The Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department offers five major programs and six minor programs in the following areas.
Ancient Near East and Egyptology
This major provides students with an overview of Near Eastern Civilizations with an emphasis on their language, literature, religion, history, and art. Students are able to take classes from Jewish Studies, Anthropology, Semitics and other departments to satisfy their requirements for the major. Its interdisciplinary nature encourages students gain a holistic understanding of Near East through multiple professors across disciplines.
Arabic
The study of Arabic opens the door to the rich history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. Classical Arabic is the language of religion. Modern standard Arabic is the language of formal culture and the communication media. The Arabic dialects are the language of daily life. The major in Arabic introduces students to each of these varieties of Arabic and to their respective literatures.
Armenian Studies
The Armenian Studies Program at UCLA focuses on the 3,000-year history and culture of the Armenian people, both in their native homeland between the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Sea, and in the dispersion. Unique in the context of Near Eastern civilizations, the Armenians maintained their Indo-European language and developed a distinct Christian culture that drew inspiration from and served as a link between the Orient and the Occident.
Iranian
The study of Persian language and literature opens the door to the rich history and culture of Iran from pre-Islamic times to the present. UCLA’s program in Iranian Studies takes advantage of the presence in Los Angeles of the largest community of Iranians outside Iran.
Jewish Studies
The NELC department offers an undergraduate major and minor in Jewish Studies. Jewish Studies majors and minors will encounter the traditions, practices, beliefs, and histories of Jewish communities from antiquity to the modern era. Students may choose from either Biblical Hebrew or modern Hebrew as part of the Hebrew language requirement.
Middle Eastern Studies
The mission of the department is the discovery, interpretation, dissemination, and preservation of human values created over a period of five or more thousand years in an area that was the cradle of all civilization.