Graduate Admissions

The Center and Department of Middle Eastern Studies admit graduate students for the fall semester only. All materials must be filed electronically or received by the department by December 15. Applicants are notified of our decisions in March of the following year.

Applicants are encouraged to identify faculty with whom they would be interested in working, read some of their publications, and contact them directly before applying. A directory of our faculty along with areas of interest is available in the Faculty List.

Admissions Instructions

Unless otherwise specified, all materials should be submitted electronically. Paper documents should be mailed to the following address:
Graduate and International Admissions Center
University of Texas at Austin
PO Box 7608
Austin, TX 78713-7608

Street address (for overnight or courier delivery):
Graduate and International Admissions Center
2608 Whitis Ave
Austin, TX 78712-1534
 

Required application materials:

1. Application for Admission to Graduate Study
2. Application fee: $50 for US citizens and permanent residents; $75 for international applicants
3. Official transcripts from each college and/or university attended. Translations for documents in languages other than English must be provided.
4. Official GRE score report: Standard GRE test must have been taken within the past five years. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) code for the University of Texas at Austin is 6882; the code for Middle Eastern Studies is 2607.
5. Official TOEFL/IELTS score report: For international applicants only.
6. Statement of purpose: Submitted through the online application form.
7. Three letters of recommendation: Submitted through the online application form. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit letters from academic references who can speak to the prospective student’s scholarly abilities. Click on the link at the right to track the status of recommendation letters.
8. Writing sample: For applicants to Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian Studies only. The sample should be between 10 and 20 pages in length in the form of an essay, academic or professional report, or a published article. If longer than 20 pages, please indicate which 20-page section of the document the committee should focus on. Submissions should be sent as a pdf to Kimberly Dahl.

Note: Applicants for a dual degree program with Middle Eastern Studies must meet all admissions and application requirements, including deadlines, for each program.

Admissions Criteria

The graduate admissions committee takes all elements of each application into consideration. No single item will guarantee admission or disqualify an applicant. Admission is competitive, and decisions are based on past academic record and potential for success as demonstrated through a statement of purpose conveying a clear intellectual or professional agenda, strong letters of recommendation, and a writing sample (where applicable) showing scholarly talent.

Language Proficiency

Admission to the programs in Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian studies requires proficiency in the relevant language, according to ACTFL standards. Arabic and Persian studies applicants and applicants to the doctoral program in Hebrew studies must demonstrate proficiency at the Advanced level. Applicants to the master’s program in Hebrew studies must demonstrate Intermediate-High or better proficiency.

Applicants to the program in Middle Eastern studies are expected to posses the language skills necessary to take courses conducted in a Middle Eastern language at the upper-division or graduate level upon entering the program. A prospective student should therefore have studied a Middle Eastern language for a minimum of two years before entering the master’s program.

Minimum Scores

The Graduate School requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a four-point scale for admitted graduate students. The graduate admission GPA is calculated based on upper-division and graduate coursework only. Applicants with a GPA below the minimum may still be considered for conditional admission.
The Center for and Department of Middle Eastern Studies recommend a minimum GRE score of 500 on the verbal section and 1000 overall. Applicants with GRE scores below these standards may still be considered for admission, but are unlikely to receive funding offers.

A TOEFL score of 550 (paper test), 213 (computer-based test), or 79 (internet-based test) on OR an overall band of 6.5 on the IELTS is considered the minimum acceptable for admission to UT-Austin.

Funding

All applicants are considered for funding based on the materials submitted for admission. Prospective students interested in the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship must submit a separate application by December 15. Please see the Support Page for details on the FLAS and other financial resources.