Admission: Students already in the department working toward the M.A. degree who want to continue graduate study and pursue the Ph.D. degree should apply to the department for permission by the beginning of the semester in which they will complete all requirements for the M.A. degree. That application should include a statement of research interests, an outlined plan of study, and at least three letters of recommendation from NYU faculty. Departmental permission to continue graduate work toward the Ph.D. degree is neither automatic nor guaranteed; students to whom the department denies permission to continue graduate study receive the M.A. as their terminal degree, provided they have met all the requirements for that degree.

Students who already have, or are about to receive, an M.A. degree from another department, program, or university should apply for admission in accordance with the procedures specified by the Graduate School of Arts and Science. At the department’s discretion, students may be granted up to 32 points of degree credit for graduate-level course work done elsewhere.

Course of Study: Students must complete 72 points of graduate course work, including at least three graduate seminars and Problems and Methods in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (G77.1687), if not already taken. They must also demonstrate proficiency in either Arabic, Persian, or Turkish as well as a reading knowledge sufficient for research purposes of at least one European language. A student may be required by his or her dissertation adviser to learn additional languages, in keeping with the student’s specific research needs.

As early as possible in their graduate studies, students should choose two major fields and begin focusing their studies on them. Subject to the availability of faculty, major fields may include Islamic studies; ancient Egyptian history/language/culture; classical Arabic language and literature; modern Arabic language and literature; Persian language and literature; and Turkish language and literature. Students primarily interested in Middle Eastern history should see below for information about the joint Ph.D. program in history and Middle Eastern studies.

By the end of their third year of graduate study, students should have taken and passed a written comprehensive examination in each of their two major fields. Students prepare for these examinations by course work and by working through a reading list for each field under the supervision of the faculty member who will examine them; each examination will have a second reader as well. Each written comprehensive examination will be followed by an oral examination, administered by the two readers. Students who do not pass a major field examination may petition the department for permission to take it one more time.

After completing the major field requirements, the student should formulate a dissertation proposal, in consultation with his or her primary dissertation adviser as well as the faculty members on the student’s dissertation committee. On completion of all course work (including all incompletes) and the fulfillment of all language requirements, the student must successfully defend the dissertation proposal, with the student’s adviser and two other faculty members serving as examiners.

The completed dissertation must conform to departmental and Graduate School of Arts and Science standards, be read and approved by the student’s supervisor and two other faculty members, and be defended in a public oral defense in which those three readers and two additional examiners participate.

JOINT PH.D. PROGRAM IN HISTORY AND MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES

Note: Program requirements are subject to revision; contact the director of graduate studies for updated information.

Admission: Students primarily interested in the history of the Middle East should seek admission to the joint Ph.D. program in history and Middle Eastern studies, in accordance with the procedures specified by the Departments of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History. Admission to the joint program is contingent on outstanding academic performance and is provisional until the completion of all M.A. requirements and until qualifying examinations are taken and passed.

Course of Study: Joint Ph.D. students must complete a total of 72 points, including three graduate seminars; at least one of those seminars must be in a non-Middle Eastern field. Students must demonstrate proficiency in at least one Middle Eastern language, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, as well as a reading knowledge of at least one European language, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Department of History. A student may be required by his or her dissertation adviser to learn additional languages, in keeping with the student’s specific research needs.

Students should begin defining the fields of historical study in which they wish to specialize as early as possible. Joint program students must also take the methodology course required of all history graduate students. Between their second and third year of full-time study, students must take and pass a comprehensive examination in each of two major fields of history. One field must be Middle Eastern; the other may be Middle Eastern or one of the other fields defined by the Department of History. Subject to the availability of faculty, Middle Eastern fields may include modern Middle Eastern history (1750-present), early modern Middle Eastern history (1200-1800), and early Islamic history (600-1200); other Middle Eastern history fields may be approved later. Each student’s choice of fields must be approved by the directors of graduate studies of both departments.

Both comprehensive examinations are normally taken at the end of the same semester, but students may petition to take one of their examinations no later than the end of the following semester. Each written comprehensive examination will be followed by an oral examination, administered by the two readers. Students who do not pass a comprehensive examination may petition for permission to take it one more time. Students preparing for an examination in any of the fields for which the Department of History prescribes “literature of the field” courses must take those courses. For Middle Eastern history fields, preparation for examinations in those fields may be done in formal “literature of the field” courses, if offered, or through reading courses arranged with faculty. In either case, students prepare for their examinations by course work in the field and by working through a reading list for the field under the supervision of the faculty member who will examine them; each examination will have a second reader as well.

After successfully completing his or her comprehensive examinations, the student should begin to formulate a dissertation proposal, in consultation with the student’s primary dissertation adviser. On completion of all course work (including all incompletes) and the fulfillment of all language requirements, the student must successfully defend the dissertation proposal, with the student’s adviser and two other faculty members serving as examiners.

The completed dissertation must conform to departmental and Graduate School of Arts and Science standards, be read and approved by the student’s supervisor and two other faculty members, and be defended in a public oral defense in which three readers and two examiners participate.

 Back to Top