Arabic

Whilst St Andrews does not offer Arabic as a single Honours degree, you can take Arabic in combination with a wide variety of other subjects as part of a joint Honours degree. It is useful to study Arabic, by far the most commonly used language of the Middle East, alongside almost any subject as it offers the opportunity for comparative analyses between different languages, literatures, cultures, histories, politics and economics.

By choosing to study Arabic, you will learn the language of the Arabic media as well as classical and modern Arabic languages and literature. All Arabic modules prioritise building a high level of competence in language skills, and after completing the first two years of your course, you will be able to read, write and converse in basic Modern Standard Arabic.

Careers

Graduates in Arabic go on to a wide range of careers for which an Arts degree is a recognised qualification. Graduates of the Department have become:

• academics in international institutions
• civil servants in government departments (notably the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the US State Department)
• employees in non-governmental organisations and international companies
• human rights lawyers
• journalists.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.

Persian

Whilst St Andrews does not offer Persian as a single Honours degree, you can take Persian in combination with a wide variety of other subjects as part of a joint Honours degree. Persian is the second language of the Middle East and the Islamic world and is primarily known in Europe for its unique literary tradition and the cinematic achievements of the Iranian New Wave. Therefore, Persian offers a good opportunity for comparative analyses between different languages, literatures, cultures, national cinemas, histories, politics and economics.

At St Andrews, the focus is on Modern Persian, with emphasis on language, literature, drama, visual culture and cinema, but students are also given the opportunity to become familiar with classical literary and historical texts.

Ancient History

The MA (Hons) in Ancient History explores the history of Greece and Rome, and that of neighbouring peoples such as the Persians and Carthaginians. Students study the period from the beginning of Greek writing and urbanism in eighth century BCE through to the collapse of the western Roman empire in the fifth century CE. Geographically, the subject is centred on the Mediterranean world, which at times extends from the Persian Gulf to the Clyde and from the Crimea to the Sahara.

Thematically, the course deals not only with political and military history, but also with topics such as gender and sexuality, slavery, colonisation, religion, cultural contacts between peoples, and the ecology and economy of the ancient Mediterranean. Students will also study the nature of ancient evidence and the way that the Greeks and Romans represented the past and reinvented it to meet their changing needs.