Middle Eastern Studies (research)

The two-year Research MA in Middle Eastern Studies at Leiden University allows you to explore the Middle East across time, borders, languages, and ideas: from the early Islamic world to contemporary politics, from Ottoman, Arab, Persianate, and North African histories to questions of migration, media, ecology, religion, literature, colonialism, and social change.

At Leiden, you will study in a research environment with a long-standing reputation for expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. You can focus on a specific region, language, archive, period, or theme, or build a comparative project across disciplines and areas.

A key strength of the programme is its comparative Area Studies approach. You will learn to understand the Middle East not as a fixed or isolated region, but as a dynamic part of the world shaped by movement, exchange, empire, conflict, translation, and everyday life. This includes comparisons within the Middle East as well as connections with other regions, including Asia.

The programme is designed for students who want more than a general MA: more time for independent research, closer supervision, advanced methodological training, and the opportunity to develop their own scholarly profile.