Department website: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/mes/index.php

Graduate Handbook

Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.

Admission

Offered by the Department for Middle Eastern Studies, the Master of Arts (MA) in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC) is an interdisciplinary academic degree designed to broaden and deepen the student’s knowledge of the languages and cultures of the Middle East prior to taking advanced PhD coursework. Courses taken at The University of Texas at Austin for the MA degree in MELC, but not the MA report or thesis courses, may count toward the hours required for the PhD. The MELC MA degree is to be taken as part of the MELC PhD program. It is not a terminal MA degree. Students who are interested in a terminal MA degree should consider the MA in Middle Eastern Studies offered by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The MA program in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures is understood as a step in preparing students for the PhD. Students will not be admitted for the MA alone. The entering student must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. 

Total Hours Required: 30

Requirements

Both the thesis and report options require 30 semester hours of coursework, which is to be chosen in consultation with the student's supervisor or the graduate advisor. The thesis option requires at least 24 semester hours of coursework, to be taken on a letter-grade basis, and six semester hours (MES 698, Part A and B) of thesis coursework culminating in an approved thesis. The report option requires 27 semester hours of coursework, to be taken on a letter-grade basis, and three semester hours (MES 398R) of report coursework culminating in an approved report.

All students are expected to maintain a minimum 3.50 grade point average in order to remain in good standing. Failure to maintain this minimum average will result in a warning letter and one semester of warning, during which time the student is expected to return to a minimum 3.50 average. The program has the discretion to dismiss students who are unable to meet this requirement after one additional semester.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
All students must also follow the requirements and policies below:
Graduate Liberal Arts Requirements
Graduate University Requirements