Arabic and Economics

Arabic and economics is a combination that pairs one of the world's most strategically important languages with one of the most analytically powerful social science disciplines. Arabic connects you to the culture, literature and politics of over 400 million people across the Middle East and North Africa, a region at the centre of global energy markets, geopolitical tensions and some of the most significant development questions of our time. Economics gives you the theoretical and quantitative tools to analyse markets, trade, resource allocation, development and the behaviour of firms and governments.

At the University of St Andrews the programme runs over four years full time and includes a year abroad, which you will use to develop your Arabic in an immersive context and to deepen your engagement with the societies and economies you are studying. You will develop real language proficiency in Arabic alongside a rigorous grounding in economic theory, microeconomics, macroeconomics and applied quantitative methods. The combination is particularly productive for comparative analysis, allowing you to bring both linguistic access to primary sources and economic analytical frameworks to questions of development, trade, inequality and political economy in the Arab world.

Graduates are highly regarded in careers across finance, investment, international development, economic consultancy, diplomacy, foreign policy, international organisations, journalism and intelligence. The combination of Arabic fluency and economic analytical capability is uncommon and genuinely valued by employers with interests in the Middle East and broader Muslim-majority economies. Postgraduate study in development economics, Middle Eastern studies, international relations, political economy or area studies provides further specialisation for those seeking research or policy careers.