The 42-credit major in Arabic Studies provides students with a solid background in the linguistic, literary, and cultural aspects of the modern Arab World, including the North Africa, Egypt, the Arab Middle East, and the Arab diasporas in the U.S. and Europe, as well as minority communities in Arab countries (Armenian, Kurdish, Berber, Copts, etc.).
The B.A. in Arabic Studies prepares students for a range of professional opportunities, including careers in government, education, business, and international development and communication. Students work toward competence in speaking, reading, writing, and listening, as well as advanced knowledge of Arab cultures. The Arabic Program offers extensive linguistic training in both literary Arabic (fusHa) and Arabic dialects, using an integrated approach where colloquial and literary Arabic are learned simultaneously. Students will achieve cultural fluency by exploring diverse Arab societies and cultural zones and will learn to approach them from a global perspective. Many undergraduates choose to double major in Arabic and another subject in the arts and humanities, business, science, politics, or journalism.
Modern Standard Arabic is the formal variety of Arabic used throughout the Arab world, particularly for reading and writing. Egyptian Colloquial Arabic and Levantine Colloquial Arabic are among the major spoken varieties in the Middle East. All Arabic language courses us an integrated method where Modern Standard Arabic and colloquial Arabic are taught simultaneously as two registers of the Arabic linguistic discourse. Upon completing four semesters of Arabic (ARAB 104, ARAB 105, ARAB 204, ARAB 205), students will take the Egyptian dialect sequence (ARAB 206, ARAB 207) or another dialect sequence (when offered) to deepen their knowledge of the dialect and culture.
Once credits have been received for a higher-level language focus course, a lower-level course in the same strand may not be taken for credit. For example, ARAB 204 may not be taken after ARAB 205, and a core language course cannot be taken after a content course in Arabic.
The Arabic language curriculum is designed for second language acquisition and targets non-native speakers. None of the Arabic language courses are open to fluent and native speakers of Arabic.
All students new to SLLC courses must take the online Foreign Language Placement Test [1] (FLPT) before registering for classes. |
Prerequisite* Courses for The Arab Studies Major (12 Credits) |
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Course # | Course Name | Credits | Prerequisites |
ARAB 104 | Elementary Modern Standard Arabic I-II | 6 | None |
ARAB 105 | Elementary Modern Standard Arabic III-IV | 6 | None |
*Please note that prerequisite courses do not need to be completed before declaring an Arabic major. However, the 12 prerequisite credits do not apply to the total 42 credits required for the major. |
24 Credits |
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Course # | Course Name | Credits | Prerequisites |
ARAB 204 | Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I | 6 | ARAB 105 |
ARAB 205 | Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I | 6 | ARAB 204 |
ARAB 304 | Advanced Modern Standard Arabic I | 3 | ARAB 205 |
ARAB 305 | Advanced Modern Standard Arabic II | 3 | ARAB 304 |
ARAB 206* | Intermediate Egyptian Colloquial Arabic III | 3 | ARAB 205 |
ARAB 207* | Intermediate Egyptian Colloquial Arabic IV | 3 | ARAB 206 |
*To be taken alongside ARAB304 and ARAB305. Students taking 3rd year courses in Arabic Summer Institute, please see the section "Summer Institute Credit Equivalencies". |
Electives (18 credits) | |||
Electives in Arabic (minimum of 9 credits)
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Course # | Course Name | Credits | Prerequisites |
ARAB 311 | The Arab World Today | 3 | ARAB 304 |
ARAB 312 | Islamic Culture | 3 | ARAB 304 |
ARAB 321 | Arab Media | 3 | ARAB 305 |
ARAB 401 | Reading in Arabic Literature | 3 | ARAB 305 |
ARAB 402 | Arabic Translation | 3 | ARAB 305 |
ARAB 411 | U.S.-Arab Relations | 3 | ARAB 305 |
ARAB 412 | Modern Arabic Literature: A Survey | 3 | ARAB 305 |
ARAB 499 | Special Topics in Arabic Studies | 3 | None |
Electives in English (Maximum of 9 Credits) |
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Course # | Course Name | Credits | Prerequisites |
ARAB 251 | Arabic Cinema | 3 | None |
ARAB 252 | Arabic Literature in Translation | 3 | None |
ARAB 298 | The Arabian Nights And The Art of Storytelling | 3 | None |
ARAB 351 | Arab Culture and Civilization | 3 | None |
ARAB 341 / FILM 341 | Filming War Zones: Representations of Wars in Iraq And Chechnya | 3 | None |
ARAB 499 | Special Topics in Arabic Studies | 3 | None |
Notes:
All transfer courses for which you wish to receive credit towards the major must be reviewed by the ARAB Undergraduate advisor. Note that the student's final 30 credits must be completed in residence at UMD, of which at least 12 must be upper-level credits in the major.
SUMMER INSTITUTE CREDIT EQUIVALENCIES
UMD students enrolled in the Summer Language Institute can count their summer courses towards their Arabic degree program. Please see the chart below for course equivalencies:
Summer Courses | Total Number of Credits | Academic Year Equivalent | Number of Credits Applicable to Degree Program |
---|---|---|---|
ARAB104, ARAB105 | 12 | ARAB104, ARAB105 | 12 |
ARAB204, ARAB205 | 12 | ARAB204, ARAB205 | 12 |
ARAB315, ARAB316 | 12 | ARAB304, ARAB305, ARAB4xx | 9 |
Please note the following two rules:
(1) Although 3rd year Summer Institute students will earn 12 university credits in total, only 9 credits will be applicable towards their Arabic degree: the equivalents of ARAB304 and 305 (3 credits each) and one 3-credit upper-level content course in Arabic.
(2) During the Summer Institute, dialect is incorporated into the daily curriculum. Therefore those students who complete ARAB315 and 316 in the summer, are not required to take ARAB206 and ARAB207 in the following fall and spring semesters, but instead can take two additional 3-credit electives in Arabic in place of ARAB206 and 207.
For information on study abroad programs see the Undergraduate Advisor and contact UMD Education Abroad [2].
DECLARING AN ARABIC STUDIES MAJOR
We recommend that interested students declare their major as early as possible
Step 1 | Carefully read ARAB major Requirements |
Step 2 | Download the ARAB major sign-up [3] and Arabic Studies advising form (please note there are slight differences for Arabic Flagship students who are also Arabic majors). |
Step 3 | Read through all forms carefully, and pencil in a sequence of courses to discuss with the program advisor, Omar Tarbishi (omart24@umd.edu [6]). |
Step 5 | Contact the Office of Student Affairs [7] at the College of Arts and Humanities [8] (301-405-2108) to make an appointment to discuss the non-Arabic aspects of your 4-Year plan (bring signed form from previous step), including CORE courses. Walk-in hours are also available. |
Step 6 | If you are adding Arabic Studies as an additional major, check with your home department and college to identify paperwork you may need to complete. |
Advisor: Ahmed Hanafy
Office: 3138 HJ Patterson Hall
Email: ahmeda@umd.edu [9]
For more information about advising, please visit the advising section [10] of our website.
Links:
[1] https://www.arhu.umd.edu/undergraduate/flpa
[2] http://globalmaryland.umd.edu/offices/education-abroad
[3] http://sllc.umd.edu/sites/sllc.umd.edu/files/Major%20Sign-up%20Form.pdf
[4] https://sllc.umd.edu/sites/sllc.umd.edu/files/Arabic%20Majors%20Academic%20Plan.pdf
[5] https://sllc.umd.edu/sites/sllc.umd.edu/files/AFP%20Arabic%20Majors%20Academic%20Plan.pdf
[6] mailto:omart24@umd.edu
[7] https://www.arhu.umd.edu/undergraduate/advising/advinfo
[8] https://www.arhu.umd.edu/undergraduate/advising
[9] mailto:ahmeda@umd.edu?subject=ADVISING
[10] https://sllc.umd.edu/arabic/undergraduate/advising