Arabic and Persian, MA (Hons)

This joint honours programme in Arabic and Persian enables you to master languages spoken by over 470 million people across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, unlocking the rich intellectual heritage of Islam. Arabic, the world's sixth most spoken language and a UN official language, pairs with Persian (Farsi in Iran, Dari in Afghanistan, Tajik in Tajikistan). Designed for beginners—including heritage learners—with exemptions for prior experience, it emphasizes cultural-contextual language skills for engaging original materials on society, religion, history, politics, literature, art, and cinema.At the University of Edinburgh, a global leader in these fields since the 18th century (Persian from the 19th), you access vast resources, workshops, and events. The four-year structure includes pre-honours grounding, Year 3 abroad, honours specialization, advanced translation, and a dissertation, fostering fluency and career readiness in global roles, refugee support, and international organizations.