Arabic Studies

Arabic Studies at the University of Texas is a comprehensive program in Arabic language, literature, and culture.  The Department of Middle Eastern Studies offers B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in Arabic, with a concentration at the graduate level in either linguistics (theoretical or applied) or literature.  The program aims to graduate students with Advanced (B.A.) or Superior (M.A. and Ph.D.) proficiency in Arabic as well as cultural knowledge.  Graduate students are expected to develop research interests and skills in an area of their choosing, and are encouraged to present papers at academic conferences.  Graduate students also play a vital role in the Arabic program as Teaching Assistants and Assistant Instructors, and participate in the development of language curriculum and pedagogy.  

The B.A. program offers intensive language study that helps students reach Advanced proficiency in the language in three years, followed by courses in Arabic on literature, culture, the media, and one-credit Arabic Across Disciplines courses that link language study to the study of other subjects, such as history, government, and religion.  The curriculum combines both spoken and formal Arabic (also called colloquial and classical Arabic, respectively) from the very beginning, and courses are offered in both Egyptian and Levantine dialects (Levantine includes the similar Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian dialects).  

Admission to graduate study in Arabic requires demonstration of Advanced proficiency in Arabic (ACTFL standards).  Students in the M.A. program take courses in Arabic linguistics, literature, language pedagogy, and culture, choosing one area of focus in which they write an M.A. thesis or report.  The Ph.D. program offers specialties in linguistics and literature. Students choose one as a major and one as a minor, and in addition, constructs a third field within the area of culture, which can include a second Middle Eastern language.  PhD candidates must also demonstrate reading knowledge of a research language, normally German for linguistics and French for literature, and present a public lecture on their specialization in Arabic before graduating.    

Arabic Language Training

The Arabic Language Training at UT is a part of a comprehensive program in Arabic Studies offering coursework in formal and spoken Arabic at all stages of proficiency, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. ARA 506 is open to anyone with no background in Arabic who wishes to learn the language.

All students with knowledge of Arabic, however acquired, must take the Placement Test before registering for any Arabic class.  Contact the Undergraduate Advisor, Kimberly Dahl, or the Arabic Language Program Coordinator, Dr. Martha Schulte-Nafeh, to reserve a place at the Placement Test.  The test is given during the week before classes begin, and the exact time and date are announced on the Middle Eastern Studies website under Language Testing.

Arabic language training consists of three years of core language-centered coursework that aims to build skills in reading, listening, speaking, writing, and culture. These courses (ARA 506, 507, 512K, 512L, 420K and 420L) offer a proficiency-based curriculum based on the methodology of the Al-Kitaab fi Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya series, which introduces students to both formal and spoken Arabic from the beginning, and focuses on developing learning and comprehension strategies in addition to the active acquisition of vocabulary and structure.  In addition, students must register concurrently for the Conversation (Dardasha) class that is an integral part of the regular course (ARA 106, 107, 112K, 112L, 120K, 120L).  The program is demanding, and requires a significant time commitment on the part of the student, but the reward for that commitment is steady progress toward Advanced proficiency and beyond (based on the scale of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages).

Students are expected to reach Intermediate Low to Mid proficiency by the end of the first year, Intermediate Mid to High by the end of the second, and Advanced proficiency by the end of the third year.

Beyond the three-year core, students may choose from a large number of upper division and graduate courses taught in Arabic that focus on an area or discipline, such as linguistics, literature, news media, cinema, history, political science, culture and thought. Since spoken Arabic is part of the regular curriculum, courses in dialects are offered at advanced levels only, and include Levantine, Egyptian, and comparative dialect classes.

In addition to these courses, the program is developing a group of "Arabic Across the Curriculum" courses that offer students the opportunity to use their Arabic skills in disciplinary study. Films, lectures, and other cultural activities supplement classroom learning.

Graduate training in Arabic stresses cultural training, linguistic proficiency, and sophisticated use of research methods and theories, preparing students to research, analyze, write, and teach in their fields of specialty. Graduate seminars conducted in Arabic are offered in the areas of language, literature, and culture. In addition, courses in history and Islamic Studies offer Arabic language components that develop research skills in Arabic.