The major in Global Middle East Studies will develop students’ understanding of the complex and dynamic political, economic, cultural, environmental, development, linguistic, historical, and religious issues and their inherent interconnections in the region by facilitating critical engagement among students with regard to the Middle East and its neighboring regions and by fostering an interdisciplinary approach to these regions and their transnational political, cultural, and economic linkages. Students majoring in Global Middle East Studies will also gain analytical skills with which to assess the constant media barrage about these regions while gaining relevant linguistic and knowledge skills for future graduate study and many practical careers. Graduates with this major will be able to enter a wide range of fields where grounding in knowledge about the Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the diasporas from these regions and working knowledge of one of the regions’ primary languages are key assets. Possible career paths include public policy, politics to non-profit/governmental organizations, conservation, mediation and peace-building, government (human rights, diplomacy, security, intelligence), journalism, public health, engineering, education, and business, among others.
Please view the UCI Catalogue for specific requirements for the Global Middle East Studies major.