Middle East Studies will offer new undergraduate certificate

Beginning in September 2006, UW–Madison undergraduates will be able to earn a certificate in Middle East Studies.

The certificate was approved this semester and will be housed in the Middle East Studies program of the International Institute. Required course work for a certificate program usually consists of 15 to 25 credits.

“UW-Madison has extensive and interdisciplinary resources in Middle East Studies, with a wealth of courses,” says Gilles Bousquet, dean of International Studies. “This new certificate is a meaningful credential that recognizes undergraduate work focused on a critically important world region.”

UW–Madison offers a broad range of courses across ten departments on the languages (including Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, and Canaanite), literature, history, and culture of the region.

The departments include: African languages and literature; anthropology; comparative literature; classics; Hebrew and Semitic studies; history; languages and cultures of Asia; law; political science; and sociology.

A certificate program at UW–Madison is a set of courses focused upon a specific topic or theme which students may study separately or in addition to their major and degree requirements. The purpose of the certificate program is to give students the opportunity to pursue in-depth a subject of interest and, upon completion of the requirements, to receive an official document from the sponsoring department.

Students may also construct an individual major in Middle East Studies by utilizing the individual major option in the College of Letters and Science.