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Islamic, Middle Eastern and North African Studies

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

BB in Advanced Highers and AABBB in Highers, or B in Advanced Highers and AAABB in Highers, or AABBBB in Highers

Might be accepted as in combination with other qualifications, please contact admissions teams for further advice & guidance.

UCAS Tariff

128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Full-time with year in industry | 2024

4 years | Full-time with time abroad | 2024

Subjects

Modern middle eastern studies

Modern middle eastern languages

Modern middle eastern literature

Modern middle eastern society and culture studies

Arab society and culture studies

Studying this course, you’ll gain a deep and wide-ranging understanding of the cultures, history, politics and societies of these regions. You’ll develop your study of Islam, one of the most influential and widely practised religions in the world, and a subject of strategic importance both in the global context and in modern Britain. You’ll also learn about contemporary relevant issues of the Middle East and North Africa and explore themes such as cultural identity, sexuality, gender and race. The course gives you the opportunity to study several diverse fields, such as area studies, humanities (religious studies, history, literature, performance) and social science. It also includes the opportunity to study languages such as Arabic and Persian.

You’ll build your knowledge through a wide range of topics and pioneering approaches such as Islamic history and religion through the female lens, postcolonialism, decoloniality and Critical Muslim Studies (which has been pioneered at the University of Leeds). In addition to compulsory modules on key issues and themes, you’ll also choose from a range of optional modules such as Arab culture, politics, performance, Qur’anic Studies and Islamic law.

Alongside gaining linguistic, cultural and historical knowledge, you’ll also develop transferable skills to become a resilient and adaptable graduate. You'll enhance your ability to be self-reflective and critical and to become a considered, informed thinker.

**Additional highlights**
To broaden and deepen your knowledge, you’ll be able to access a wide range of co-curricular activities, such as Qur’anic Arabic and the ‘Amimiyyah’ seminars (readings of classical Islamic madrasah texts), offered by the School's Iqbal Centre for Critical Muslim Studies.

You’ll learn from leading experts in critical areas such as Islamic history, international relations, Islamic law and legal theory, Muslim reformist thought, Islamophobia and Muslim intellectual history, Women’s contributions to Islamic history, sectarian difference, historical topics including the Crusades, Islam in China, Cultural anthropology, Arab and Muslim Cinema.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Leeds

Department:

School of Languages, Cultures and Societies

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

67%
Modern middle eastern studies
67%
Modern middle eastern languages
67%
Modern middle eastern literature
67%
Modern middle eastern society and culture studies
67%
Arab society and culture studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

African and modern middle eastern studies

Teaching and learning

67%
Staff make the subject interesting
80%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
49%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
47%
Male students
53%
Female students
96%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

African and modern middle eastern studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

11%
Teaching and educational professionals
9%
Business, research and administrative professionals
9%
Artistic, literary and media occupations

Mainly covering the study of Turkish or Arabic, this isn't a very common degree choice for UK students - just 150 students graduated in this area in 2013 - so bear that in mind when drawing conclusions from any employment and salary stats. If you are interested in studying this subject, then it's a good idea go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course and what previous graduates went on to do.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

African and modern middle eastern studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£21k

£21k

£27k

£27k

£31k

£31k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here