Arabic with Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

Arabic with Islamic and Middle Eastern studies is a combination that places linguistic training at the heart of a deep engagement with the history, religion, culture and politics of one of the world's most consequential regions. Arabic is not a single uniform language but a family of varieties, unified by a rich classical and modern standard tradition, that serves as the medium of the Quran, of a literary tradition stretching back over fourteen centuries, and of the contemporary press, literature and broadcast media of more than twenty countries across the Arab world. Understanding that world with any depth requires Arabic, and Arabic becomes immeasurably richer when understood in relation to Islamic civilisation and the politics of the Middle East.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year full-time programme follows the Scottish honours structure and draws on one of the UK's strongest centres for the study of Arabic, Islam and the Middle East. Edinburgh's Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies department has significant depth in classical and modern Arabic language and literature, Islamic history and thought, and the political history and contemporary affairs of the Arab world. The typical entry tariff is around 168 UCAS points.

You will develop proficiency in both classical and modern Arabic through intensive language study, learning to read and understand texts from the classical Islamic tradition alongside contemporary Arabic media, fiction and journalism. Islamic and Middle Eastern studies will cover the history of Islam, Islamic philosophy and theology, the political history of the Arab world and the contemporary politics of the Middle East and North Africa, including questions of governance, conflict, social change and international relations.

Graduates of Arabic with Islamic and Middle Eastern studies programmes are well placed for careers in diplomacy and foreign service, intelligence and security services, journalism covering the Arab world and Islam, international law, humanitarian and development organisations, energy and business in the Gulf and broader region, think tanks, NGOs and academic research. The combination of genuine Arabic proficiency and scholarly depth in Islamic civilisation and Middle Eastern politics is genuinely rare and consistently sought after in contexts where understanding of the region matters.