MA Middle Eastern Studies (Research)
Leiden, Netherlands
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,209 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for non-EEA, non-Swiss, & non-Surinam applicants: €19,300
Key Summary
Designed for high-achieving students, Leiden University's master's in Middle Eastern Studies (Research) offers you unmatched resources and expertise.
Why study Middle Eastern Studies (research) at Leiden University?
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Leiden University has a reputation for a breadth and depth of expertise that is unmatched in Europe. You can explore subjects that span virtually the entire Middle East both in time and geography. This two-year research master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies allows you to freely combine subjects from seven focus areas: Turkish Studies; Arabic Studies; North African Studies; Persian Studies; Islam; and Modern Middle Eastern Studies. You can decide to focus on a region such as the Arab world, North Africa or the Persian world, or on a discipline such as history, politics, literature or languages. A key feature is our comparative approach to learning, which includes intra-Middle Eastern comparisons, as well as comparisons of the Middle East with other regions in the world.
Why study Middle Eastern Studies (research) at Leiden University?
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Leiden University has a reputation for a breadth and depth of expertise that is unmatched in Europe. You can explore subjects that span virtually the entire Middle East both in time and geography. This two-year research master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies allows you to freely combine subjects from seven focus areas: Turkish Studies; Arabic Studies; North African Studies; Persian Studies; Islam; and Modern Middle Eastern Studies. You can decide to focus on a region such as the Arab world, North Africa or the Persian world, or on a discipline such as history, politics, literature or languages. A key feature is our comparative approach to learning, which includes intra-Middle Eastern comparisons, as well as comparisons of the Middle East with other regions in the world.
What are your career prospects?
Our graduates have pursued successful careers in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Graduates have also gone on to pursue a PhD and a career in academia. If you wish to pursue an academic career, your Master's is excellent preparation for a PhD programme or a career in a research agency or the research department of a company or government organisation. Your strong analytical and problem-solving skills can also be applied in a wide range of other vocations.
The two-year research master in Middle Eastern Studies equips you with advanced and in-depth knowledge of a region and discipline within the field of Middle Eastern Studies. You are expected to spend the third semester of the programme doing research, either in the Netherlands or abroad. Blended and virtual research-based options are also available.
- Critical Area Studies: Placing Your Research 10
- Methodologies in the Social Sciences and Humanities 10
- LIAS PhD Seminar: Decolonisation in Academia 5
- LIAS PhD Seminar: Listening and Hearing in Research 5
- Culture and Society in the Medieval Muslim World (ResMA) 10
- International Relations of the Middle East: Everyday Matters (ResMA) 10
- The Making of the Modern Middle East (1870 - 1940) (ResMA) 10
- Material Culture, Memory and Commemoration along the Silk Roads in Central Asia (ResMA) 10
- The Middle East in the International Political Economy (ResMA) 10
- Narratives that Matter: Literature, Film and Television Drama in the Middle East (ResMA) 10
- Oil, Waste and Water: Environmental Issues in the Middle East and North Africa (ResMA) 10
- The Politics of Heritage in the Middle East (ResMA) 10
- The Power of Words: Discourse and Society in the Middle East (ResMA) 10
- LIAS PhD Seminar: Themes in Global Political Economy 5
- LIAS PhD Seminar: Against Caste and Race: Identity and Resistance in a Global Context 5
- Culture and Conquest: the Impact of the Mongols and their Descendants (ResMA) 10
- The Gulf and Arabian Peninsula: Power, Class, Mobilities (ResMA) 10
- From Inkwell to Internet: Text and Transmission in the Muslim World (ResMA) 10
- In the Time of Cities: Space, Place, and Politics in the Urban Middle East (ResMA) 10
- Political History of the Middle East in the 20th Century (ResMA) 10
- Power and Resistance in the Modern Middle East (ResMA) 10
- Themes in Arabic Literature: Bandits and Outlaws, Fact and Fiction (ResMA)
- Research Project (Fieldwork) (ResMA) 20-30
- Research MA Thesis (Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies) 30
- Thesis Writing Seminar
- Beyond Discipline and Place in the Social Sciences and the Humanities
- What's Next? First Steps in Crafting Your Career (MA)
Create a world of opportunities with a master's degree from Leiden University.
Where do our graduates work?
The MA in Middle Eastern Studies (Research) prepares students for a wide number of careers in which in-depth knowledge and advanced conceptual, analytical and interpretative skills are essential. Our graduates have pursued successful careers in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Graduates have also gone on to pursue a PhD and a career in academia. If you wish to pursue an academic career, your Master's is excellent preparation for a PhD programme or a career in a research agency or the research department of a company or government organisation. Your strong analytical and problem-solving skills can also be applied in a wide range of other vocations.
Examples of the diverse roles of our graduates include:
- Freelance writer/translator/project coordinator at a translation centre
- Lecturer at a Dutch university
- Translator and executive secretary at an embassy in the Netherlands
- Policy officer for education and funding at a national student union
- PhD candidate at a university in Spain
- PhD candidate at Leiden University
- Policy officer for Sahel region at a ministry
- Production assistant at a Swedish museum
- Teacher of English/Islamic religion at an educational institute in Saudi Arabia
- Middle East representative at a shipping and forwarding company.