Declaring an NES Major

Near Eastern Studies is the right concentration for you if:

  1. You want to learn about the histories, cultures, religions, literatures, and societies of the Middle East and North Africa,
  2. You want to read and speak one or more of the languages spoken in the region: Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish,
  3. You want to become a more critical thinker,
  4. You want to join a community of students committed to better understanding our complex world, and
  5. You want to take classes with world-renowned faculty who truly care to get to know their students.

A simple prerequisite:

The only prerequisite for declaring yourself a Near Eastern Studies concentrator is to have taken one course in the department (e.g., a semester of one of our languages, a lecture course, or a seminar).

Three steps to declaring NES:

Once you have reviewed the requirements for earning a degree in NES and you’ve decided that you’d like to become a concentrator, please follow the following three simple steps:

Step 1: Declare your concentration in TigerHub starting April 2

You are encouraged to declare early in the process so that you have ample time to schedule a virtual meeting with your WWS academic adviser. The deadline to declare is April 20. For more details on the Registrar’s process, please follow the declaration instructions distributed by your residential college dean.

Step 2: Make an appointment with Professor Jonathan Gribetz, Director of Undergraduate Studies, as soon as possible before course registration begins on April 22.

Professor Gribetz ( will be meeting with all concentrators on Zoom to assist them in selecting their courses for Fall 2020.

Step 3: Register on TigerHub for the courses approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

You must select your approved courses in TigerHub for the fall semester between April 22 and April 24.

Welcome to NES

Class Day 2019

Become an NES Concentrator