Middle East and Islamic Studies
Minor
About this program
The Minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies invites you to explore the history, politics, culture, and diversity of the Middle East and societies shaped by Islam. You take three core courses offering broad, multidisciplinary perspectives. Then you select three upper‑division electives — from subjects like history, religion, literature, art, language, or politics — guided by your advisor. This minor builds skills for careers in areas such as government, journalism, education, and global business, or for graduate study.
Program Curriculum and Requirements
Program Scope
The Minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies is a multidisciplinary minor designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad understanding of the history, politics, and culture of the Middle East and Islamic world. Students are required to fulfill both core and elective requirements designed to give a background of the complexity and diversity of the region as well as offer more specific, in-depth studies of select issues of the region. This program covers regions and peoples from or in the Middle East from the founding of Islam in the seventh century to the present. In concert with the “Islamic Studies” aspect of this program, this minor also extends beyond the Middle East to those cultures, societies, and areas that are associated with the historical and current spread of Islam. Students can select from a variety of courses across multiple disciplines, including history, religion, politics, culture, art, music, language and literature.
The minor is useful to students planning careers in politics and government, business, education, international organizations, journalism and art, as well as for those who simply desire a better understanding of the Middle East and Islam. The multidisciplinary nature of the program also prepares students for further study in a number of academic fields at the graduate level.
The Middle East and Islamic Studies Minor consists of a core curriculum of three courses that deal with the region as a whole from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, plus three upper-division courses taken upon advisement.
Faculty for Middle East and Islamic Studies
Lucia Volk, Department of International Relations
Office: Humanities Building 576
Email: lvolk@sfsu.edu