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University of Oxford: Modern Middle Eastern Studies
| Institution | University of Oxford |
|---|---|
| Department | Interdepartmental |
| Web | https://www.ox.ac.uk |
| graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk | |
| Telephone | +44 (0)1865 270059 |
| Study type | Taught |
MSc
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2023). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**
The MSc in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a twelve-month, taught master's course, offered jointly by the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) while the MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year (six-term) course intended for students from all social science and humanities backgrounds.
**MSc**
The MSc in Modern Middle Eastern Studies offers research training for students already familiar with the Middle East region and its languages. The course provides a common foundation in the methods and disciplines relevant to the study of the Middle East. It provides intensive training in several fields of knowledge based on a combination of lectures, tutorials and essay writing allowing students to develop research and writing skills with training in appropriate theoretical and methodological approaches, through supervision of a dissertation on a subject of the student’s choice. The MSc teaches both qualitative and quantitative methodologies through assessed work.
The course offers two tracks: a language and a non-language one.
The language track is designed for students who already have intermediate to advanced -level ability in Arabic and who wish to further develop these skills through intensive classes.
The non-language track is designed for students who already have full research fluency in at least one of the languages of the region - Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish - through being either a literate native speaker, or possessing a degree in the language (a course specifically focusing on language and acquisition of the capacity to read untranslated texts in a Middle- Eastern language, not a disciplinary or area studies degree in which the applicant has taken language classes). Non-native speaker applicants who think they might qualify for the non-language track who do not have such a degree should explain specifically why they think they qualify, eg through extensive formal study and experience in the region outside the scope of a degree program. Applicants who do not have formal language-study credentials, and particularly applicants who may want to be seen as prospective non-language-track students (including all Hebrew, Persian and Turkish applicants) may wish to submit writing samples that demonstrate the ability to use untranslated sources (preferably written) in a Middle Eastern language.
**MPhil**
The MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies accepts students who are complete beginners in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish). The course also accommodates students in Turkish and Arabic at an advanced level as well as Arabic at an intermediate level. If you already have research-level proficiency in one of these languages you will be required to take a different language.
Intensive language training takes place through all six terms of the course. This training takes place in classes and language laboratories. In addition to language training, in the first term you are expected to attend the weekly MPhil Qualitative Research Methods for Modern Middle Eastern Studies lecture and seminar, held in the first term. In addition to the lecture, this seminar is an interactive forum in which you are expected to present arguments and to respond to the lecture, associated readings, and each other’s formative essays, which are a crucial element of teaching, but do not count toward the student's final marks.
**For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas**
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**
The MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year (six-term) course intended for students from all social science and humanities backgrounds. The course provides intensive training in a Middle Eastern language, training in research methods and topics relevant to the study of the Middle East.
The MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies accepts students who are complete beginners in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish). The course also accommodates students in any of these languages at an advanced level. If you already have research-level proficiency in one of these languages you will be required to take a different language.
Intensive language training takes place through all six terms of the course. This training takes place in classes and language laboratories. In addition to language training, in the first term you are expected to attend the weekly MPhil Qualitative Research Methods for Modern Middle Eastern Studies lecture and seminar, held in the first term. In addition to the lecture, this seminar is an interactive forum in which you are expected to present arguments and to respond to the lecture, associated readings, and each other’s formative essays, which are a crucial element of teaching, but do not count toward the student's final marks. In addition to Qualitative Research Methods, you will be encouraged to attend other lectures and seminars offered by the teaching staff during the first term. You will complete and submit a take-home written assignment based on the Qualitative Research Methods Seminar after the end of the first term which will form the first of two elements of your Qualifying Examination. The second element of the Qualifying Examination is a language qualifying examination taken at the end of the first year (first three terms) of the course.
In the second term, in consultation with your supervisor, you will attend a series of tutorials for one of three options to be offered for the final examination. These are taught in the second, third and fourth terms of the course. Tutorials typically involve weekly meetings and between four and six formative essays, arranged between you and your tutor. Most options have an associated lecture series, either concurrent with the tutorials or in some cases delivered in a different term, which you are expected to attend.
Tutorial options offered on a regular basis include the following:
- Hebrew Literature
- History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- History of Qajar Iran
- History of the Maghreb since 1830
- History of the Middle East, 1860-1970
- Iranian History from the Constitutional to the Islamic Revolution, 1905-1979
- Main Themes in Israeli Politics and Society
- Mass Media in the Middle Eas
- Modern Islamic Thought
- Modern Turkish Literature: Texts and Contexts
- Nahda: Literature, Modernity and Institution-building in the Arabic 19th Century
- The Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa
- Political Institutions in Contemporary Iran
- Political Islam, Islamism, and Modern Islamic Movements
- Politics of the Maghreb
- Politics of the Middle East
- Social Anthropology of the Middle East
Applicants may wish to confirm with the course coordinator that a specific option listed above will be available to the applicant’s cohort, as scheduled sabbaticals or other research leave may sometimes interrupt the annual teaching schedule.
Language training continues in the third term, and you will have tutorials for the second of your three options. You will at this stage begin your thesis preparations, meeting with staff members to identify a thesis supervisor.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2021). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**
The MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year course intended for students from all social science and humanities backgrounds. The course provides intensive training in a Middle Eastern language, training in research methods and topics relevant to the study of the Middle East.
The MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies accepts students who are complete beginners in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish). The course also accommodates students in any of these languages at an advanced level. If you already have research-level proficiency in one of these languages you will be required to take a different language.
In the first two terms, you will receive intensive language training to cover the fundamentals of grammar in your chosen Middle Eastern language. This training takes place in classes or language laboratories. You are expected to attend the weekly MPhil seminar, The Modern Middle East, held in the first term. The seminar is an interactive forum in which you are asked to present arguments and to respond to each other’s work. In addition to this seminar, you will be encouraged to attend lectures and seminars offered by the teaching staff during the first term. You will complete and submit a take-home written assignment based on the MPhil Seminar after the end of the first term which will form part of your Qualifying Examination.
In the second term, in consultation with your supervisor, you will arrange a series of tutorials for one of three options to be offered for the final examination. Tutorials typically involve eight weekly meetings and between four and six essays, arranged between you and your tutor. Most options have an associated lecture series which you are expected to attend.
Tutorial options offered on a regular basis include the following:
- History of the Middle East, 1860-1970
- Politics of the Middle East
- Social Anthropology of the Middle East
- International Relations of the Middle East
- Iranian History from the Constitutional to the Islamic Revolution, 1905-1979
- History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Politics of the Maghreb
- The Maghreb since 1830
- Main Themes in Israeli Politics and Society
- The Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa
- Political Islam, Islamism, and Modern Islamic Movements
- Modern Turkish Literature: Texts and Contexts
- The Arab-Israeli Conflict
- History from below in the Middle East and North Africa
- Space and Gender in Middle Eastern Literatures: The Harem and the Body
- History and Politics of the Gulf
- History of Qajar Iran
- Hebrew Literature
- Modern Islamic Thought.
Language training continues in the third term, and you will have tutorials for the second of your three options. You will at this stage begin your thesis preparations, meeting with staff members to identify a thesis supervisor. You will sit the qualifying language examination at the end of the third term.
During the long vacation from the end of June to early October you are urged to pursue intensive language training in an appropriate course in the region, political circumstances permitting. Information on the different courses can be obtained from the relevant language instructors, in consultation with supervisors. You are encouraged to take the opportunity provided by study abroad to conduct research for your thesis in the region.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
Master of Philosophy - MPhil
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2023). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**
The MSc in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a twelve-month, taught master's course, offered jointly by the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) while the MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year (six-term) course intended for students from all social science and humanities backgrounds.
**MSc**
The MSc in Modern Middle Eastern Studies offers research training for students already familiar with the Middle East region and its languages. The course provides a common foundation in the methods and disciplines relevant to the study of the Middle East. It provides intensive training in several fields of knowledge based on a combination of lectures, tutorials and essay writing allowing students to develop research and writing skills with training in appropriate theoretical and methodological approaches, through supervision of a dissertation on a subject of the student’s choice. The MSc teaches both qualitative and quantitative methodologies through assessed work.
The course offers two tracks: a language and a non-language one.
The language track is designed for students who already have intermediate to advanced -level ability in Arabic and who wish to further develop these skills through intensive classes.
The non-language track is designed for students who already have full research fluency in at least one of the languages of the region - Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish - through being either a literate native speaker, or possessing a degree in the language (a course specifically focusing on language and acquisition of the capacity to read untranslated texts in a Middle- Eastern language, not a disciplinary or area studies degree in which the applicant has taken language classes). Non-native speaker applicants who think they might qualify for the non-language track who do not have such a degree should explain specifically why they think they qualify, eg through extensive formal study and experience in the region outside the scope of a degree program. Applicants who do not have formal language-study credentials, and particularly applicants who may want to be seen as prospective non-language-track students (including all Hebrew, Persian and Turkish applicants) may wish to submit writing samples that demonstrate the ability to use untranslated sources (preferably written) in a Middle Eastern language.
**MPhil**
The MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies accepts students who are complete beginners in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish). The course also accommodates students in Turkish and Arabic at an advanced level as well as Arabic at an intermediate level. If you already have research-level proficiency in one of these languages you will be required to take a different language.
Intensive language training takes place through all six terms of the course. This training takes place in classes and language laboratories. In addition to language training, in the first term you are expected to attend the weekly MPhil Qualitative Research Methods for Modern Middle Eastern Studies lecture and seminar, held in the first term. In addition to the lecture, this seminar is an interactive forum in which you are expected to present arguments and to respond to the lecture, associated readings, and each other’s formative essays, which are a crucial element of teaching, but do not count toward the student's final marks.
**For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas**
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**
The MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year (six-term) course intended for students from all social science and humanities backgrounds. The course provides intensive training in a Middle Eastern language, training in research methods and topics relevant to the study of the Middle East.
The MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies accepts students who are complete beginners in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish). The course also accommodates students in any of these languages at an advanced level. If you already have research-level proficiency in one of these languages you will be required to take a different language.
Intensive language training takes place through all six terms of the course. This training takes place in classes and language laboratories. In addition to language training, in the first term you are expected to attend the weekly MPhil Qualitative Research Methods for Modern Middle Eastern Studies lecture and seminar, held in the first term. In addition to the lecture, this seminar is an interactive forum in which you are expected to present arguments and to respond to the lecture, associated readings, and each other’s formative essays, which are a crucial element of teaching, but do not count toward the student's final marks. In addition to Qualitative Research Methods, you will be encouraged to attend other lectures and seminars offered by the teaching staff during the first term. You will complete and submit a take-home written assignment based on the Qualitative Research Methods Seminar after the end of the first term which will form the first of two elements of your Qualifying Examination. The second element of the Qualifying Examination is a language qualifying examination taken at the end of the first year (first three terms) of the course.
In the second term, in consultation with your supervisor, you will attend a series of tutorials for one of three options to be offered for the final examination. These are taught in the second, third and fourth terms of the course. Tutorials typically involve weekly meetings and between four and six formative essays, arranged between you and your tutor. Most options have an associated lecture series, either concurrent with the tutorials or in some cases delivered in a different term, which you are expected to attend.
Tutorial options offered on a regular basis include the following:
- Hebrew Literature
- History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- History of Qajar Iran
- History of the Maghreb since 1830
- History of the Middle East, 1860-1970
- Iranian History from the Constitutional to the Islamic Revolution, 1905-1979
- Main Themes in Israeli Politics and Society
- Mass Media in the Middle Eas
- Modern Islamic Thought
- Modern Turkish Literature: Texts and Contexts
- Nahda: Literature, Modernity and Institution-building in the Arabic 19th Century
- The Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa
- Political Institutions in Contemporary Iran
- Political Islam, Islamism, and Modern Islamic Movements
- Politics of the Maghreb
- Politics of the Middle East
- Social Anthropology of the Middle East
Applicants may wish to confirm with the course coordinator that a specific option listed above will be available to the applicant’s cohort, as scheduled sabbaticals or other research leave may sometimes interrupt the annual teaching schedule.
Language training continues in the third term, and you will have tutorials for the second of your three options. You will at this stage begin your thesis preparations, meeting with staff members to identify a thesis supervisor.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2021). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.**
The MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year course intended for students from all social science and humanities backgrounds. The course provides intensive training in a Middle Eastern language, training in research methods and topics relevant to the study of the Middle East.
The MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies accepts students who are complete beginners in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish). The course also accommodates students in any of these languages at an advanced level. If you already have research-level proficiency in one of these languages you will be required to take a different language.
In the first two terms, you will receive intensive language training to cover the fundamentals of grammar in your chosen Middle Eastern language. This training takes place in classes or language laboratories. You are expected to attend the weekly MPhil seminar, The Modern Middle East, held in the first term. The seminar is an interactive forum in which you are asked to present arguments and to respond to each other’s work. In addition to this seminar, you will be encouraged to attend lectures and seminars offered by the teaching staff during the first term. You will complete and submit a take-home written assignment based on the MPhil Seminar after the end of the first term which will form part of your Qualifying Examination.
In the second term, in consultation with your supervisor, you will arrange a series of tutorials for one of three options to be offered for the final examination. Tutorials typically involve eight weekly meetings and between four and six essays, arranged between you and your tutor. Most options have an associated lecture series which you are expected to attend.
Tutorial options offered on a regular basis include the following:
- History of the Middle East, 1860-1970
- Politics of the Middle East
- Social Anthropology of the Middle East
- International Relations of the Middle East
- Iranian History from the Constitutional to the Islamic Revolution, 1905-1979
- History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Politics of the Maghreb
- The Maghreb since 1830
- Main Themes in Israeli Politics and Society
- The Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa
- Political Islam, Islamism, and Modern Islamic Movements
- Modern Turkish Literature: Texts and Contexts
- The Arab-Israeli Conflict
- History from below in the Middle East and North Africa
- Space and Gender in Middle Eastern Literatures: The Harem and the Body
- History and Politics of the Gulf
- History of Qajar Iran
- Hebrew Literature
- Modern Islamic Thought.
Language training continues in the third term, and you will have tutorials for the second of your three options. You will at this stage begin your thesis preparations, meeting with staff members to identify a thesis supervisor. You will sit the qualifying language examination at the end of the third term.
During the long vacation from the end of June to early October you are urged to pursue intensive language training in an appropriate course in the region, political circumstances permitting. Information on the different courses can be obtained from the relevant language instructors, in consultation with supervisors. You are encouraged to take the opportunity provided by study abroad to conduct research for your thesis in the region.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
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