Jackson School Alumni, we care! Help us keep in touch. Please take a few minutes to complete our new Alumni Survey
Welcome to the Middle East Center
The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the UW, where the
Middle East Center currently resides, began in 1909 when the UW
established the Department of Oriental subjects. At
present, the Jackson School has a faculty of more than 100 members and
offers eight undergraduate and six graduate degrees (including an
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Near and Middle Eastern
Studies and an M.A. in Middle East/International Studies).
The Middle East Center at the University of Washington came into existence
in 1975 when it first qualified for funding under Title VI, NDEA. The
Center has maintained that funding to the present
time. The UW currently offers programs leading to undergraduate and
graduate degrees in Middle Eastern and Central Asian languages (Arabic,
Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, Uzbek, Kirghiz, Kazakh, and
Tajik) and area studies. In the years since the creation of the Middle
East Center, a professional Director of Outreach has always been on the
staff. Through the efforts of these outreach directors, the University of
Washington gained regional and national recognition for the quality of
its outreach programs, particularly
those planned for teachers.
The Middle East program is designed for students who wish to study the
region within an interdisciplinary framework, focusing especially on the
social, political, economic, and legal structure of the Middle East.
Students interested in an M.A. degree emphasizing literature
and other humanistic aspects of the Middle
East should inquire about the program in the
Department
of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. Additionally, the University of Washington Library’s
Near Eastern Section contains a wide body of literary and reference materials.