Near and Middle Eastern Studies

Graduate Program Coordinator
311 Loew Hall, Box 352192
206-543-6398

The interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies is designed for students who wish to pursue research with a comparative perspective in Near Eastern languages and literature: Arabic, Hebrew, Persian (or Dari or Tajik), Turkish and Central Asian Turkic languages; Near Eastern linguistics; Islamic topics, namely, Islamic law, history, institutions, theology, and mysticism; comparative religion: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; and interdisciplinary investigations of modern topics using the social sciences. The program is administered by an interdisciplinary Graduate School faculty group. The program of studies includes courses offered in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, the Jackson School of International Studies, and other departments on campus. Students in the program must take courses in both the humanities and social sciences.

Degree Requirements and Satisfactory Progress

Specific course work and areas of concentration will be determined by the student's interests within the framework of the degree and satisfactory progress requirements listed below.

1. Within 18 months of admission, demonstration of a general knowledge of history and culture in one of the following general fields: Islamic civilization; Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, or Central Asian Turkic languages and literature; the modern Middle East; or comparative religion either through previous degree work or through examination administered by the program.
2. Within three years of admission, completion of two advanced courses in the humanities, one of which must be in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization (NELC), and two advanced courses in the social sciences, one of which must be in the Department of History. These courses are in addition to work the student may have done at the B.A. and M.A. level.
3. Within three years of admission, completion of a graduate seminar. Two graduate seminars are required if none was taken at the M.A. level.
4. A student will be expected to have studied three languages, two of which must be regional languages and one of which must be a "Western" European language other than English, such as French, German, Italian, Russian, or Spanish. The student's Supervisory Committee will decide whether a fourth language will be required and whether the fourth required language will be European or regional. Students pursuing language-related work may anticipate a fourth required language, whereas those pursuing social-science-related studies may not. Before the General Exam listed below may be taken, the student must complete the language requirements including the second-year level in a regional language different from the two languages offered at the time of admission if both were not regional languages.
5. Disciplinary Method and Theory Requirements. For all students conducting field work or working with documents, whether social science or humanities focused, and for all social science-oriented students, the following courses are strongly encouraged: (a) ANTH 550, Field Techniques of Anthropology, and (b) POL S 491, Political Research Design and Analysis; or (c) their equivalents in appropriate disciplines.

For those students doing both humanities-oriented research and not conducting field work, two method and theory courses in the appropriate discipline or disciplines (e.g., comparative literature, philosophy) are required.

6. Disciplinary Core Courses. Each student is required to take two disciplinary core courses in the appropriate fields. Core courses (or field courses) survey the literature, methods, and theoretical issues involved in a broad field of inquiry, as opposed to elective topical courses, which cover a much smaller area. Core courses should be chosen according to the anticipated research interests and fields for preliminary examination of each student. For example, these core disciplinary courses might focus on comparative politics, comparative religion, feminist theory, ethnicity and nationalism, analysis of linguistic structures, seminar in cognitive anthropology, comparative legal institutions, or international political economy. Courses on a narrow field of inquiry (such as Arab-Israeli conflict) do not constitute field or core courses, though they may contribute to a student's general field.

Annual Review

A subcommittee of the Near and Middle Eastern Studies program faculty will meet each spring to review the progress of all students in the Ph.D. program. Either the chair of the student's committee, the program's graduate adviser, or the program's director will inform students of the results of this annual review.

Ph.D. Examinations and Dissertation

The student will be expected to take the following examinations: (1) preliminary exams consisting of an area of specialization exam and a theory and discipline exam; (2) a General Examination, consisting of a take-home part and an oral part; and (3) a Final Examination, which is the Ph.D. thesis defense.

Students must meet the general University requirements concerning admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the dissertation, and final examinations, including an oral examination.

A student's Ph.D. supervisory committee shall consist of no less than three members of the University of Washington's Graduate School faculty as well as a representative of the Graduate School (GSR). The chair of the committee must be an active member of the Graduate School faculty. At least two members of the committee must be members of the Near and Middle Eastern Studies faculty group. Additional members may be asked to join the committee.

Students will write a dissertation as the final requirement for the Ph.D. degree. The topic of the dissertation will be set in consultation with the Ph.D. candidate's supervisory committee.

Admission Deadline

The application deadline for autumn quarter admission is February 1. Applications which are completed and postmarked on or before this date will be reviewed by the appropriate admission committee. Late applications may be submitted until April 15, although consideration is not guaranteed if enrollment targets have been met.