Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Major

For more information about the program, honors/high honors, transfer credit, etc., visit the Middle Eastern and Islamic studies program page.

Major Requirements

The major consists of 11 courses, only two of which may be shared with a cognate major such as international relations.

Core Course

A MIST-related CORE course such as:

Language

Proficiency equivalent to four semester of study in a single MIST-related language.

Students who wish to fulfill the language requirement though study abroad must consult with the director to determine suitable programs and the procedure for transferring credit. In some cases, students are required to successfully complete a language proficiency exam upon their return to campus.

Students who place out of two or more language courses must still complete a total of at least nine MIST courses in order to fulfill the requirements of the major. Students pursuing honors are strongly encouraged to undertake additional language study.

This requirement is normally met through completion of four of the following courses in a single language:

Additional Courses

Five additional courses selected from among those listed below. Students must complete one 200- or 300-level course in each group (A, B, and C). These three foundational courses must be taken at Colgate. Students may not count more than two courses from any one group toward the major. Two affiliated electives may be counted towards the major. At least two courses must be at the 300 level of which only one may be an affiliated electives. Students may petition to count up to two 300- or 400-level language courses toward the major, in addition to the four required language courses mentioned in the previous section.

Group A: Arts and Humanities

Group B: Historical Perspectives

Group C: Social Sciences

Affiliated Electives

Capstone Course

A capstone course consisting of a 400-level MIST-related seminar in a department such as History or Peace and Conflict Studies or an equivalent independent study. This capstone course entails completion of a substantial research project on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor. If a student is a double major, the same course may be counted as the capstone in both majors, but the MIST capstone requires the research be presented as a paper and in a public forum such as a viva.