24 monthsProgramme duration
22,900 EURTuition Fee/year
SepStarting Month
Programme overview
Main Subject
History
Degree
MA
Study Level
Master's
Study Mode
On Campus
The two-year Research MA in Middle Eastern Studies at Leiden University allows you to explore the Middle East across time, borders, languages, and ideas: from the early Islamic world to contemporary politics, from Ottoman, Arab, Persianate, and North African histories to questions of migration, media, ecology, religion, literature, colonialism, and social change.
At Leiden, you will study in a research environment with a long-standing reputation for expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. You can focus on a specific region, language, archive, period, or theme, or build a comparative project across disciplines and areas.
A key strength of the programme is its comparative Area Studies approach. You will learn to understand the Middle East not as a fixed or isolated region, but as a dynamic part of the world shaped by movement, exchange, empire, conflict, translation, and everyday life. This includes comparisons within the Middle East as well as connections with other regions, including Asia.
The programme is designed for students who want more than a general MA: more time for independent research, closer supervision, advanced methodological training, and the opportunity to develop their own scholarly profile.
Read more about Middle Eastern Studies (research) on the Leiden University website
Programme overview
Main Subject
History
Degree
MA
Study Level
Master's
Study Mode
On Campus
The two-year Research MA in Middle Eastern Studies at Leiden University allows you to explore the Middle East across time, borders, languages, and ideas: from the early Islamic world to contemporary politics, from Ottoman, Arab, Persianate, and North African histories to questions of migration, media, ecology, religion, literature, colonialism, and social change.
At Leiden, you will study in a research environment with a long-standing reputation for expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. You can focus on a specific region, language, archive, period, or theme, or build a comparative project across disciplines and areas.
A key strength of the programme is its comparative Area Studies approach. You will learn to understand the Middle East not as a fixed or isolated region, but as a dynamic part of the world shaped by movement, exchange, empire, conflict, translation, and everyday life. This includes comparisons within the Middle East as well as connections with other regions, including Asia.
The programme is designed for students who want more than a general MA: more time for independent research, closer supervision, advanced methodological training, and the opportunity to develop their own scholarly profile.
Read more about Middle Eastern Studies (research) on the Leiden University website
Admission Requirements
For entry requirements, please visit the website.
English language requirements: Cambridge English 185, C2 level; IELTS 7; TOEFL internet-based 100; Cambridge English 185, C1 level.
Admission requirements and application: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education/study-programmes/master/middle-eastern-studies-research/admission-and-application/admission-requirements?utm_source=qs&utm_medium=portal&utm_campaign=Middle+Eastern+Studies+research+MA&utm_content=entry_requirements_other
Tuition fees
Domestic
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Scholarships
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Frequently Asked Questions
The development of in-depth knowledge in the field, and the ability to think critically and analytically, are key goals of this programme. The Middle Eastern Studies (Research) programme will introduce you to the concepts and academic approaches current in Middle Eastern Studies, including disciplines such as: linguistics, history and social siences.
You will learn to use these concepts and approaches in researching and analysing source material. Your thesis work will give you the opportunity to apply these methods in your own research.
The Middle Eastern Studies (Research) programme consists of compulsory core courses, electives and core electives, workshops, presentations, and an MA thesis. Throughout the programme, you will, together with students of the MA Asian Studies (research), participate in two core courses. In the second year you are expected to spend the third semester of the programme doing research, either in the Netherlands or abroad. Blended and virtual research-based options are also available.
The MA in Middle Eastern Studies (Research) prepares students for a wide number of careers in which in-depth knowledge and advanced conceptual, analytical and interpretative skills are essential. Our graduates have pursued successful careers in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Graduates have also gone on to pursue a PhD and a career in academia. If you wish to pursue an academic career, your Master's is excellent preparation for a PhD programme or a career in a research agency or the research department of a company or government organisation. Your strong analytical and problem-solving skills can also be applied in a wide range of other vocations.
Examples of the diverse roles of our graduates include:
- Freelance writer/translator/project coordinator at a translation centre
- Lecturer at a Dutch university
- Translator and executive secretary at an embassy in the Netherlands
- Policy officer for education and funding at a national student union
For entry requirements, please visit the website.
English language requirements: Cambridge English 185, C2 level; IELTS 7; TOEFL internet-based 100; Cambridge English 185, C1 level.
You are expected to spend the third semester of the programme abroad doing fieldwork and/or studying at an affiliated institution.
- Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS)
- StuNed Scholarship Programme
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