Modern Arabic

Modern Arabic Program

Since its establishment in 1841, the Arabic and Islamic Studies Program at Yale—the oldest such program in the United States—has focused on the study of all aspects of the history and culture of Islamic societies. Arabic is the language of the Qur’an and Muslim practice; it is the universal language of medieval scholarship, philosophy, and science; in modern times, it is one of the six international languages of the United Nations and the living medium of a vibrant and constantly developing modern literature.

Advanced Language Certificate

Students seeking to earn the certificate are required to take four courses beyond the L4 level, at least two of which must be Yale courses designated as L5. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and students must achieve a grade of B or above. No courses taken Credit/D/Fail may be counted toward the requirements of the certificate. With the approval of the certificate adviser, one advanced non-L5 Yale course, conducted in the target language, such as an independent study course, a graduate seminar, or an advanced seminar may count toward certification requirements.

The certificate adviser may allow one “language across the curriculum” (LxC) course, which ordinarily is an advanced seminar with an additional weekly discussion section in the target language, to count toward the certification requirements. The certificate adviser may also approve the substitution of up to two credits earned during study abroad and taught in the target language to count toward the certificate requirements. If the adviser approves courses taken outside of Yale for inclusion in the certificate requirements, students must take the necessary steps to ensure that those courses appear on their transcripts.

Declaration of Candidacy for a Certificate

Students are invited to complete the Declaration of Candidacy for a Certificate Form using this Qualtrics Survey. Once completed, the form sends notification emails to the certificate adviser(s) and to the Yale University Registrar’s Office so that the student’s Degree Audit can be updated with the Certificate of Advanced Language Study. 

Certificate Adviser

Sarab Al Ani, Senior Lector II of Modern Arabic <sarab.alani@yale.edu>