Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations

In the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, faculty conduct research in the following areas: Egyptology, including archaeology, language, history, and religion; Mesopotamia and the Near East, including archaeology and Assyriology; Syro-Palestinian archaeology; Hebrew and Judaic studies, including Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew, law, history, religion, and modern Hebrew literature; Aramaic (Ancient, Biblical, Targumic, and Talmudic Aramaic) and Syriac studies, including language, history, religion; Arabic studies; Islamic studies; history of the Islamic world and the modern Middle East; Islamic art; Persian studies; and Turkish studies, including Ottoman language and history.

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations' additional admission requirements stated below.

• Admission via one of two routes:

  • MA degree in a relevant program from a recognized university with at least an A– average or equivalent in courses taken for the MA program.

  • Direct entry from a bachelor's degree for exceptionally qualified applicants, at the discretion of the department.

• Ability to conduct independent research.

• Competence in primary source language(s) relevant to the applicant's research.

• Two letters of reference.

• Statement of academic intent.

• Writing sample of no more than 12 double-spaced pages including footnotes.

• Curriculum vitae (CV)/resumé up to three pages in length.

• Applicants whose primary language is not English and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English must demonstrate proficiency in English. See General Regulations section 4.3 for requirements.

Duolingo English Test:Tests completed on or after July 1, 2024: Overall score of 120 with a score of 120 in production.

Tests completed before July 1, 2024: Overall score of 120, with no subscore below 100.

International Baccalaureate English:A minimum score of at least 4 (predicted or final) in Higher Level or Standard Level English A: Literature or English A: Language and Literature. English B Higher Level is not acceptable. Learn more about IB English.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS):The minimum requirement is an overall band of 6.5, with no band below 6.0. Results from IELTS (Academic) for UKVI test sittings are accepted. Learn more about IELTS.

Note: We do not accept the IELTS Indicator test or results from the IELTS One Skill Retake. Applicants must achieve the scores listed above on a single date.

Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic:The minimum requirement is an overall score of 65 with no part below 60. Results from PTE (Academic) UKVI test sittings are accepted. Learn more about PTE.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL):Tests completed before January 21, 2026:

- The minimum requirement is a total score of 89 with 22 in each of Speaking and Writing
- Applicants must achieve the scores listed above on a single date. TOEFL MyBest (super-scored) results will not be used.

Effective January 21, 2026 there will be a new TOEFL scoring format. Admission requirements for the new scale are under review and will be posted once finalized.

Paper based test: Tests will be reviewed on an individual basis. Learn more about TOEFL

We do not accept TOEFL Essentials, TOEFL ITP or TOEFL ITP Plus for China for admission purposes.