Undergraduate Programs

Undergraduate students in the Elliott School of International Affairs who wish to study the Middle East may do so in one of three majors: the Middle East Studies Major or the International Affairs Major (either Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science) with a regional concentration on the Middle East.

Bachelor of Arts in Middle East Studies 

All students pursuing an Elliott School major will complete the General Bachelor’s Program Requirements. In addition to the General Bachelor’s Program Requirements, students pursuing the Middle East studies major are required to complete the Middle East studies major requirements outlined below. Students must also demonstrate third-year proficiency in a modern Middle Eastern  language through examination or coursework.

This major builds upon the same multidisciplinary core found in the international affairs degree and further concentrates on topics central to the Middle East. After four years of study, successful students will have achieved proficiency in a modern regional language (Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian, with the option to pursue Turkish via The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area) and acquired the intellectual tools they need to understand the region's history and contemporary dynamics. Students are encouraged to study within the Middle East through one of GW's formal partnerships with a regional university or their own self-designed study-abroad program.

General Requirements Major Requirements

Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs (Middle East Concentration)

All students pursuing an Elliott School major will complete the General Bachelor’s Program Requirements. In addition to the General Bachelor’s Program Requirements, students in the Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs (BAIA) program are required to complete each of the three BAIA major requirements outlined below. Students must also demonstrate third-year proficiency in a modern foreign language through examination or coursework.

The Middle East concentration provides a comparative and international study of the countries of the Middle East as well as regions connected to the Middle East through Islam, including the Maghreb section of Africa and Southwest Asia. The modern history of the region, regional economics, culture and religion, and comparative and regional politics are covered. Anthropological, economic, religious, political, and historical methods are utilized in study of the region. The Middle East Concentration has the same requirements for both the B.A. and B.S. International Affairs programs aside from the advanced STEM requirement for the B.S.

General Requirements Concentration Requirements

Bachelor of Science in International Affairs (Middle East Concentration)

All students pursuing an Elliott School major will complete the General Bachelor’s Program Requirements. In addition to the General Bachelor’s Program Requirements, students in the Bachelor of Science in International Affairs (BSIA) program are required to complete each of the four BSIA Major Requirements outlined below (Advanced Fundamentals, Regional Foundations, Advanced STEM Requirement, and a Concentration OR Second Major). Students must also demonstrate third-year proficiency in a modern foreign language through examination or coursework.

The Middle East concentration provides a comparative and international study of the countries of the Middle East as well as regions connected to the Middle East through Islam, including the Maghreb section of Africa and Southwest Asia. Modern history of the region, regional economics, culture and religion, and comparative and regional politics are covered. Anthropological, economic, religious, political, and historical methods are utilized in study of the region. The Middle East Concentration has the same requirements for both the B.A and B.S. International Affairs programs aside from the advanced STEM requirement for the B.S.

General Requirements Concentration Requirements

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