Course Requirements

Course Requirements

A.B. Requirements for Arabic Majors

Minimum 120 credit hours
Minimum 38 courses

Note: Effective Fall 2023, all main campus courses have been renumbered using a new 4-digit numbering system.

https://schedule.georgetown.edu/course-renumbering-crosswalk/a/#arab

11 courses (unless lower placement requires additional language work) consisting of:

  • ARAB-1111 Intensive Second Level Modern Standard Arabic I
  • ARAB-1112 Intensive Second Level Modern Standard Arabic II
  • ARAB-2202 Introduction to Islamic Civilization (must be taken no later than Sophomore year); or upperclass students who have not taken ARAB-2202 can satisfy this requirement by taking an advanced course, ARAB-3930 Topics in Arabic Islamic Civilization
  • ARAB-2216 Intensive Third Level Modern Standard Arabic I
  • ARAB-2217 Intensive Third Level Modern Standard Arabic II or ARAB-2219 Non-Intensive Third Level Modern Standard Arabic II
  • ARAB-3970 Arabic Capstone Seminar
  • 5 ARAB content courses (electives) approved by advisor at the appropriate level. ARAB-2218/2220 Arabic Media, ARAB-3328 Business Arabic, and ARAB-3344 Advanced Arabic Media do not count towards elective courses.

Additionally, all majors are required to take:

  • A course in Spoken Arabic (taken during study-abroad semester)
  • Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

Language courses cannot be taken out of sequence, i.e. a 2000-level course cannot be taken after completing a 3000-level course. 

Students who place out of required courses can fulfill the course requirement by taking upper-level courses in the department. Please speak with your advisor for more information.

Free Electives: 12-16 credits

Including minor and/or second major.
It is highly recommended for those pursing a second major to contact the appropriate department as early as possible in your academic career.

Integrated Writing Requirement

Writing is an integral part of the curriculum and embedded into our courses. Students practice writing of increasing complexity in the target language all through the sequence of required courses across the four-year
undergraduate major.

The following courses fulfill the Integrated Writing Requirement.

  • ARAB 2202 – Intro to Islamic Civilization
  • ARAB 2218 – Arabic Media
  • ARAB 3389 – Women & Gender in Islam
  • ARAB 4426 – Poetry and Theory: The Arab Ode
  • ARAB 3340 – Arabic Drama
  • ARAB 3366 – Islam and Identity
  • ARAB 3336 – Contemporary Arabic Novels
  • ARAB 3970 – Arabic Capstone Seminar
  • ARAB 3360 – 1001 Nights
  • ARAB 3370 – Justice in the Islamic Tradition
  • ARAB 3395 – Literature & Social Movements
  • ARAB 3399 – The Arab Novel
  • ARAB 4401 – The Syntax of Arabic
  • ARAB 4409 – The Quran in History
  • ARAB 3344 – Advanced Arabic Media
  • ARAB 4415 – Arab-English Translation 
  • ARAB 4417 – Shariah Law
  • ARAB 4420 – Literature: Age of Rhetoric
  • ARAB 4423 – Modern Arabic Poetry
  • ARAB 4470 – Intro to Arabic Philosophy and Theology

Pass/Fail

Pass/fail is not a grading option offered for the following courses:
ARAB 1011 & ARAB 1012
ARAB 1111 & ARAB 1112
ARAB 1113 & ARAB 1114
ARAB 2218 & 2220
ARAB 2216, ARAB 2217, & ARAB 2219

Other courses can have pass/fail if the professor of the course approves it. 

General College Requirements: 36 credits

Please see your advisor for further details.

  • Humanities and Writing: 2 courses
  • Theology: 2 courses
  • Philosophy: 2 courses
  • Math/Science: 2 courses
  • History: 2 courses
  • Social Science: 2 courses in the same discipline

The following Arabic courses will fulfill the Social Science requirement:
ARAB 3393: Intro to Arabic Sociolinguistics

It is recommended that Arabic majors satisfy the History requirement by completing the following:

HIST 1601: Middle East History I
HIST 1602: Middle East History II

ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW:

In April of each year, Arabic majors who are enrolled in Arabic language courses, are required to take an oral proficiency test, lasting approximately 30 minutes. This is a departmental requirement. Students who do not take the test will have their Arabic final grades withheld for the semester. Majors do not need to sign-up for this exam, but will be contacted in late March with more information concerning the date and time of the test.