Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

This program encompasses the study of ancient and modern peoples, languages, literatures, cultures, and societies of the Near and Middle East.
This program encompasses the study of ancient and modern peoples, languages, literatures, cultures, and societies of the Near and Middle East. Languages include Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Iranian, Persian, Sumerian, Turkish, and Yiddish. The program has three major fields of study: ancient Near Eastern studies, Jewish history and culture, and histories and cultures of Muslim societies.

You will work with a world-renowned faculty and unparalleled resources in the various fields of Near Eastern studies with the Harvard library system, museums, and centers of learning. You will have the opportunity to study abroad. Previous field trip destinations include Israel, Morocco, Turkey, Tunis, Rome, and Germany.

GSAS welcomes applications for admission from individuals who have or will have by the time of matriculation a BA, BS, or equivalent undergraduate degree (for prospective international students, a three- or four-year undergraduate degree from an institution of recognized standing) and actively seeks applicants from groups historically underrepresented in graduate schools.
Applicants are required to upload transcript copies from each college/university they attended into our online application system: official hard copy/paper transcripts are not required at the time of application.
Applicants who are non-native English speakers and who received their undergraduate degree from an academic institution where English is not the primary language of instruction must prove their English proficiency by earning either a minimum score of 80 on the Internet based test (iBT) of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a minimum score of 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test.