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Major · Area, Ethnic & Gender Studies

Study the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula

Near and Middle Eastern Studies examines the history, politics, culture, and economics of North Africa, Southwest Asia, Asia Minor, and the Arabian Peninsula. About 97 degrees are awarded annually across 63 colleges. Service academies appear prominently — the U.S. Naval Academy and West Point together produce 14 graduates per year — alongside Brandeis, Princeton, and UCLA.

Schools offering
63
Annual completions
97
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$59k

About this major

Near and Middle Eastern Studies focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of the peoples of North Africa, Southwestern Asia, Asia Minor, and the Arabian Peninsula, along with related borderlands and island groups. The curriculum is distinctively language-forward: students commit to 3-4 years of Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish work, combined with seminars on regional history from the early Islamic period through the modern era, Islamic and Jewish intellectual traditions, 20th-century statecraft, and contemporary political and economic issues. Study abroad in the region — Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Morocco — or intensive summer language programs at places like Middlebury are typical components. The field demands both linguistic rigor and comfort with contentious contemporary material.

About 97 bachelor's degrees are awarded annually across 63 colleges, and the institutional profile is distinctive. The U.S. Naval Academy is the single largest producer at 9 completions per year, and West Point adds 5 — together accounting for more than 14% of national graduates. The services' investment reflects the region's long-standing strategic importance. Civilian producers include Brandeis (6), UCLA (5), Brown (5), University of Utah (5), and Princeton (5), along with Smith, Wellesley, and McDaniel College. The elite-civilian and service-academy mix is unusual among area-studies majors and points toward the kinds of careers graduates pursue. Bachelor's completers in the broader 05.01 area-studies family report five-year median earnings around $58,500.

The only career directly mapped to this CIP code is area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, an $84,290 median wage role with a doctoral degree as typical entry. Real-world destinations lean toward government: foreign service (the Middle East and North Africa is a major State Department region with dedicated Arabic-language posts), intelligence community work, military officer roles from academy graduates, humanitarian and NGO work in regional conflict and refugee contexts, journalism, and energy/consulting positions with Gulf state connections. Graduate study in Middle East studies or international affairs is a common post-bachelor's step. The major's career value is tightly coupled to language proficiency — a student who leaves without working Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian has a weaker credential than a student who has built the language depth to work professionally in it.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary $84k +2.4% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$59k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you are willing to commit to several years of intensive language work in Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian as a defining feature of your undergraduate experience, if you can treat contested contemporary material — Israel-Palestine, regime politics, sectarian dynamics — as subjects for rigorous analysis rather than positions to defend, if careers running through foreign service, intelligence, military officer work, or regional journalism sound like destinations you'd pursue, and if you can commit to a specific research focus (modern Iran, Gulf state political economy, early Islamic intellectual history) rather than trying to cover the whole region at survey level. Students at service academies also find the major directly relevant to future postings, which is why those programs are prominent in the data.

Think twice if you aren't prepared for the language commitment. The major's employability depends heavily on working proficiency in Arabic or a related language, and students who treat the language component as a box to check tend to graduate with a weaker credential than their résumé suggests. Think twice also if you find the subject matter politically uncomfortable to engage with at the level of rigorous analysis; the curriculum takes positions and requires you to engage critically with material many students find fraught. And think twice if you want a non-government career path without additional graduate credentials — for most civilian paths outside of military or academy-origin roles, a master's in international affairs is a common next step.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Near and Middle Eastern Studies

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 0 9 9
Brandeis University Waltham, MA 0 6 6
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 0 5 5
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 5 5
Brown University Providence, RI 0 5 5
University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 0 5 5
Princeton University Princeton, NJ 0 5 5
Smith College Northampton, MA 0 4 4
Wellesley College Wellesley, MA 0 4 4
McDaniel College Westminster, MD 0 4 4
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

American/United States Studies/Civilization

721 completions/yr

Area Studies, Other

451 completions/yr

Asian Studies/Civilization

433 completions/yr

East Asian Studies

220 completions/yr

Latin American Studies

130 completions/yr

African Studies

80 completions/yr

Classical, Ancient Mediterranean, and Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology

68 completions/yr

French Studies

52 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Near and Middle Eastern Studies majors actually study?
The curriculum integrates language, history, politics, religion, and cultural studies of the Middle East and North Africa. Students typically work through 3-4 years of Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian — some programs add Turkish — alongside seminars on Islamic and Jewish intellectual traditions, 20th-century politics and statecraft, regional literature, and contemporary issues from the Arab-Israeli conflict to Gulf state political economy. Most programs expect study abroad or intensive-language immersion at a program like Middlebury's summer schools or partnerships in Jordan, Israel, or Egypt.
Why do service academies show up at the top of this major?
Strategic relevance. The U.S. Naval Academy produces 9 completions annually and West Point 5 — between them, 14 of the 97 national completions come from service academies. The Middle East has been a central U.S. foreign-policy region for decades, and the services invest in officers with Arabic and regional expertise. The major is also strong at civilian institutions with historical Middle East programs: Princeton, UCLA, Brandeis, Brown, Smith, and Wellesley all produce 4-6 graduates per year.
What careers do graduates typically enter?
The one directly mapped occupation is area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, at $84,290 median with a doctoral-degree requirement. Real-world destinations lean heavily toward government and strategic work: foreign service, intelligence community (CIA, State INR, DIA), military officer roles for academy graduates, international NGOs and humanitarian organizations in the region, journalism, energy-sector and consulting work with Gulf state connections, and graduate programs in Middle East studies, international affairs, or law. The language skill — especially working Arabic — is the major's most portable output.
Is the bachelor's enough, or do I need more?
For the mapped academic career — postsecondary teacher — a doctorate is required. For foreign service and intelligence work, a master's (Georgetown SFS, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Columbia SIPA) is the standard professional credential. For academy graduates entering military officer roles, the bachelor's is sufficient and the major is part of why the officer is assigned to relevant postings. For journalism, translation, or NGO work, the bachelor's with solid Arabic can function as an entry credential, though additional credentials help at more senior levels.
Which language should I study?
Depends on your interests. Arabic is the most widely spoken regional language and has the broadest career utility — foreign service, intelligence, business, journalism. Hebrew is specifically useful for Israel-focused work, religious studies, and certain diplomatic tracks. Persian opens Iran and parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia. A few programs teach Turkish. Most students commit to one language deeply rather than trying to learn multiple at survey level; the depth of one language is what makes the credential employable.