Foreign Language
All students must be able to demonstrate a proficiency equivalent to four college-level semesters in a modern Middle Eastern language: Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish. One semester must be in progress or completed prior to admission to the major. The remaining three semesters may be completed at any time before graduation. Equivalency can also be achieved through AP credit, examination and/or study abroad.

Upper Division Core Courses (3)
The core course requirement is intended to provide a broad introduction to the Middle East, encompassing geography and ethnography, history and cultures, and current political, economic and social developments. To satisfy this requirement, students must take three courses from three different departments on the approved list (consult the MES Student Handbook).

Upper Division Concentration (4)
In addition to the core courses, MES students must complete a four-course disciplinary concentration requirement in which they pursue advanced study of a selected topic in Middle Eastern Studies following a particular disciplinary approach. Topics may focus on a specific region or a thematic problem, and may relate to religious and cultural studies, history, contemporary development and social change, urbanization, nation building, the impact of imperialism and colonialism on the Middle East, among other topics. The concentration must be designed in consultation with the MES coordinating faculty advisor at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in 340 Stephens Hall and pre-approved by an MES professional advisor in the IASTP Advising Office in 101 Stephens Hall. In order to ensure disciplinary depth, at least two of the four courses taken to fulfill the concentration requirement must be in the same department. The remaining two must be thematically related to the selected topic. Students may choose their concentration courses from the list of core courses in the MES Student Handbook and from those courses indicated as at least 50% Middle East-related in the - Courses in Middle Eastern Studies - list available at the CMES each semester and posted on its website: http://ias.berkeley.edu/iasasp/cmes/courses.asp.

Honors (2)
Students with the requisite GPAs of 3.5 cumulative and 3.6 in the major may elect to complete a two-semester honors thesis course sequence instead of the one-semester senior thesis.

Senior Thesis
Each student will participate in a tutorial with a Middle Eastern Studies faculty member to write a senior thesis (a paper of 25-50 pages) on a topic within the Middle Eastern area. Students with the requisite GPAs of 3.5 cumulative and 3.6 in the major may elect to complete a two-semester honors thesis course sequence instead of the one-semester senior thesis.

After Graduation
The MES major is designed to provide a broad-based liberal arts background as well as the intellectual skills appropriate for careers in either the public or private sector. The major offers an excellent background for students planning postgraduate careers in social science disciplines and professional schools. MES graduates have gone on to work in industry and government, both in the United States and abroad. About half pursue graduate studies, many of whom then go on to academic or professional careers.