M.A. in Arabic and Islamic Studies

A.            General Program of Study 

The Arabic and Islamic Studies M.A. program at Georgetown seeks to advance knowledge and understanding of classical and modern Islamic thought and to provide understanding of Arabophone culture and intellectual history in the pre-modern and modern periods. With a special emphasis on Arabic textual traditions, the program offers graduate training in the study of the languages, literatures, and thought of the Islamic world, and introduces students to scholarly approaches to the study of Islam. 

Students already enrolled in the master’s program at Georgetown must apply again if they are interested in joining the Ph.D. program; these students are not guaranteed admission, and will be considered by the admissions committee along with other applicants from outside the department. 

B.             Advising and evaluation 

Students should meet regularly with the Director of Graduate Studies to plan their course work, and to choose the primary faculty advisor by the end of the first semester of their enrollment in the program. Pending Graduate Committee approval, advisors may be drawn from various departments and units in the University associated with the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. As early as possible, students choose, in consultation with their graduate advisors, a major concentration and start planning their course of study with their advisors. The minor concentration may be chosen from the fields of Islamic Studies, Arabic Literature, and Arabic Linguistics. Students should meet regularly with their advisors to evaluate their academic progress. Additionally, there is an evaluation conducted by the Graduate Committee each Spring semester, part of which consists of an interview between each graduate student and the Director of Graduate Studies. Funding and eligibility to continue in good standing is contingent on the satisfactory yearly review of students’ performance. 

The advisors report to the departmental Graduate Committee that reviews the progress reports and advises each student by the end of the Spring semester whether their progress is satisfactory. For a successful completion of the course work for the M.A. degree, students must maintain a strong academic record and must score a minimum average of B+ in the major concentration with no single grade below B. Receiving grades less than A-, especially in research seminars, should be considered as a warning sign. Incompletes are strongly discouraged, and will turn into failing grades if not completed before the end of classes of the following semester. Students who do not perform satisfactorily will risk possible dismissal from the program. 

C.            Language Requirements 

Entering students are required to have Arabic language competence equivalent to at least that attained by the end of the third year of intensive language study in the undergraduate program at Georgetown University. In the first week of their first academic year, students who are non- native Arabic speakers are required to take an Arabic language exam administered by the department. Students who fail this exam are required to be enrolled in advanced Arabic classes, and to take the exam again at the end of the fall semester. If they still do not score satisfactorily, they have until the end of the spring semester to successfully retake the exam. Students must pass the Arabic proficiency exam by the end of August of their first academic year if they are to continue in the program. Arabic language courses taken to enable students to reach the required proficiency level do not count towards the degree credits. 

Students who desire ACTFL proficiency certification should make arrangements with the department. 

D.             Course requirements

Candidates for the master’s degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies take a program of 36 credits, including 11 courses (33 credits) plus a M.A. research course (3 credits). The distribution of the courses is 6 in a major concentration and 3 in a minor concentration. Entering students determine their specific program of study in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, and are expected to fulfill the following requirements: 

1.     Three Core Courses: 

All students are required to take the following three courses:

·      ARAB-5555 Introduction to Arabic and Islamic Studies 

·      ARAB-5558 Introduction to Linguistics Methodology 

·      ARAB-5559 Introduction to Literary Methodology

2.     At least 6 courses in one of the 3 major concentrations 

·      Arabic Linguistics 

·      Arabic Literature

·      Islamic Studies 

3.     At least 3 courses in a minor concentration. The minor concentration is either of the concentrations offered in the Department that is not the student’s major concentration. 

4.     M.A. research course (3 credits). See below: E. Master’s Research Paper

5.     Distributional requirements 

a.     At least 3 of the above courses must be in the classical period and 3 in the modern. 

b.     Courses must include at least 4 advanced Arabic seminars; these seminars must include readings and research using primary Arabic sources.

6.     Comprehensive Exams. See below: F. Master’s Comprehensive Examination

E.             Master’s Research Paper 

The master’s research paper is related to the work of a particular graduate course in Arabic and Islamic Studies. It marks the significant development and revision of a term paper the student has written in a seminar, modeled along a publishable research paper in the field. It may be written either in Arabic or in English and normally consists of at least 25-35 typed pages (at least 12 000 words with 1.5 space). 

This process will happen during the last semester of course work as an M.A. research course (independent study). The Master’s Research Paper is not a Master thesis and does not require a specific registration. Students do not need to file a Thesis Proposal form with the Graduate School. The candidate obtains the approval of the professor as mentor for that topic. The student then gets approval of the Director of Graduate Studies for the topic before registering for an independent study course with the professor. No defense is required for the research paper. A minimum grade of B+ is required on the master’s research course. 

F.             Master’s Comprehensive Examination 

This exam is based on the study and reading done for the candidate’s coursework. The comprehensive exams are designed to demonstrate the candidate’s rounded knowledge of scholarship in the field, familiarity with its primary and secondary sources, and understanding of its main approaches and methodologies. A candidate for the master’s degree must take this exam at the first opportunity and no later than the end of the first semester after completion of all course requirements. Grading is done on a scale of ‘Distinction’, ‘High Pass’, ‘Pass’, and ‘Fail’. An overall grade of ‘Pass’ or better is required to pass the exam. A grade of ‘High Pass’ requires a majority vote. A grade of ‘Pass’ and ‘Distinction’ requires a unanimous vote. If the overall grade is lower than ‘Pass’, the candidate may retake the exam at the earliest next opportunity but must do so no later than the beginning of the semester following the original exam date. If the candidate fails to achieve a grade of ‘Pass’ or better on the second attempt, the failure is final and the student will be dismissed from the program. A candidate who fails one or two concentrations can retake an exam in the concentration(s) failed within 6 weeks after the first exam. If that falls outside the regular academic year, candidates will take their makeup exam within the first week of the following semester. If the candidate fails to achieve a grade of ‘Pass’ or better on the second attempt, the failure is final and the student will be dismissed from the program. 

Procedure 

Early in the last semester of their course work, students consult with their graduate advisor on the composition of a three-member exam committee, including the advisor (who also acts as committee chair), and two other examiners. In preparation for their comprehensive exams, students discuss with their examiners their major and minor concentrations and draw up a reading list covering the primary and secondary sources as well as scholarly literature in these fields, about 12 books and a handful of articles for each field. 

Students then submit the Comprehensive Exams Fields Form which must be signed by the committee members and submitted, with the three reading lists, to the Director of Graduate Studies for final approval. 

In consultation with their exam committee, students schedule three 3-hour written exams to be taken within the span of one week. No exam will be scheduled without the Comprehensive Exams Fields Form duly signed by the DGS. Without use of books, notes or outside resources students write three short essays, each covering one examination list. There is no oral examination. The comprehensive exams are designed to demonstrate their rounded knowledge of scholarship in the field, familiarity with its principal sources, and understanding of its main approaches and methodologies. 

G.            Transfer of credit 

After satisfactory completion of at least one semester of full-time registration in the Graduate School, a master’s or doctoral degree student may make a written request for specific applicable courses taken (a) at another institution or (b) at Georgetown University prior to admission to a Georgetown degree program. Requests for transfer credit must be made in writing through the department chair or Director of Graduate Studies, who will forward a recommendation to the Graduate School concerning applicability of both the specific courses and the total number of credits requested toward the student’s degree program; final approval rests with the Graduate School. Credits are transferred in semester equivalency. 

The total number of credits that may be transferred may not exceed 25% of the total number of credits required for the Georgetown graduate degree. No courses may count for which the student receives a grade less than B+. 

H.            Time-to-Degree 

In accordance with Graduate School rules, students admitted to the master’s degree program are allowed three years from matriculation to complete all requirements for the degree and to graduate. Students who are studying part-time for the master’s degree will also be allowed three years to complete all requirements.