides world-class academic and professional training to meet the growing demand for area experts. The Center for Near Eastern Studies integrates the study of the Middle East at UCLA, including study of Middle Eastern American communities.
The department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers MA and PhD degrees in Islamic Studies, Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Arabic, Armenian, Egyptology, Hebrew Bible, Iranian, Jewish Studies, Semitics, and Turkic.
Graduate students also receive degrees for Middle East research in other disciplines. Recent PhD's have been awarded for Middle East topics in the departments of Anthropology, Applied Linguistics, Archaeology, Art History, Comparative Literature, Education, English, Musicology and Ethnomusicology, French and Francophone Studies, Gender Studies, Geography, Germanic Languages, History, Library and Information Science, Political Science, Urban Planning, Social Welfare, Sociology, Spanish, Theater, and World Arts & Cultures. Prospective students should apply for admission to the relevant department.
To explore each department's degrees, faculty, courses, and admissions requirements, visit the UCLA Graduate Programs website.
A comprehensive list of Middle East courses offered in departments across the campus. Select a year and quarter, then press Search to view the courses for that quarter, with their departments and instructors.
Middle Eastern languages at UCLA are taught in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. These courses are open to UCLA students and to non-UCLA students with the consent of the instructor, space permitting. For more information about special program enrollment, please see this web page. The California Education Code allows undergraduate students enrolled in any campus of the California community colleges, the California State University, or the University of California to enroll without formal admission in one course per academic term at a campus of either of the other systems on a space-available basis. People not enrolled in one of those systems may enroll and pay through UCLA Extension, with the consent of the instructor.
During the academic year, the department teaches courses in Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish. Occasionally, minority and historic languages such Akkadian, Aramaic, Coptic, Old and Middle Egyptian, Middle Iranian, Ottoman Turkish, Phoenician, Sumerian, and Ugaritic are offered. Summer classes at the UCLA. And the UCLA Center for World Languages offers summer workshops for instructors of heritage languages of Middle Eastern languages and occasionally includes courses for heritage speakers as well.
For intensive study of Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, and Turkish, please see the list below of international and domestic programs, including online offerings. Please check directly with the programs for details. Students considering study abroad should check the US State Department's current Travel Advisories website.
For Arabic courses in the US and abroad, check the website of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic (AATA).
Al Akhawayn University, Arabic and North African Studies Program (ARANAS), Ifrane, Morocco American Councils Arabic Overseas Flagship Program American Institute for Maghrib Studies American University in Cairo (AUC), Arabic Language Institute American University of Beirut (AUB), Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES) Arab American Language Institute in Morocco (AALIF), Meknes Arabic Language Institute in Fez (ALIF)
California State University, San Bernardino, Summer Intensive Arabic Program California State University, San Diego, Language Acquisition Resource Center Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) at American University in Cairo and Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program Fajr Center for the Arabic Language, Cairo Heyadet Institute, Cairo
Indiana University, Intensive Summer Language Workshops
Middlebury College, Vermont
Middlebury at Mills College, Oakland, CA Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA Qalam Center for Arabic Studies, Rabat Qasid Institute for Classical and MS Arabic, Amman Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center
University of Arizona, Arabic Flagship Program
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Summer Institute for Languages of the Muslim World https://linguistics.illinois.edu/languages/summer-institute-languages-muslim-world
University of Jordan Language Center
University of Maryland, Arabic Flagship Program
University of Oklahoma, Arabic Flagship Program
University of Texas at Austin, Arabic Summer Institute
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish Language Immersion Institute
West Los Angeles College, Elementary Arabic
Arizona State University, Critical Languages Institute
Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Intensive Hebrew Language Courses
Rothberg International School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hebrew Language Summer Courses
Tel Aviv University, Intensive Hebrew Course
University of Haifa, International School
DC Internationals MESALI, Summer Intensive Language Institute
Northeastern Illinois University, Summer Institute in Kurdish Language and Culture
University of Arizona, Center for Middle Eastern Studies and Critical Languages Program, in partnership with University of Texas-Austin Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Online Kurdish Kurmanji
Zahra Institute, Kurdish Studies
Arizona State University, Critical Languages Institute California State University, San Diego, Language Acquisition Resource Center Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program
University of Maryland, Persian Flagship Program
Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkish Language and Culture Program
Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program
Dilmer Turkish Language Teaching Center, Istanbul
Duke University, Duke in Istanbul
Indiana University, Turkish Language Flagship
Sabanci University, Istanbul, Modern Turkish Language and Culture
Tőmer Turkish Language Programs, (Ankara University), several locations
NaTakallam, Immersive Language Practice
American Councils for International Education Study Abroad
Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)
Boren Scholarship
Gilman-McCain Scholarship
Gilman Scholarship Critical Need Language Award
We encourage students to visit the UCLA Career Center and explore the many campus resources available for career planning and professional development. And each November the UCLA International Institute hosts International Education Week (IEW) a week-long series of events across campus that highlight international education resources, programs and initiatives on campus and around the world. By participating in IEW students can learn about international career paths and opportunities for international language and research fellowships.