The PhD program in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures and the MA program in Middle Eastern Studies encompass a wide variety of critical methodologies and approaches to the Middle East. Guiding students to conceptualize the Middle East regionally instead of limiting them to a narrow scope of nation- and language-based inquiry, our graduate programs encourage comparative study of the cultures, histories, and languages of the Middle East. In keeping with its open and flexible conception of Middle Eastern Studies, the programs nurture the study of more than one Middle Eastern language and familiarity with multiple Middle Eastern cultures. Course offerings are also widely varied, as are the topics of master's theses/reports and doctoral dissertations. UT's graduate programs embrace an inclusive view of the field, ensuring its continued leadership and visibility in the field. Our graduate programs have among the strongest job placement records in the College of Liberal Arts. Our doctoral program in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures placed 93% of their Ph.D. graduates in academic positions, with the college average being 75%. Although graduate programs in Middle Eastern Studies are not ranked officially in national reviews, we are nationally and internationally recognized as an academically excellent program which supports its students during their studies and places them in appropriate positions upon graduation. University reports have also identified that the placement rate of area studies departments, such as MELC, have higher academic placement rates than disciplinary departments in the Social Sciences and Humanities.
The Middle Eastern History track provides students with training in the discipline of History, with a geographic focus on the Middle East region, with the primary goal of training Ph.D.s for academic jobs in history programs. Thus, the program of study is designed to be consistent with the training typically provided in history departments.
While students may take some non-history courses, the program is structured so that the coursework, Ph.D. exams, and dissertation are all overseen primarily by historians, both within the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and in other departments, such as History or Religious Studies. While most of these historians will be focused on the Middle East, students are also allowed to work with historians who are not focused specifically on the Middle East. Usually, this will be because of shared theoretical, thematic, and methodological interests, but it could also be because of the desire to develop a secondary area of research or teaching competence. It also is not uncommon for students to include a historian from another university on their Ph.D. committee.
