THE DETAILS

Course Requirements

The M.A. degree in Middle Eastern Cultures and Religions includes 49 semester credit hours of course work as outlined below. The degree is designed to be completed within two calendar years, although students choosing to pursue the thesis track are granted an additional year. Students for whom English is not their native language are expected to finish the degree in three years if taking the non-thesis track, or four years if pursuing the thesis track. Up to 24 credits of approved graduate-level courses may be transferred in from another degree program if approved by the JUC Academic Committee.

Internship

Students are required to complete an intensive internship course (3 credit hours) which includes 150 contact hours at an approved area ministry, NGO, or comparable placement, together with a written component produced by the student. The internship is designed to provide an opportunity for students to develop and refine practical skills necessary for leadership in the Middle East. It does this by integrating classroom learning with practical field experiences. For this reason, each internship placement is closely matched to the individual student’s academic program and vocational goals.

Survey Courses: 10 hours

• Introduction to the Modern Middle East (3)
• Historical and Social Settings of Modern Israel (3)
• Physical Settings of the Bible (4)

History: 9 hours

• History of the Church in the East (3)
• History of the Jews During the Medieval and Modern Period (3)
• History of the Holy Land from the Rise of Islam to 1948 (3)

Religious Studies: 6 hours

• Jewish Thought and Practice (3)
• Islamic Thought and Practice (3)

Society and Politics: 3 hours

• Palestinian Society and Politics (3)

Seminar: 3 hours

• Departmental Seminar (topic to be announced each year) (3)

Context Courses: 9 hours from the following:

• Regional Explorations in the Historical Geography of the Land of the Bible (3)
• Biblical Hebrew I (4)
• Biblical Hebrew II (4)
• Readings in Biblical Hebrew Narrative (3)
• Post-Biblical Hebrew: Second Temple Period (3)
• Introduction to Aramaic (3)
• Cultural Background of the Bible (3)
• History of Ancient Israel (3)
• History of the Second Temple Period (3)
• Intertestamental Literature (3)
• Text Studies in Midrash, Mishnah, and Gemara: The
  Shared Heritage of Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity (3)
• Internship in Middle Eastern Cultures and Religions (3)
• Guided Research in Middle Eastern Cultures and Religions (3)

Thesis-track degree: 6 hours

• Guided Research on Thesis Topic (2)
• Thesis Writing (4)

Non-Thesis-track degree: 6 hours of additional context courses

Bible Content Examinations

• Old Testament Bible Content Examination
• New Testament Bible Content Examination

Comprehensive - Integrative Examinations

• History of the Modern Middle East
• Issues in the Modern Middle East

Proficiency Examination in Modern Hebrew or Arabic

Total Credit Hours: 49