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 and (2) literature. Students electing to focus on language can choose from a variety of languages to complete their studies such as Egyptian, Hebrew, Akkadian, Sumerian, and Aramaic. All students, regardless of which emphasis they choose, will acquire rigorous training allowing them to receive a wide breadth of knowledge in the historical, literary, and cultural background on the area, language, and civilization of their choice. Students completing the program will have substantial proficiency in the languages they choose as well as the intellectual capacity to excel in academia.

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.