Academics
The Master of Arts in Arab Studies program (MAAS) was established in 1978 to rigorously train researchers, practitioners, and activists about the language, history, culture, politics, and economics of the contemporary Arab world. Students design a program of study that prepares them for a wide variety of careers, including those in government, development, business and finance, teaching, higher education, human rights, journalism, public relations, and cultural affairs. The program’s demanding Arabic language requirement is a distinctive feature regularly cited by students and alumni alike as a major draw and strength. An attractive feature of the MAAS program is the option for students to enroll concurrently in graduate certificate programs in International Business Diplomacy or Refugee and Humanitarian Emergencies. These certificates allow students additional concentrated instruction while they gain regional expertise. MAAS students may also choose to pursue dual degrees along with Ph.D. programs in the Departments of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Government, and History, or the J.D. program at the GU Law Center. In addition, Georgetown's Public Policy Institute and Business School provide a range of specialized coursework and practical experience in which MAAS students regularly participate.
Learning Goals
- Demonstrate broad comprehensive knowledge of the Arab World, and the ability to integrate it, through multidisciplinary study of language, culture, politics, history, and economics.
- Demonstrate expertise in one of the following concentrations: Politics, Economics and Business, Development, History, Culture and Society, and Women and Gender.
- Understand and engage critically with the theoretical and methodological paradigms most appropriate for the study of the Arab World.
- Develop skills of analytical and integrative thinking, and learn to communicate effectively and creatively for different audiences and purposes.
- Acquire basic and advanced research skills, including fluency with relevant print and virtual bibliographic and research guides on the Arab World.
- Demonstrate superior research, writing and speaking abilities on Arab, Islamic, and Middle Eastern affairs.
- Acquire the cultural skills sufficient to function professionally in the region.
- Display deep understanding of the Arab World in its contemporary global environment—political, economic, and cultural, with particular attention to relations to its complex interactions with the United States.
- Attain proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic through the utilization of fundamental reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, and be able to communicate clearly and concisely in written and spoken form.
- Uphold the values of Georgetown University’s founding traditions and its principled commitments to intellectual openness and diversity, justice, and the common good.
