Masters applications for 2023 entry are now closed.
Applications for September 2024 will open on Monday 25 September. Applications are now open for programmes with a January 2024 start. View our programmes »
Overview
- You’ll develop your research skills through in-depth study of the recent and social history of the Middle East
- Receive core training in social scientific philosophy and methodology and learn how to apply this to the study of the contemporary Middle East
- You’ll examine how the region has changed and developed over the last 150 years
- Join an active and collaborative research culture that draws together doctoral researchers, staff and students to produce cutting-edge knowledge about the Arab and Islamic worlds
- Learn discipline specific methodology and analytical techniques that lay the basis for you to progress to doctoral study
2nd in the UK for African & Middle Eastern Studies
3rd for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Home to Europe's most important research collection on the Arab world
2nd for African & Middle Eastern Studies in The Complete University Guide 2025
2nd in the UK for African & Middle Eastern Studies
3rd for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Home to Europe's most important research collection on the Arab world
2nd for African & Middle Eastern Studies in The Complete University Guide 2025
Entry requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree with 53% or above in the social sciences* or humanities or with an MA in a related social science* or humanities subject.
*Accepted social science subjects include:
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Area and Development Studies
- Criminology
- Demography
- Development Studies
- Economics
- Economic and Social History
- Education
- Environmental Planning
- Human Geography
- International Relations
- Law
- Linguistics
- Management and Business Studies
- Media and Communication Studies
- Philosophy
- Politics and International Studies
- Psychology
- Science and Technology Studies
- Social Policy
- Social Statistics, Methods, and Computing
- Social Work
- Socio Legal Studies
- Sociology
Entry requirements for international students
Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.
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Entry requirements for international students
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.
Course content
This masters is designed to develop your research skills within the field of Middle East Studies. Your core training will be in social scientific philosophy and methodology, which you will then learn to apply to the study of the contemporary Middle East.
The programme is designed to develop your understanding of the history and evolution of the Middle East as a region, as well as introducing you to approaches to studying the area, and specialised quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques appropriate to this specialism.
This programme also forms part of the ESRC SWDTP – a hub of world-class social sciences research.
The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Fees
2025/26 entry
UK fees per year:
£12,500 full-time; £6,250 part-time
International fees per year:
£25,300 full-time; £12,650 part-time
Scholarships
The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships*.
For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
*Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.
Teaching and research
Teaching
- Lectures will give you direct access to the cutting-edge research being carried out by our academic team
- Take responsibility for your own learning and that of your peers by participating in group work, class discussions and student presentations
- Fine tune your critical reading skills and learn how to ask and field incisive questions
- Utilise a range of media from video and audio to articles from newspapers and academic journals
Assessment
The taught modules on this programme are assessed by a combination of essays, presentations and group work. Following completion of these in April, you will then be assessed by a 15,000-word dissertation for submission in September.
Research
Our research is focused on a number of specialist research centres:
Our research culture is collaborative and democratic, drawing together doctoral researchers, staff and students to produce cutting-edge new knowledge about the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Facilities
The Institute is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including a computerised language lab, lecture theatres, seminar rooms, lounge, satellite TV for viewing Middle Eastern channels and a gallery for Middle Eastern art exhibitions.
The Arab World Documentation Unit based in the Research Commons is a valuable research resource, housing numerous collections of academic textbooks, press cuttings, government papers and reports, periodicals, pamphlets, business yearbooks, and much more, with material in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
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Professor Gareth Stansfield
Al-Qasimi Professor of Arab Gulf Studies, Professor of Middle East Politics
Dr István Kristó-Nagy
Head of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology (SPA)
Professor Gareth Stansfield
Al-Qasimi Professor of Arab Gulf Studies, Professor of Middle East Politics
Gareth has been a regular commentator and adviser on Middle East politics over the last decade. He lived in pre-regime change Iraq between 1996 and 2001, where he was funded by the UK government to advise the Kurdish leadership. He served as a Senior Political Adviser to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and is a member of the Command Advisory Group of the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters.
He has considerable fieldwork experience in a range of countries in the Middle East and Islamic World, including Iraq, Syria, the Kurdish regions, Morocco, the states of the Gulf, and more recently Afghanistan.
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Professor Gareth Stansfield
Al-Qasimi Professor of Arab Gulf Studies, Professor of Middle East Politics
Gareth has been a regular commentator and adviser on Middle East politics over the last decade. He lived in pre-regime change Iraq between 1996 and 2001, where he was funded by the UK government to advise the Kurdish leadership. He served as a Senior Political Adviser to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and is a member of the Command Advisory Group of the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters.
He has considerable fieldwork experience in a range of countries in the Middle East and Islamic World, including Iraq, Syria, the Kurdish regions, Morocco, the states of the Gulf, and more recently Afghanistan.
Profile page
Dr István Kristó-Nagy
Head of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology (SPA)
István teaches on the optional module Islam in Practice. His main scholarly interests lie in comparative and interdisciplinary studies, especially the social and cultural history of Islam as compared and linked to other civilisations.
Profile page
Transdisciplinary Collaborations for Creative Futures
You are invited to consider taking Transdisciplinary Collaborations for Creative Futures as an optional module in your course. It's available in two formats: 15 credits (EFPM838) or 30 credits (EFPM839).
Our Transdisciplinary Collaborations for Creative Futures module will give you the competitive career advantage of understanding how to bring your disciplinary knowledge into active dialogue with students and staff from other disciplines in order to tackle global sustainability challenges.
This module is taught by staff from across the University of Exeter and is grounded in the University's School of Education research, which shows that the best way to tackle complex real-world challenges is to creatively collaborate across disciplines and with stakeholders.
The challenges will come from external University strategic partners, ensuring issues are current, cutting edge and relevant, whilst supporting employability. The module aims to teach you how to collaboratively, and critically, produce original ideas, and think innovatively about the future through research-based activities, fieldwork and creative workshops that blend the arts, sciences, social sciences, humanities and business.
Using appropriately innovative assessment techniques, the module will equip you to respond to the global complexity and uncertainty that you will inevitably encounter when you graduate. You will be taught using pedagogical innovations, working in transdisciplinary teams with facilitation through cutting edge Creative Pedagogies and Design Thinking.
This module is particularly appropriate for international students seeking insight into UK business, creative industries and cultural contexts and employment possibilities.
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Careers
Graduates from this programme may find professional employment in a wide range of sectors both in the UK and internationally. A comprehensive background in Islamic Studies is relevant to careers in:
- Academia and education
- International agencies such as the United Nations or the European Union
- International development
- Print and broadcast media
- Politics
- Private sector companies with interests in Islamic countries
Employment and professional development
Our excellent Employability and Graduate Development Service provides invaluable support, advice and access to graduate employers. Visit the employment and professional development pages for more information, including podcasts and profiles, about the range of support available.
Further study
The academic skills developed on the MRes Middle East Studies will enable to you to pursue doctoral study. The Institute has an international profile for our pioneering regional focus on the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula and expertise in Islamic Studies providing an ideal place in which to undertake an MPhil/PhD.
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