Programming
MEI hosts a wide variety of programming for Columbia University and the wider community. Stay up to date on our latest offerings by subscribing to our newsletter below.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
MA Program: MEI offers an Islamic Studies MA (ISMA), an interdisciplinary program for a small cohort of masters students focusing on the critical academic study of the Islamic religious and intellectual tradition.
MA Dual Degree Program: Columbia University/Aga Khan University are offering a new four semester MA Dual Degree Program in Islamic Studies and Muslim Cultures.
Graduate Certificate: MEI offers a Graduate Certificate, which students can pursue in conjunction with graduate-degree programs, providing a rich multidisciplinary course of studies that will equip students with a strong basis of knowledge of the Middle East and Muslim World.
Regional Specialization: MEI coordinates the Middle East Regional Specialization for students in the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) who chose to specialize in the region as part of their degree via multiple academic disciplines.
PARTNERS
Center for Palestine Studies (CPS): CPS promotes the academic study of Palestine by supporting research, teaching, and intellectual collaboration among scholars within Columbia University and beyond.
Center for the Study of Muslim Societies at Columbia University (CSMS): CSMS is an umbrella for faculty collaborations in research, programming, teaching and public outreach on Islam and Muslim societies at Columbia University.
EVENTS
Events: The MEI hosts regular events including lectures, conferences and colloquia on culture, history, arts and other thematic areas related to the Middle East region. These events support the initiatives of faculty, students and visiting scholars, and take place in collaborates with its counterparts across Columbia and New York City.
Workshop Series: The MEI offers several workshop series dedicated to the discussion and dissemination of new research. This includes;
The Adab Colloquium, launched in 2020, brings together scholars of Islamicate languages who study the cross-cultural, transregional phenomenon of adab.
The Ifriqiyya Colloquium, launched in 2010, is organized as both a seminar and a discussion group, and is dedicated to giving historical depth to the study of Africa at Columbia, focusing on the period that preceded Western domination of Africa.
The Islamic History Workshops launched in 2016. The workshops feature leading scholars from across a variety of disciplines who come together for detailed discussions of their current research. Events will be posted as they are scheduled.
The Sharīʿa Workshops, launched in 2015, engages graduate students and faculty in intensive discussions of new research by leading specialists invited from the US and abroad.
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Language Circles: Weekly language circles for Arabic and Persian provide extra practice for language students in a conversational setting. MEI also supports a Persian language film series throughout the school year.
Fellowships: MEI is designated by the U.S. Department of Education to award Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships. FLAS awards can be for Academic Year study at Columbia, or for intensive summer language study in the U.S. or abroad, including both tuition and a stipend. MEI also offers the annual Theodore de Bary Language Study Fellowship to international students.
Language Tutoring: MEI offers subsidies for students seeking to improve their Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Persian through Language Maintenance Tutorials (LMTs). MEI also offers students fully-funded Language Conversation Practice online in collaboration with NaTakallam.