Arabic and Persian and Classical Studies

Arabic, Persian and Classical Studies brings together three of the most significant scholarly traditions in the humanities, each connected to civilisations of enormous historical importance. Arabic is the language of the Quran and the vehicle of one of the world's great intellectual and literary traditions, spanning philosophy, science, poetry and theology across the Islamic world. Persian carries an equally rich heritage of poetry, mysticism, history and political thought, produced across Iran, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent over more than a millennium.

Classical Studies engages with the Greek and Latin traditions that shaped much of Western intellectual history, and which also entered into sustained dialogue with Arabic and Persian thought during the medieval period.

At the University of St Andrews this five-year full-time degree allows you to pursue serious study of all three traditions, developing linguistic competence in Arabic and Persian alongside the historical, literary and cultural knowledge that brings those traditions alive. Your classical studies work will complement and enrich your understanding of the other two fields, especially in areas where Greek philosophical and scientific texts were translated into Arabic and transmitted through the Islamic world. The combination demands considerable linguistic commitment and rewards it with an exceptionally rare and distinctive scholarly profile.

Graduates from this kind of highly specialised language combination are well placed for careers in academia, diplomacy, translation and interpretation, government intelligence and foreign affairs roles, heritage and cultural organisations, and international development. The capacity for deep comparative cultural analysis and the linguistic range the degree develops make graduates attractive across a range of research and professional contexts where engagement with the Middle East, Iran or the classical world is relevant. Postgraduate study in Arabic, Persian, Islamic studies, classics, medieval history or comparative literature is a natural continuation for those pursuing academic careers.