About

Housed in the Department of Classics, Notre Dame's Program in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies offers an Arabic major and a minor in Middle Eastern and North African studies. Arabic students can also choose an interdisciplinary major in international economics. 

Arabic is a difficult but high-demand language that can be an asset in a wide array of careers. Our language courses, taught by native speakers, cultivate the ability to write clearly, listen precisely, speak with fluency, and read critically. 

While language is at the Arabic program’s core, a variety of electives complement language acquisition and expose both majors and non-majors to the richness and diversity of Middle Eastern culture and Islamic intellectual history and thought. A full selection of courses in Arabic literature, history, civilization, culture, and religion provide a balanced and integrated approach to the field.

Open to all Notre Dame undergraduates, our interdisciplinary minor in Middle Eastern and North African studies aims to educate and equip the next generation of students with scholarly skills and policy acumen that will enable them to navigate future issues involving these regions in a constructive and nuanced manner. Students can choose between two tracks: religion and literature, or history and politics.

Students studying Arablc or Middle Eastern and North African studies at Notre Dame learn from and research alongside world-class scholars in a wide array of liberal arts disciplines. Our program hosts a number of research collaborations and serves as a gathering place for scholars investigating a wide range of topics involving the Middle East and North Africa.