The graduate and undergraduate programs of the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations emphasize reflective scholarship based on sound knowledge of the languages, civilizations, and material culture of the Near East. The Department’s main faculty strengths today are in the areas of Arabic, Graeco-Arabic, and Islamic studies; Assyriology, including Sumerian and Akkadian; and Egyptology. Instruction is also available in art and archaeology, Aramaic (including Syriac), Classical Ethiopic, Hebrew, Persian, modern and Ottoman Turkish, and Ugaritic.

The Modern Middle East Studies major focuses on the culture, history, religion, politics, and society of the modern Middle East in its full geographical breadth, using any of its four major languages, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish. Courses are selected from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and from other departments in the humanities and social sciences, including Anthropology, History, History of Art, Judaic Studies, Political Science, Religious Studies, and Sociology. The Modern Middle East Studies major gives students the language skills necessary to understand complex issues of the Middle East and serves as excellent preparation for graduate study or for business and professional careers in which an understanding of that region is essential.

The Certificate recognizes competency in the history, society, politics, and culture of the Middle East. Its award acknowledges substantial preparation in Middle East Studies, both in the student’s major graduate or professional field, and also in terms of the disciplinary and geographical diversity required to demonstrate expertise in the region as a whole.

The Arabic program at Yale University is a solid and rigorous program for academic and professional purposes. The aim is to equip students with a high level of language proficiency.

The Yale Persian program is part of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. The program offers modern Persian language courses through L-5.

The Yale Turkish program is part of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. The program not only offers modern Turkish language courses through L-5, but also Ottoman Turkish reading courses.

The Program in Iranian Studies at the MacMillan Center promotes study of Iran, Afghanistan and the Persianate cultural sphere, with emphasis on regional and international affairs, domestic political developments as well as society, history, religion, art, art history, culture, law, medicine and public health, economy, and environment. It also encourages study of Iran and Afghanistan within the broader context of the Middle East, and especially in relation to neighboring Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Persian Gulf, as well as Pakistan, India, China, and Central Asia.

The Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization at Yale Law School brings prominent scholars of Islam to the Yale campus for public lectures, seminar discussions, visiting fellowships, and visiting professorships.

The doctoral program in Early Modern Studies provides graduate students with the opportunity to focus on the history and culture of the late medieval and early modern periods, circa 1350-1800, with an emphasis on global, interdisciplinary approaches. It welcomes students working in wide range of languages and geographies across the world. This program expands the structure and foci of the doctoral program in Renaissance Studies, which has a long and vibrant history at Yale. It is the only doctoral program of its kind in the United States.