Advising

 

Heather Peterson, the Undergraduate Academic Advisor for the Center for and Department of Middle Eastern Studies, advises current and prospective majors in Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, and Middle Eastern Studies. The undergraduate advisor removes advising bars, reviews degree audits, assists with course selection and registration, and discusses options for study abroad, honors programs, and career exploration. The advisor also refers students to on-campus resources relevant to their interests and needs.

Before scheduling a meeting with the advisor, please carefully read through the information on our website. If you cannot find the answer to your question on the website, you may email mes-advising@utexas.edu. Please include your EID in all communications with your advisor.

If you need to meet with the Undergraduate Academic Advisor, you can schedule a meeting here.

You can run your own degree audit online through IDA (Interactive Degree Audit), and it is recommended that you do so at the beginning of each semester.

Becoming a Major

If you are interested in declaring a major in Middle Eastern Studies, you must do one of the following:

• If already a student within the College of Liberal Arts, simply email mes-advising@utexas.edu with your stated intent to swap or add a major in MES.
• If you are a student in another college/school at UT, you will need to use the Internal Transfer Portal to apply for admission into MES (only a formality, as long as you're in good academic standing, you will be admitted).
• If you are not yet a UT student, your admission into MES as a major will be handled by UT Admissions exclusively.

Continuing majors should check in periodically with the undergraduate advisor to share information on courses, discuss any difficulties, obtain approvals, and to keep track of career, internship, study abroad, and honors opportunities.

Adding a Transcript-Recognized Minor

Students may apply for any of the following auto-approved minor credentials HERE. Once you apply for your auto-approved credential, you will need to reach out to your major advisor to request that they attach your newly-declared minor to your major degree profile in your student record to make it official.

Arabic: 18 hours of Arabic, including ARA 601C, ARA 611C, and six hours of upper-division Arabic.

Hebrew: 15 hours of Hebrew, including HEB 601C, HEB 611C, and three hours of upper-division Hebrew.

Islamic Studies: 15 hours of ISL, including ISL 310, ISL 340, and nine hours of upper-division ISL chosen from ISL 340, ISL 372 or ISL 373.

Middle Eastern Studies: 15 hours of MES, including MES 301K, MES 301L, and nine hours of upper-division MES chosen from MES 341, 342 or 343.

Persian: 18 hours of Persian, including PRS 601C, PRS 611C, PRS 322K, and three hours of upper-division Persian.

Turkish: 15 hours of Turkish, including TUR 601C, 611C, and three hours of upper-division Turkish. 

At least 9 hours of the minor must be completed in residence.

The transcript-recognized undergraduate academic minor must be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin. For more information regarding the requirements for achieving a minor, including a comprehensive list of minors, please visit the Minors and Certificate Programs section of the Undergraduate Catalog.