Best universities for Middle Eastern Studies?

Cool, thanks. The Lund program has exchange links with AUB as far as I know, so I could always do a semester there. Would it be better career-wise to graduate with a European MA rather than an AUB/AUC one? Given that my BSc is already from the UK, I thought maybe some diversity in that respect would be beneficial.

Price isn't really an issue as my govt pays the first ~£5000 of the tuition fees. And AUB appears to be just slightly above that (in fact, all of the universities I listed are around or below £5000).

I would do the EU MA with a semester abroad. The quality of teaching is much much higher than at AUB / AUC.

If you want diversity go for Lund. Great programme and you can do the semester abroad at AUB.

Also what do you want out of it? What are you career goals?

I don't plan to work in diplomacy or ME research necessarily. It's more just out of pure interest and I'm aiming to work in politics or media.

How are the American ME programs? There are plenty of them but I'm not sure how they rate compared to the European ones. Which ones are the best US ME programs?

The best middle east program in America and considered one if the top if not top in the world is located in Georgetown University. Their middle east studies center is massively funded and they have top rate faculty. Michigan University is also fantastic for middle east studies as well as UChicago and Indiana University Bloomington. Then you have the big names like Yale, Columbia, Harvard which are always fantastic for middle east studies. I've heard good things about NYU's area studies programs but I am suspicious of any of their non professional school masters programs. If you are really hoping for arabic improvement the summer program at Middlebury is quite well known and famous. I'm not sure if you can apply for a FLAS scholarship but if you can, look into.

Hello All, I am currently a student in the Masters Program for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University. If anyone has questions feel free to ask away.

~D

Well, Telling it all could be useful, but I would appreciate specific questions to get the ball rolling.

Great! I understand third term is for internships/exchange. Which exchange links are there in place? I've heard AUB, but would be great to get that confirmed.

Also, are the Arabic classes only available in Swedish? I speak Swedish, but it's not my strongest language and so I think Swedish->Arabic would be a real challenge...

What kind of profiles do most successful applicants have? What about you personally? I'm mostly wondering how competitive it is, and what admissions tutors focus on the most.

Thanks!

Concerning the Third Semester, The AUB is a connection, and the staff at CMES in Lund would work with you to set something up. But don't expect the center to give you options or pre-set internships. Since it is a new program, my class is the first group of students actually experiencing the "Third Semester" and this experience wont begin until September. Once we have gone through it, there will be more actual on the ground connection that CMES Lund can follow up on. From my observations of the students so far, creating the internships and semesters abroad took on a wide variety of ways. Some found European scholarships that paid for their trips to Oman to study Arabic, others enrolled directly to The American University in Cairo, and some found research positions in Lebanon with professors that taught us throughout the year. Really you can do exactly what you want if you come with a plan, and I would recommend coming with an idea of what you want to do and with your perseverance, the CMES staff will follow your lead. But everything is open as long as it is communicated and relevant to your course of study.

I took matters into my own hands when deciding my third semester, I contacted professors and centers in the Middle East, and drafted a research proposal that I then sent to a professor of Linguistics at the American University of Sharjah, and the director of an Arabic language center in Oman. I explained my situation and what I wanted to do with my time during the Middle East, and we kept conversations going for a while until things were agreed upon. CMES Lund was invlovled when necessary, mostly when having to create official documents, contracts, and letters to send to other members of academia at AUS and the Language center. We needed to make things official with signatures and e-mail correspondence between faculty, and not just student and faculty. Again, I made much more of an effort than the majority of the students in my class, and this was also because I wanted to ficus on a field (Language and Arabic Dialects) that the center was not strong in.

The Masters Program in and international "English" program, so all classes (included Arabic) are taught in English. So no problem there, I am from the States myself and wouldn't have been able to come if things were all conducted in Sedish, so that was good. Lund University created special Arabic classes just for CMES, so it could accommodate the international students, and the English language.

As for the profiles, I would say half of the students form my class had no previous experience in the Middle East, or political science. I studied international studies for my BS and had been living in the Middle East for 3 years working and studying. Form what I can recall after talking with the staff and the people in charge of applications, the heaviest weighing factor in the applications would be the personal statement, they want people with ambitions and desire concerning the Middle East. It can be anything as long as you show enthusiasm and commitment to the region.

What were you doing in the Middle East and where were you living? I am doing the same at the moment (working for an INGO in the Middle East)

What made you pick Lund over say programmes in the USA or UK? What are you hoping to do after the course ends? Do you think the programme stands up to top schools in the USA / UK?

I was working full time at an Egyptian Communication and Design company as an Account Executive. It wasn't a job I could save with, but gave me fluency in the Egyptian dialect Worth more than any paycheck in my book. I was living in Cairo for 2.5 years and before that it was Syria. Syria was just for Arabic and Egypt was mainly work and dialect acquisition. I have recorded many of my experiences at:

www.arabicresource.com

I chose Lund for two reasons, at the time tuition was free for non EU members and my fiance was from Sweden. I had been wanting to continue my education with a Masters and it was the perfect fit with my interests and personal situation. As for how it compares, I cannot really tell you, although it was mentioned before, it is a new program, and there will always be things to improve on, but the Swedes are a very attentive to hearing how things can be better. I think it is great if the person enrolling is a self started and does not rely on others to give them direction, there is tons of freedom and your focus can be accommodated. So reputation is the only thing I can think of that it lacks, but quality is there and the professors are engaged with the students.

Good website! I will have a look through it when I leave work.

I will probably contact you next year to see what your impressions of the course are still!

Do you want to go on to PhD level study afterwards?

Where are you exactly in the Middle East? What NGO? I would love to hear a little of your background as well.

I am approaching my Thesis as if I will continue on to a PhD, but it will not be clear until the end of this year. I am looking for Doctoral position and talking with professors as to the best route for this. If I do go further it will most likely be in Second Language Acquisition, or even more specific with Teaching Arabic as a Second Language.

I have been here for 1.5 years now and will be here (in Cairo) until September 2012 (was previously living in Syria learning Arabic). Working for the regional office of an INGO (don't really want to identify myself on here)

Where did you do the term abroad?

I think I will be applying straight to a few PhD programmes in the US to see if I get on (the funding packages are great) if not I will either go to Sciences Po (international affairs) and then work for a couple of years in the Middle East before PhD or go to Lund with the hope of getting onto a PhD in the US / Middle East afterwards.

It is all very confusing!