Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations

The graduate program in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations allows students to explore the depths of the ancient Near East through one of three emphases: (1) language, (2) literature, and (3) material culture. Students electing to focus on language can choose from a variety of languages to complete their studies such as Akkadian, Aramaic, Egyptian, Hebrew, Old and Middle Iranian, and Sumerian. All students, irrespective of their emphasis, shall acquire a rigorous and broad training foregrounding the interconnectedness of the ancient Near Eastern world.

Students who are offered admission into the graduate program in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations are admitted into the PhD program and earn their master’s degree along the way to the doctorate. Students must pass a series of exams, which vary according to emphasis, before being awarded an MA and subsequently given permission to continue studying for the PhD. At the PhD level, students work closely with faculty to develop their research interests while at the same time finishing coursework and additional exams.

Students also benefit from a number of resources provided by the department such as conference travel subsidies, graduate funding advising, pedagogical training, access to the Gelb Library (the department’s library of Assyriology), and a number of lectures, seminars, and workshops that are tailored to research by faculty and students in the department.

Moreover, a number of centers and institutes focusing on the ancient worlds provide additional resources, research opportunities, and funding to current graduate students, including the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Global Antiquity, the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World, and the Center for the Study of Religion.