Graduate Programs - Overview

PLEASE NOTE: We are not accepting applications to our Biblical Studies or Arabic Literature concentrations for Fall 2013.
For questions or further information, please contact nelc-grad@sas.upenn.edu.

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) offers PhD and MA degrees in five distinct fields. Our PhD procedures and MA procedures conform to the general guidelines formulated by Penn’s Graduate Division of Arts and Sciences. However, individual fields of study may have their own additional specific requirements. These fields are:

• Mesopotamian Civilizations
• Egyptology
• Biblical Studies
• Hebrew Literature & Jewish Tradition
• Arabic and Islamic Studies

Graduate students in NELC, whether at the MA or PhD level, will work closely with the faculty of the NELC Graduate Group, whose members include not just NELC departmental faculty but also faculty from across the University whose interests and specialties involve the advanced study of the Near East and its cultures.

An advanced degree in NELC can lead to any number of careers. Our NELC graduates commonly adopt careers in academia, but not always. Recent graduates are employed as faculty in the full range of private and public research universities and smaller liberal-arts colleges. But many have also found distinguished careers in museums, government, journalism, diplomacy, and other areas, as can be seen from this list of our graduates and their theses from the past 150 years or so. Currently, NELC has one of the best placement records of any department in the Humanities at Penn.

Please follow this link if you are interested in applying for graduate study in NELC.