CMES Oriental Institute Division of Humanities U of C Home NELC Home

Prospective Undergraduate Students

If you are interested in undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago, please visit the website for The College at http://www.college.uchicago.edu/ for more information.

Specific undergraduate program information for the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations:

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Associate Chair and Counselor for Undergraduate Studies: Christopher Woods,
Or 322, 834-8560, woods@uchicago.edu
Departmental Secretary: Or 212, 702-9512, ne-lc@uchicago.edu
Web: humanities.uchicago.edu/depts/nelc/

Program of Study

The B.A. degree programs in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) are as varied as the wide subject matter they embrace. Areas of specialization within NELC include:

Archaeology and Art of the Ancient Near East
Classical Hebrew Language and Civilization
Cuneiform Studies (including Assyriology, Hittitology, and Sumerology)
Egyptian Languages and Civilization
Islamic and Modern Middle Eastern Studies (including Arabic, Armenian, Modern Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, and Uzbek)
Near Eastern Judaica

Students who major in NELC learn one or more of the primary native languages as a means of access to the cultures of the ancient Near East and the modern Middle East. (Students who plan to do advanced work in Near Eastern studies are strongly encouraged also to develop a reading knowledge of German and French.) In consultation with the counselor for undergraduate studies, each student chooses an area of specialization and devises a program of study that provides a sound basis for graduate work in that area or for a career in museology, business, government, and other disciplines.

Students who major in other fields of study may wish to minor in NELC. The minor program is described below, after the description of the major.

Program Requirements

Thirteen courses and a B.A. paper are required for a NELC major.

(1) Two or three quarters of one of the following civilization sequences:

NEHC 20011-20012-20013. Ancient Empires I, II, III
NEHC 20001-20002-20003. Ancient Near Eastern History and Society I, II, III
NEHC 20004-20005-20006. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and Literature I, II, III
NEAA 20001-20002-20003. Archaeology of the Ancient Near East I, II, III
NEHC 20501-20502-20503. Islamic History and Society I, II, III
NEHC 20601-20602-20603. Islamic Thought and Literature I, II, III
NEHC 20401-20402-20403. Jewish History and Society I, II, III
NEHC 20404-20405-20406. Jewish Thought and Literature I, II, III
NEHC 20411-20412-20413. Medieval Jewish History I, II, III

Note that the course sequences on “Archaeology of the Ancient Near East” and “Medieval Jewish History” do not fulfill the general education requirement in civilization studies. All of the other NELC civilization sequences do fulfill the general education requirement. Note also that “Medieval Jewish History” and “Jewish History and Society” overlap partially and are mutually exclusive.

(2) Six courses in one of the Near Eastern languages (e.g., Akkadian, Arabic, Egyptian, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish). Credit for language courses may not be granted by examination or placement.

(3) Three or four elective courses in the student’s area of specialization. These courses should be chosen in consultation with the counselor for undergraduate studies. They may consist of additional NELC language courses, an additional NELC civilization sequence, or approved courses in areas such as archaeology, art, literature in translation, history, and religion.

(4) The B.A. Paper Seminar (NEHC 29800) is required of all NELC majors. It is to be taken in the Autumn Quarter of the year in which the student expects to graduate. The seminar and B.A. paper are described below.

Summary of Requirements

                                6      courses in one Near Eastern language at any level*
                          2 or 3      courses in one approved NELC two- or three-quarter civilization sequence**
                          4 or 3      approved electives relating to the Near East***
                                 1      B.A. Paper Seminar (NEHC 29800)
                               13

* Credit may not be granted by examination or placement.

** If a Near Eastern civilization sequence is used to meet the College general education requirement, a second Near Eastern civilization sequence is required for the NELC major.

*** May include one B.A. Paper Preparation (NEHC 29999).

Grading. All courses taken to meet requirements in the major must be taken for quality grades, with the exception of the B.A. Paper Seminar (NEHC 29800), which is taken pass/fail.

Advising. Students who major in NELC must consult the counselor for undergraduate studies when planning their programs.

B.A. Paper Seminar. Candidates for the B.A. degree in NELC are required to write a substantial B.A. paper. The paper gives the student the opportunity to research a topic of interest and to improve writing and presentation skills.

It is the student’s responsibility, in his or her third year, to approach a NELC faculty member with a request to serve as the student’s faculty research adviser. The student and the faculty adviser together decide on a topic for the B.A. paper. The topic must be registered in the NELC department office by Monday of tenth week in Spring Quarter of the student’s third year. Forms to register the topic are available in the departmental office.

Students are required to register for the B.A. Paper Seminar (NEHC 29800) in Autumn Quarter of their fourth year. A passing grade (P) for the seminar depends on full attendance and participation throughout the quarter. The B.A. Paper Seminar is a workshop course designed to survey the fields represented by NELC and to assist students in researching and writing their B.A. papers. Students continue working on their B.A. papers during the following quarters, meeting at intervals with their faculty research advisers. They may register for NEHC 29999 during the Winter Quarter to devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of the paper; the paper grade, reported in the Spring Quarter, will be the grade for the course NEHC 29999. See the course description below.

Students taking a double major may, with the permission of the NELC counselor for undergraduate studies, write a single B.A. paper that is designed to meet the requirements of both majors, provided that the faculty research adviser is a member of the NELC faculty. Approval from both program chairs is required. A consent form, to be signed by the chairs, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student’s year of graduation.

The completed B.A. paper must be submitted to the faculty research adviser by Monday of third week in Spring Quarter. The faculty research adviser will grade the paper and then will submit it to the NELC counselor for undergraduate studies by Monday of fifth week in Spring Quarter. Students who fail to meet the deadline will not be eligible for honors and may not be able to graduate in that quarter.

The above information assumes a Spring Quarter graduation. Students who expect to graduate in other quarters should consult the NELC counselor for undergraduate studies.

Honors. Students who complete their course work and their B.A. papers with distinction are considered for graduation with honors. To be eligible for honors in NELC, students must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher, they must have a NELC GPA of 3.5 or higher, and they must have earned a grade of A- or higher on the B.A. paper.

Minor Program in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

The minor in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization requires a total of six courses. Students may choose one of two tracks: (1) a language track that includes three courses of one NELC language at any level, or (2) a culture track that replaces language study with courses in such topics as archaeology, history, religion, or literature in translation. Both tracks require a two- or three-quarter NELC civilization sequence.

Students who wish to take a minor in NELC must meet with the counselor for undergraduate studies before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor. Courses should be chosen in consultation with the counselor. Students should submit the counselor’s approval for the minor program to their College adviser by the deadline above on a form obtained from the adviser.

Courses in the minor may not be double-counted with a student’s major(s) or with other minors, and they may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for quality grades. More than half of the requirements for the minor must be met by registering for courses bearing University of Chicago course numbers.

Listed below are sample sets of courses that meet the requirements of the NELC minor.

Language Track Sample Minor

AKKD 10101-10102-10103. Elementary Akkadian*
NEHC 20001-20002-20003. Ancient Near Eastern History and Society

Language Track Sample Minor

ARAB 20101-20102-20103. Intermediate Arabic*
NEHC 20601-20602-20603. Islamic Thought and Literature

Culture Track Sample Minor

NEHC 20011-20012-20013. Ancient Empires
NEHC 20401-20402-20403. Jewish History and Society

* Consult the counselor for undergraduate studies about the level of the language (introductory, intermediate, or advanced) required to meet the language track requirement. Credit may not be granted by examination to meet the language requirement for the minor program.