Undergraduate Minor Arabic

The Department of Near Eastern Studies offers courses in the history, culture, archaeology, religion, languages and literature of the Near/Middle East, a region that has had an important impact on the development of human history and plays a vital role in today's world community. Encompassing the Near East from ancient times to the modern period, the department's course offerings encourage students to take an interdisciplinary approach to the cultures of this region and emphasize methods of historical and literary analysis.

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A major in Near Eastern Studies offers students the opportunity to explore the languages, literatures, archaeology, cultures, religions and history of the Near East/Middle East from antiquity to the modern day. The major is designed both to acquaint students broadly with the region and its cultures as well as to study a particular subfield in depth.

Major applications are available in the Near Eastern Studies Administrative Office, located in 409 White Hall. Prospective majors must meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in order to submit a major application. Email Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Deborah Starr, to schedule a meeting, or with any questions.

The applicant for admission to the major in Near Eastern Studies (NES) must have completed at least one NES course (language courses count).

All courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade (no S/U) and students must pass the course with a grade of C or better. No course may be used to satisfy two requirements. A maximum of two independent studies may be applied to the major; a maximum of two non-cross listed courses may be applied to the major; a maximum of two courses may receive credit for more than one major. A maximum of 15 credits of relevant, departmentally approved course work taken overseas or at another university may be applied to the major. Arts & Sciences requires that students must carry a minimum of 15 credits during a semester abroad. Students must fullfil the following requirements:

Cornell University undergraduates with an interest in the history, societies, cultures, archaeology and religions of the Near East are invited to complete a minor in Near Eastern Studies by taking five courses (minimum of 15 credits), subject to the following conditions:

Minors will remain in conversation regarding their course of study with the Director of Undergraduate Studies or be assigned to a member of the NES faculty who will serve as their minor advisor.

Students interested in the NES Minor should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Deborah Starr. The Minor application is available in the Near Eastern Studies Administrative Office, located in 409 White Hall.

The undergraduate minor in Arabic is intended for Cornell students who wish to broaden and deepen their competence in the Arabic language and knowledge of Arab culture. Such linguistic competence and knowledge have helped Cornell students in the past obtain positions in government agencies and think tanks and to enroll in the most competitive Arabic programs in this country.

Download an Arabic Minor Application or pick one up at the Near Eastern Studies Administrative Office, in 409 White Hall. Students interested in the Arabic Minor should contact the Arabic Program Director, Munther Younes.

The prerequisite for the minor is fulfilling the College of Arts & Sciences language requirement. This may be fulfilled with one of two options, or by proving native speaker proficiency and/or permission of Arabic Program Director, Munther Younes.

To complete the minor, students must take five Arabic courses with a minimum grade of C. These five courses include ARAB 2200 (Intermediate Arabic II), ARAB 3201 (Advanced Arabic I), and ARAB 3202 (Advanced Arabic II) and two electives, one course in each group:

To graduate cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude, a student in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences must complete a departmental honors program and be recommended by the department for an honors degree.

The Near Eastern Studies Honors Program is open to department majors who have done superior work and wish to devote a substantial portion of their senior year to advanced, specialized and independent study in Near Eastern Studies.

For admission to the honors program, candidates must fulfill all of the following requirements:

Prospective honors students are strongly encouraged to take NES 4560 (NES Proseminar) in their junior year.

Honors Program Applications are available at the Administrative Office in 409 White Hall.

By the beginning of the spring semester of their junior year, students should have identified a topic or research question of abiding intellectual interest. Students should bear in mind that an honors thesis is far more than a research paper, and therefore should propose a topic based on original research using primary sources. Students should make sure that they have the appropriate language skills for their proposed thesis.

Once students have a thesis topic in mind, they should approach a faculty member to supervise their work on the honors thesis. The student's major advisor or Director of Undergraduate Studies can help identify a thesis advisor appropriate to the topic. The student and the thesis advisor will then review the student's transcript to make sure that s/he is eligible for admission to the Honors Program (see admission requirements above). The thesis advisor should also ensure that the student has appropriate and sufficient language skills for the proposed topic.

The student and the thesis advisor will together identify two additional faculty members to serve on the thesis committee. It is the student's responsibility to contact (at least) one of these faculty members to request their participation on the committee before they submit their honors application.

After consulting with the prospective thesis advisor, the student must prepare a formal, well-thought out proposal for honors research. The proposal must include a statement of the research question, discussion of the relevant methodology, and a preliminary bibliography of primary and secondary sources. Additional components of the proposal are outlined on the honors application cover sheet. The proposal and this cover sheet should be submitted to the thesis advisor, committee member(s), and the Director of Undergraduate Studies by April 15 of the student's junior year.

At the end of the student's junior year, the Director of Undergraduate Studies will notify students whether or not they have been admitted as candidates in the Honors Program.

Students who are not in residence during their junior year (e.g., because of participation in a Cornell Abroad Program) should correspond with the DUS early in the spring semester regarding application to the Honors Program. Keeping in mind that being off campus prolongs the application process, students who are abroad should plan ahead and make sure they begin in a timely manner in order to meet the April 15 deadline.

If your final semester is the Fall semester, you will need to start the application process during the previous fall semester, to give yourself one full year to complete the program. That will put your deadline for the application in mid October of your junior year. Please consult with the DUS if this is the case.

The thesis advisor and committee member(s) evaluate the progress of each honors candidate in December/January and makes recommendations about continuation; students will be apprised of the outcome of their evaluation by the beginning of the spring semester.

The thesis, between 60-100 pages in length, is due on the Friday closest to April 7. Unbound copies should be prepared for the thesis advisor, committee member(s), and the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

In evaluating a thesis, faculty members take into consideration intellectual creativity, methodological innovation, scholarly rigor, and overall quality of presentation. Students should therefore ensure that the thesis is also well-written, impeccably edited, and abides by the footnote format conventional for their discipline of choice ( e.g., Chicago, MLA).

In deciding on the specific level of Latin honors, the committee may consider a candidate's complete academic record, not merely the thesis.

Submit a final copy of your project (if copies can be made) to the administrator of the program, Christianne Capalongo, in 409 White Hall.

Past Honors Theses are available for students to view by visiting the administrative office in 409 White Hall.

There are several opportunities for students to receive funding for conducting research in the Middle East.

Harry Caplan was one of Cornell’s most renowned and beloved professors of Classics. Two summer travel fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding juniors, not necessarily classics majors, to support travel or other projects that enhance serious study of the classical cultures of the Near East, Greece, Rome and Latinate medieval Europe. Students apply by submitting a proposal for the grant to the Classics Department on the first Friday of November.

Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies offers graduate and undergraduate scholarships to support fieldwork-based travel and research. In order for graduate students to be eligible to apply for Hirsch travel scholarships or CIAMS research grants, they must a) be a member of CIAMS and b) have completed the prerequisite CIAMS seminar. For more information visit ciams.cornell.edu/funding

Offers several Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants for archaeological research and publications. They have a November 1st deadline for several of the Fellowships and the Publication Grants: East & Islamic Studies Collection at Cornell University Library

Faculty in the Department of Near Eastern Studies hold informal discussions on a topic of interest or relevance to their research. Students are encouraged to bring friends and to come and go as their class schedules allow.

Lunches are typically held once a month during the regular academic year. Spring 2019 series TBA.