These are the basic requirements for NELC concentrators, regardless of which specific track you choose for concentration:
- The Middle East in Antiquity
- Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies (Islamic Studies)
- Jewish Studies
- Modern Middle Eastern Studies
Twelve 4.0 credit courses are required for the degree; click here for honors degree requirements.
Required courses
Four 4.0 credit courses in a language of the Near/Middle East. The language will be chosen in consultation with the student's mentor/advisor to fit each student's particular focus. If students can show evidence at the beginning of their concentration that they already have two years' knowledge of their language, they will be asked to take the two years at a more advanced level or in another language relevant to their focus. Students are encouraged, in the other courses for their concentration, to find ways to use their NELC language.
Five 4.0 credit courses to be chosen in consultation with the student’s mentor/adviser, in addition to the tutorials listed below. These should represent a coherent intellectual program. None of these courses may be taken Pass/Fail, with the possible exception of a Freshman Seminar (graded SAT/UNS) already taken by the student, providing that this Seminar is accepted as relevant by the student’s departmental mentor/advisor and the director of undergraduate studies.
Tutorials: All tutorials must be taken for a letter grade.
Sophomore year: Near Eastern Civilizations 101, formerly NEC 97r, (a 4.0 credit course). A group tutorial required of all concentrators, normally given in the spring term. It will comprise an introduction to the cultures and literatures of the Near/Middle East in ancient, classical, and modern times, and will also emphasize major themes and problems that cut across individual cultures and historical periods. The tutorial will be taught by NELC and affiliated faculty members.
Junior year: Two 4.0 credit courses of tutorial or seminar work required. The first, in the fall semester, will be a group tutorial introducing and surveying the particular track of the four NELC tracks that the student has chosen. For those in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, this tutorial will be the course The Modern Middle East 100: Introduction to Middle Eastern Studies. For those in The Middle East in Antiquity, Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies (Islamic Studies), and Jewish Studies, the fall introduction/ survey will be arranged as needed, to be taken as Near Eastern Civilizations 98r. In the spring semester, all concentrators will take either an individual or small-group tutorial on a subject within their chosen track or a course beyond the introductory level in that track; they should consult with their mentor/advisor on their choice of tutorial or course.
Senior year: No tutorial required. Students may, however, elect one semester of Near Eastern Civilizations 99, to be arranged with the advice and approval of their mentor/advisor and the director of undergraduate studies. That tutorial normally culminates in a paper or project as worked out with the instructor.
Thesis: Not required
General Examination: Required. An oral examination based on the student’s work, to be arranged under the supervision of the student’s mentor/advisor and the director of undergraduate studies.