MASTER OF ARTS IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

The MA program in Near Eastern Studies has three elements:

(1) a coherent sequence of courses on the region, totaling 40 credit points; (2) a demonstrated ability in one modern language of the area; and (3) a master's thesis or report written under the supervision of an adviser.

The program includes an optional internship course. The degree is normally completed within two years (four semesters) of full-time study; students may also study part time.

Course of Study:

The 40 points of course work allow a flexible program, with just two required courses and a distribution requirement:

(1) The required courses are the core course: Problems and Methods in Middle Eastern Studies (G77.1687) and History of the Islamic Middle East 1750 to the Present (G77.1642) (or, with the approval of the director, an advanced history seminar). Students select the remaining eight courses according to their individual research interests, in consultation with the director. (2) The distribution requirement stipulates that these include at least one course each from two of the following disciplines: Anthropology, Economics, Politics, and Sociology. For example, two of the following courses: Anthropology for Middle East Studies (G14.1322); Economics of the Middle East (G31.1608); Middle East Government and Politics (G53.2590); and Sociology of Islam (G77.1612).

Language Requirement:

To complete the degree, you must demonstrate proficiency at the upper-intermediate level in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish. (Other languages may be considered as meeting this requirement with approval of the director of the program.) Those with no language background can satisfy the requirement by completing four semesters (16 credit points) of language training at NYU; however, only two of those semesters (8 undergraduate language credits) can be counted as points towards the degree. Students who have prior language training or who take an intensive language course in the summer of their first year can meet the requirement by testing at an intermediate level of proficiency, or by enrolling in and completing an advanced class. Native speakers with fluency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking may waive this requirement with the permission of the director.

Masters' Thesis or Report:

The master's thesis should generally have the format, style, and length of a substantial article in a scholarly journal. Alternatively, with the approval of your thesis advisor, it could have the format and style of a substantial professional report, of the kind that might be commissioned by an NGO or international organization. In either case, it must present your own research and analysis and relate them to existing scholarly and/or professional understandings of the topic.

You should begin thinking about possible topics for your thesis during your first year in the master's program. We encourage you to take courses offered by faculty who may be able to work with you on your thesis or who may be able to suggest research areas or topics. When you meet with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) toward the end of the spring term of your first year to discuss fall courses, you should discuss possible thesis ideas. You should try to use the summer between your first and second years in the program to develop your thesis topic and, if possible, conduct preliminary research.

In the fall semester of your second year you must define your thesis topic and, in consultation with the DGS, select a faculty thesis advisor as well as a second reader. As early in the semester as possible you should develop, in consultation with your thesis advisor, a brief proposal discussing your research project, how it relates to the existing literature on the topic, and the sources or materials you plan to work with, including a bibliography. When your proposal is approved by your advisor – in any case no later than the end of the fall semester – you must submit to the DGS a copy of your proposal as well as a thesis proposal approval form to be signed by your advisor and your second reader; this form will also serve as confirmation that your advisor and second reader are willing to work with you on your thesis.

Students who are in the journalism, museum studies or business programs must follow the procedures and deadlines outlined above regarding consultation with the DGS, development of a thesis topic, selection of an advisor and a second reader, and submission of the approval form. Students in the journalism and museum studies programs must adhere to the requirements of the Journalism Department and the Program in Museum Studies, respectively, regarding the master's project and master's essay. Journalism master's projects should be read and approved by two faculty members, one of whom should be affiliated with NES and the other with Journalism. The Museum Studies master's essay should be read and approved by an NES-affiliated faculty member; the other advisor/reader should be affiliated with the Museum Studies program.