Arabic & Islamic Studies

Accelerated Arabic PhD

For full program details, please see the Graduate Handbook.

Candidates entering with a Bachelor’s degree, or an advanced degree in a field other than Arabic, may apply to the Ph.D. program for an accelerated program.

Coursework


Complete 60 credits of course work (20 courses - 10 in Arabic and 5 in each of two minors).  Accelerated Ph.D. students, in addition to majoring in Arabic, select two minor fields.  The minors may be in linguistics, Islamic studies or area studies. Graduate courses are usually offered on a rotating basis. Not every course is offered each year. Students should check each semester’s class schedule to plan their course work, in consultation with their adviser.

Arabic: (10 three-credit courses)

Minor Subjects

A. Islamic Studies (5 three-credit courses)



ARAB-444 or its equivalent must be taken as the “gateway” course to the minor in Islamic studies. In addition to the courses offered in the Department of Arabic, a range of courses in Islamic studies are offered in the Department of History, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and the Theology Department. With departmental approval, some of these courses may count towards the minor in Islamic Studies. A partial list of these courses is included under the Islamic Studies PhD program.

NB:  Islamic studies courses may count toward the major if they are based on and require study of texts in Arabic.  If, however, they are conducted in English and assignments are in English, they may not count toward the Arabic major.


B. Linguistics   (5 three-credit courses)


The linguistics course requirements may be satisfied by taking courses in Arabic linguistics or by taking courses in the Linguistics department, or a combination of both.          

 

Courses in Arabic Linguistics offered by the department include:

Linguistics Department courses cover a wide range of subfields including theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and computational linguistics.  Students are encouraged to specialize in one field for the minor.  Applied linguistics is recommended for those interested in the methodology of language teaching and second language acquisition; theoretical linguistics is recommended for those interested in phonology, morphology, syntax and semantic theory; for those interested in language variation, dialectology intercultural communication, and discourse analysis, sociolinguistics is recommended; for those interested in computer applications of Arabic linguistics, computational linguistics.  Consult with the graduate adviser to determine the most suitable courses for your interests.  Please consult the Linguistics department course offerings online. 


C. Arab Studies: Five Arab area study courses approved by mentor in Arab Studies.


For area studies minors, courses should be centered around a theme (e.g., Islam, history, sociology, economics) and selected in consultation with the graduate advisor in the Arabic Department and an advisor in the Arab Studies Program.

Language Proficiency Examinations


Pass two language proficiency exams: one in Arabic and one in a second foreign language. 

Note: This must be done before the next requirement can be attempted.

The proficiency exam in Arabic will be administered by the department and will test listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing.  The second foreign language exam is to test ability to do research in that language and is administered by the appropriate department.  French and/or German are strongly recommended as research languages.  Hebrew and Turkish are also recommended as important regional languages.

Time Limits


Students admitted to the M.A./Ph.D. program are allowed seven years from matriculation to complete all degree requirements and to graduate.

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