Minor in Middle Eastern Studies

Sammy Zeyad Badran, Coordinator

The minor in Middle Eastern studies provides students with an opportunity to delve into the history, politics, and culture of the Middle East. This program's interdisciplinary design empowers students to explore topics of personal interest, enabling them to develop a deep understanding of the region.
Students seeking a minor in Middle Eastern studies must successfully complete the following requirements:

• a minimum of 12 credit hours including:
  • three credit hours of minor requirements
  • a minimum of nine credit hours of minor electives
• a minimum of six credit hours of the 12 credit hours required for the minor successfully completed in residence at AUS
• a minimum of six credits hours of the courses for the minor at or above the 300 level successfully completed in residence at AUS
• a minimum GPA of 2.00 in courses completed to satisfy the minor

Courses used to satisfy the student’s degree program’s graduation requirements can be used towards meeting the requirements of the minor as follows:

• courses used to satisfy the requirements of the minor do not double count towards meeting the core requirements, major requirements, major electives, concentration requirements, concentration electives, or general education requirements of the student’s degree program graduation requirements;
• free elective courses can double count towards meeting the minor’s required and elective courses.

Students pursuing two minors must meet the requirements of both minors. Courses used to satisfy the requirements of one minor can double count towards satisfying the requirements of the second minor provided that, at a minimum, 12 credit hours are not double counting.

Minor Requirements
3 credit hours)

Students must successfully complete the following course:

• HIS 204 Modern Arab History

Minor Electives
(minimum of 9 credit hours)

Students must successfully complete a minimum of nine credit hours in courses from the following list:

• ARA 306 Arabic Travel Writing
• ARA 307 Arabs and the “Other”
• ARA 320 The Andalusian Symbiosis
• ARA 340 The Social Context of Arabic
• ECO 315 Economics of the Middle East
• FIN 370 fundamentals of Islamic Finance
• HIS 307 Modern Palestinian History
• HIS 308 Ottoman History
• HIS 310 Modern Gulf History
• HIS 311 American and the Middle East
• HIS 312 Modern Iranian History
• INS 413 Political Economy of the Arab World
• INS 415 War and Peace in the Middle East
• POL 409 Politics and Civil Society in the Middle East
• any approved special topic courses. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.