Ph.D. Programs

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Offered through the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, the Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (degree code 667800) aims to educate and mentor scholars and teachers of the languages and cultures of the Middle East with the depth to support a sustained research career and the breadth to teach a range of courses on Middle Eastern topics. Students in DMES learn to design and execute research projects that will help redefine the frontiers of discovery in their field. Teaching experience helps prepare them to communicate new knowledge to experts and non-experts alike. Degrees are disciplinary-oriented, not language-oriented.

In applying to the doctoral program, students select a field of study from among the following:

Ph.D. Tracks

Details on each track and its requirements are found on the Ph.D. Degree Requirements page.

Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near East

The HB/ANE track is designed to immerse students in the critical, academic study of the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context.

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Literature and Culture

This track provides graduate students with comprehensive and in-depth training in Middle Eastern literary and cultural production. The course of study is engaged within and across national and linguistic boundaries, disciplines, genres, and historical periods. Students are trained in comparative and theoretical approaches to literature, film, and media.

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Middle Eastern History

The Middle Eastern History track provides students with training in the discipline of History, with a geographic focus on the Middle East region, with the primary goal of training Ph.D.s for academic jobs in history programs.

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Islamic Studies

The doctoral program in Islamic Studies at UT Austin provides in-depth multidisciplinary training in the study of Islam coupled with a strong grounding in languages and theoretical approaches in religious studies.

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Linguistics

For those interested in linguistics, this track offers courses in theoretical linguistics. Theoretical interests of faculty include comparative Semitics, dialectology, historical linguistics, language contact, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and syntax.

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