REQUIREMENTS

Six semester courses are required.

Language (1 course): Completion of at least one year of college-level Arabic or modern Hebrew. Only the second semester of the beginner's language sequence counts as one of the six courses required for the minor, though students earn course credit towards overall Smith degree requirements for the full year. Additional language study of Arabic and Hebrew at the intermediate and advanced levels at Smith or within the 5-College consortium is strongly encouraged. Students may apply to the MES Committee for funding of summer language study - eg. Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Turkish, Urdu.

Breadth Requirements (2 courses):
1. A course on classical Islam or pre-modern (prior to 1800) Middle Eastern history.
2. A course on modern history, contemporary politics/economics/sociology/anthropology, or modern/contemporary Islamic thought.

Electives (3 courses):
In consultation with their adviser, students may choose additional electives in religion, literature, arts, and/or history and the social sciences.

Students who wish to conduct independent research may approach an advisor for permission to enroll in MES 400 (Special Studies). MES 400 is a research intensive course, available only to qualified juniors and seniors, and would serve as one of the electives.

Apart from language classes, no more than two courses may be taken from the same department or program. And normally no more than three courses can be taken away from Smith.