Middle East and North Africa Studies Minor

The minor consists of a minimum of 5 full courses (or the equivalent) and a language proficiency requirement. Many students are required to complete 7 full courses to satisfy the language proficiency requirement.

Note: Students must earn minimum grades of C- or P for all courses that apply toward the minor.

View the catalog page for the Middle East and North Africa studies program.

Students can add a Middle East and North Africa studies (MENA) minor to any other course of study. Completion of a MENA minor demonstrates a basic level of familiarity with this region; the range of courses permits students to develop their curriculum and to pursue deeper and broader studies beyond the minor requirements. Because of the wide range of subject matters relevant to understanding the region, many courses from differing disciplinary orientations can count toward the minor with the only subject requirement being a beginning knowledge of at least one of the languages used in the region.

Summary of Requirements

Language Proficiency Requirement
Five Full Middle East and North Africa Studies Minor Courses

Note(s) on Requirements

The required minor courses must be from at least two departments or programs.
At least two minor courses must be above the introductory level. This does not include courses that count toward the language proficiency requirement.

Transfer of Credit Toward the Minor

The Middle East and North Africa studies program will accept up to the equivalent of four full courses of transfer credit to count toward the Middle East and North Africa studies minor requirements.

Up to the equivalent of two full courses of transfer credit may count toward the language proficiency requirement. The two full courses must pertain to the same language.
Up to the equivalent of two full courses of transfer credit may count toward the minor course requirement.

Two types of approval are needed. (1) Approval from the Office of the Registrar that the transfer course meets Oberlin’s transfer-of-credit eligibility standards and (2) approval from the department/program chair that the course(s) may count to the minor. Current students taking post-matriculation credit must secure this approval before registering for course(s). Students who enter Oberlin as transfer students will have their pre-matriculation credit evaluated by the Office of the Registrar for elective credit, and they can later seek approval from the department/program for applying coursework to minor requirements.

Detailed Minor Requirements

Language Proficiency Requirement

Return to the summary of requirements.

Demonstrate knowledge of first-year Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, Turkish, Urdu, Swahili, Kurdish, Armenian, or other languages of the Muslim world by:

Completing two semesters of college-level study at Oberlin or elsewhere;
Attaining first-year or better proficiency as certified by an instructor of the relevant language at Oberlin; or
First-year or better proficiency as certified on a case-by-case basis for languages not taught at Oberlin.