School of Arts and Sciences
Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies

BA in Arabic Language & Cultural Studies

NOTE: This degree is offered for students who matriculated in Fall 2023 or earlier.

The Arabic major offers students a strong foundation in the Arabic language, as well as provides training to critically engage with Arabic literary and cultural activities, such as cinema and other media. Our major prepares students for careers in NGOs, journalism, academia, business, law, diplomacy, or technology - wherever knowledge of Arabic language and cultures is a valuable asset.

Questions about program requirements should be addressed to the following faculty members:

Arabic Program Director, Alexandra Shraytekh
Arabic Language Coordinator, Rana Abdul-Aziz

Program Requirements and Policies

  • The BA in Arabic Language & Cultural Studies requires ten courses in all: nine courses beyond Arabic 4, plus one approved course in a different department. Of the nine departmental courses, four must be Arabic language-based courses, while five must be selected from available departmental Arabic culture courses.
  • Transfer credits from study abroad programs must be equivalent to courses offered in the Arabic program in order to satisfy degree requirements. Accepted transfer credit courses that are fundamentally language courses on discrete topics such as "Media Arabic") will not be accepted as satisfying the culture course requirements. However, colloquial Arabic course may be used to satisfy this culture course requirement.

Course Requirements

  1. Language requirement
    Four Arabic language-based courses above Arabic 4: Arabic 21; Arabic 22; Arabic 121; Arabic 122; or, further advanced Arabic language-based courses (subject to approval of the Director of Arabic). Students who place higher than Arabic 21 upon entry into the program are expected to complete ten courses in all, in consultation with the Director of Arabic.
  2. Culture requirement
    Five departmental Arabic literature or culture courses. Two of these five required courses may be filled by approved courses taken outside of the Medford campus, of which one may be a course in a colloquial dialect (ARB 5, ARB 6 or ARB 7).
  3. Related course
    One course in a topic related to Arabic or the Middle East offered outside of Tufts' Arabic Program. Courses in this category are subject to the approval of the Director of Arabic.

Language courses for the major

  • ARB 21, ARB 22: Arabic Reading, Composition and Conversation
  • ARB 121, ARB 122: Advanced Modern Standard Arabic
  • ARB 123, ARB 124: Advanced Readings in Arabic

Culture/literature courses

  • ARB 55: Cultural History of the Modern Middle East
  • ARB 57: Arab and Middle Eastern Cinemas
  • ARB 62: Modern Arabic Literature
  • ARB 63: Arabian Nights
  • ARB 64: The Literary Qur'an
  • ARB 65: Travel Literature: The Arab and Muslim World
  • ARB 91 / ARB 92: Special Topics
  • ARB 93 / ARB 94: Directed Study in Literature or Language (*not if taught by a language lecturer)
  • ARB 155: Postcolonial Cinemas
  • ARB 157: War and Cultural Memory in Literature and Cinema of the Middle East
  • ARB 191 / ARB 192: Special Topics
  • ARB 193 / ARB 194: Advanced Directed Study in Literature (*not if taught by a language lecturer)
  • ARB 198 / ARB 199: Senior Honors Thesis