THE
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN
NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
| Director, Graduate Studies, Leila Hudson, Assistant Professor | Graduate Programs Coordinator, Kathleen Landeen |
| Email lhudson@email.arizona.edu | (520) 626-8731 or email klandeen@email.arizona.edu |
Students applying for admission into the Ph.D. program in
Near Eastern Studies are normally expected to have completed a BA or MA in Near
or Middle Eastern Studies. However, students with degrees in related fields
demonstrating substantial and outstanding coursework in Near Eastern Studies are
also encouraged to apply. All
applicants should, at the very least, demonstrate intermediate proficiency in
one Middle Eastern language. For
details on how to apply, see admissions
requirements. All applicants
should apply for NES
financial aid.
The
doctorate in Near Eastern Studies consists of four tracks:
1)
Critical Studies in Modern Middle Eastern Culture and
Society;
2) Islamic Studies;
3) Linguistics of Middle Eastern
Languages;
4) Middle
Eastern Literatures (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish).
Applicants
to the Ph.D. program should specify which track and primary language they wish
to pursue.
Credit
and Transfer Units
A
minimum of 54 units of coursework are required for the Ph.D.: 45 units in the
major track and 9 units in the minor. While
most of the courses in the major track will be NES courses, a student may, in
consultation with his/her advisor and the Graduate Advisor, apply an appropriate
number of courses from other departments, such as Anthropology, History, and
Linguistics, to the major track. In
addition, a minimum of 18 units of dissertation credits are required and no more
than 9 units of dissertation credit may be taken in any given semester.
Dissertation units are not included in the 54 units of required graduate
course work.
Graduate
coursework in Near Eastern Studies earned at the
Students who have completed graduate coursework in a field other than Near or Middle Eastern Studies may be able to transfer some units towards NES Ph.D. requirements, depending on their applicability as determined by the departmental Graduate Studies Committee. Once advised to do so by this committee, such students should submit a request to the Graduate College (in consultation with the Graduate Advisor) prior to the end of their first year of study.
The University
of
Major
In addition to the MA thesis or Linguistics-track qualifying paper,
all NES Ph.D. students are required to take NES 595D: Middle East
Studies: Approaches, Themes, and Controversies and at least one course in each
of the following fields: 1) Middle Eastern History, 2) Islamic Studies, and 3)
Gender and Society in the Middle East.
Minor
Students
must take a minimum of nine units in a minor field, usually in a department
outside of NES, selected in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. Students
are encouraged to consider structured minors offered by a number of departments
(e.g. Anthropology, Women’s Studies) that complement the Ph.D. tracks in NES.
In conjunction with his/her major professor or advisor, each student is
responsible for developing a Plan of Study during their first year in residence,
to be filed with the Graduate College no later than the student’s third
semester in residence. The Plan of Study identifies (1) courses the student
intends to transfer from other institutions; (2) courses already completed at
The University of Arizona which the student intends to apply toward the graduate
degree; and (3) additional course work to be completed in order to fulfill
degree requirements. The Plan of Study must have the approval of the student’s
major professor (Committee Chair) and department head (or Director of Graduate
Studies) before it is submitted to the
Students
entering the program with a BA only will be reviewed at the end of their second
year, after completing the MA thesis or Linguistics-track qualifying paper. The
Graduate Committee and the student’s Major advisor will review the student’s
performance in coursework and in the thesis or paper and make a recommendation
as to whether the student should be awarded a terminal M.A. or continue with the
Ph.D. program.
Languages
Two
Middle Eastern languages and one European language are required for the
doctorate. Students must attain a
high level of proficiency in one Middle Eastern language, sufficient for
advanced research in that language. An
intermediate level reading knowledge is required in the second Middle Eastern
language. Proficiency in the
European language must be demonstrated by coursework verifying intermediate
level knowledge of French or German (or other language of scholarship approved
by the Graduate Advisor), or by completing German 500 or French 502 at The
University of Arizona. All foreign
language requirements must be satisfied before taking the Comprehensive
Examination.
To
meet the minimum
Qualifying Examination
A qualifying examination or diagnostic evaluation may be required to
demonstrate acceptability to pursue the doctorate as well as to determine areas
of study where further course work is necessary. This
examination is waived if the candidate has completed a master’s degree at The
University of Arizona in NES. The
examination should be taken during the first semester of residence and
preferably during the first two weeks of residence.
Time
Limitation
All requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must be completed
within 5 years of passing the Comprehensive Exam. Should a student not finish
within that time period, he or she may be allowed to re-take the Comprehensive
Exam with permission of the program, and then proceed to complete other
requirements, e.g., the dissertation.
Cross-Listed
Courses
All cross-listed courses are accepted as NES courses.
Non-cross-listed courses cannot be included in the major requirement
without the approval of the student’s major advisor and the Graduate Advisor.
Each student must select a Ph.D. committee of tenure or
tenure-track faculty members, three in major field (NES) and one in the minor
field. One of the members may be a
specially approved member, who must be pre-approved by the student’s committee
and the Dean of the
Before admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must pass
a written and an oral Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. This examination is
intended to test the student’s comprehensive knowledge of the major and minor
subjects of study, both in breadth across the general field of study and in
depth within the area of specialization. The Comprehensive Examination is
considered a single examination, although it consists of written and oral parts.
The written examination consists of two exams in the student’s major field of
study (NES), one in Middle Eastern History, and one in the minor field.
A student will pass the written portion before sitting for the oral
portion, and the oral portion should come early enough to allow the student to
advance to candidacy in a timely fashion. The written and oral portions of the
comprehensive examination must take place at least three months prior to the
Final Oral Examination (i.e., the dissertation defense).
Upon successful completion of the written examinations in the major and minor(s),
the Oral Comprehensive Examination is conducted before the examining committee
of the faculty. This is the occasion when faculty committee members have both
the opportunity and obligation to require the student to display a broad
knowledge of the chosen field of study and sufficient depth of understanding in
areas of specialization. Discussion of proposed dissertation research may be
included. The examining committee must attest that the student has demonstrated
the professional level of knowledge expected of a junior academic colleague.
Students who do not pass a portion of their Comprehensive examination may retake that portion within six months of the initial exam. Students who do not pass the failed portion of the exam a second time will not be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy and will have the opportunity to fulfill the requirements for an MA in NES if they have not done so already.
The Final Oral Examination, more popularly known as the dissertation defense, is the forum at which the doctoral candidate must demonstrate his or her dissertation’s contribution to scholarship and respond to the examining committee’s questions concerning its contents and implications.
At least three
The exact time and place of the Final Oral Examination
must be scheduled with the Graduate Degree Certification Office at least 7
working days in advance.
Graduate credit earned with a grade of A or B at other
approved institutions, if accepted by NES and the
Students who wish transfer credit must submit a request
prior to the end of their first year of study.
Students who have completed non-degree coursework and would like that coursework
to count toward a degree should be aware of certain restrictions. Please consult
the Non-Degree
Enrollment page for more details.