The Department aims to train scholars in the cultures of various Near Eastern peoples through study and interpretation of their languages and literatures, their history, and archaeological analysis of their cultures. Concentrations are provided in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Assyriology (Akkadian and Sumerian), Egyptology, and Graeco-Arabic Studies, and may occasionally be arranged in other fields.

A program leading to scholarly proficiency in one of the concentrations named above will be planned at the beginning of the student's course of study. This will normally consist of three years of course work and the subsequent writing of a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

For the Master's degree, two years of course work and a thesis are required, for the M.Phil. degree three years of course work and successful completion of a comprehensive examination. For more information on the requirements for the MA, M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees, consult the Departmental listings in the Bulletin of the Yale Graduate School.