Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS) Minor
The Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS) minor, administered by the Humanities Division in partnership with the Center for the Middle East and North Africa (CMENA), is dedicated to the study and research of the histories, politics, and cultures of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa.
Through this interdisciplinary program, students declared in the MENAS minor will choose from a diverse set of courses across departments and divisions that combine language study with classes that explore the Middle East and North Africa (the SWANA region) through historical and contemporary lenses. Courses span the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts Divisions and draw on the varied and deep expertise of faculty in multiple academic departments. The objective of the MENAS minor is to promote substantive regional knowledge, understanding, and curiosity among students who are interested in positioning themselves as global citizens or who are considering graduate study concerning the Middle East, North Africa or the wider SWANA region.
Once they have declared their major, students, in close consultation with their major advisor and the MENAS advisor, can pursue adding the minor.
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Minor Requirements
To complete the minor, students must take three quarters of language instruction in Arabic or Hebrew, or complete the highest-level course of their chosen language (ARBC 4, HEBR 4). They also will take one specified lower-division introductory course, and five upper-division courses whose primary focus is the history, politics, artistic production, and/or cultures of the Middle East and/or North Africa.
The minor consists of completing the language requirement and six additional courses from at least two different departments. Students can take up to two MENAS minor requirements pass/no pass. The remainder of the classes must be taken for a letter grade.
ONE Year of Foreign Language Instruction: At least three quarters of language instruction from a single language or complete the highest level of your chosen language (ARBC 4, HEBR 4).
ONE Lower-Division Introductory Course:
At least one specified lower-division introductory survey course from the following list:
- HIS 41 The Making of the Modern Middle East
- HIS 50 When Pharaohs Reigned: The History of Ancient Egypt
- HIS 51 Pyramids of Earth: Religion and Symbol in the Ancient World
- HIS 58 From Pirates to Refugees: The History of the Modern Mediterranean
- HIS 74A Introduction to Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History, 1500-2000
- LIT 81D The Prophet and the Qur’an
FIVE Upper-Division Electives:
Students will complete a minimum of 25 credits–or five upper-division courses drawn from the Departments of History, Politics, Anthropology, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Feminist Studies, Literature, Languages, and Applied Linguistics, the History of Art and Visual Culture, and Film and Digital Media whose primary focus is the history, politics, artistic production, and/or cultures of the Middle East and/or North Africa.
Students can select from a list of pre-approved courses from at least two different departments as part of the non-language course requirements for the minor.
For the full list of elective offerings, please visit the MENAS Catalog page.
Please visit the CMENA website for more information on the research, programs, and activities, and affiliated faculty.
Minor Declaration
There are four steps to declare the minor. Please read through the information below. You can declare the MENAS minor as long as you have declared your major.
- Complete the MENAS Minor Checklist.
- Complete the UCSC Academic Planning Form. Include courses for your major, minor, and general education requirements. If you need help with either form, please contact us at humadvising@ucsc.edu.
- Once both forms have been completed, set up a meeting with MENAS Minor Advisor on Slug Success. In the comments section, write that this is a Minor Declaration meeting.
- After your meeting with the MENAS advisor, log into MyUCSC and submit the Petition for Major/Minor via MyUCSC.
If you are not yet logged into MyUCSC, the petition can also be accessed by going to MyUCSC and navigating to the Student Homepage and selecting the Undergraduate Student eForms tile > Petition for Major/Minor
- The MENAS Advisor will then ensure that the minor is entered in AIS and will show up on your record. If the minor does not show up on AIS within a few weeks please contact humadvising@ucsc.edu.
Applying Outside Courses
Transfer Credits & Course Substitutions
Courses from the following categories may also be applied to the MENAS minor.
- Transfer Courses/Courses taken at another institution (3 courses)
- Education Abroad Program (no limit)
- Course Substitutions /Related courses not currently on the pre-approved MENAS course list (no limit)
- Independent and Field Studies (2 courses)
Transfer Coursework
Students may petition up to three courses taken from another college or university for use towards their MENAS minor requirements. Courses must appear on your UCSC Transfer Credit Summary Report before they will be approved for use towards your MENAS minor requirements.
Applying Transfer Courses
- Complete the MENAS Outside Course Approval Form. Email the completed form to the MENAS Faculty Director (Muriam Haleh Davis muhdavis@ucsc.edu). In that email please include the following: this form (be sure to share it with the faculty director’s email), all relevant course materials (e.g., syllabi, course description from general catalog, reading lists, written assignments, etc.) and a screenshot/PDF copy of your MyUCSC student portal showing that the courses under review have been posted to your UCSC academic record . Be prepared to justify why these courses should qualify as part of your minor. Obtain the director’s digital signature on the form.
- Share your completed form with the MENAS Advisor (humadvising@ucsc.edu) for final approval and inclusion in your student record. Make sure the “Notify people” box is checked!
Education Abroad Program (EAP)
All students planning on participating in EAP must take the following information into consideration:
The MENAS program does not pre-approve EAP courses. To obtain credit towards the MENAS minor requirements, students must submit all courses taken abroad to the program for review. Courses offered at EAP campuses can vary significantly from year to year, and whether or not a particular course is appropriate often depends on a student’s chosen area of study and the other courses they have already taken. In addition, the campus admissions office must first determine whether an EAP course will count toward graduation, whether it is upper- or lower-division, and for how many units it will be counted. Only with all of this information in hand can the program determine which minor requirements a course might satisfy.
When choosing your classes while on EAP, keep in mind that courses most likely to be counted towards degree requirements are those that are standard course offerings in MENAS. Courses in other fields of study will be assessed in terms of whether the preponderance of the readings, lectures, and course requirements are clearly applicable to your area of study.
Applying EAP Courses to the MENAS Minor
To apply EAP courses toward the MENAS minor, all students must do the following upon their return:
- Determine that the desired EAP classes have been posted to your UCSC academic record; this is best done by checking your MyUCSC portal periodically. Most EAP classes are given a designation of XHIS, XCHIN, XJAPN etc. This process may take up to one quarter.
- Complete the MENAS Outside Course Approval Form. Email the completed form to the MENAS Faculty Director (Muriam Haleh Davis muhdavis@ucsc.edu). In that email please include the following: this form (be sure to share it with the faculty director’s email), all relevant course materials (e.g., syllabi, course description from general catalog, reading lists, written assignments, etc.) and a screenshot/PDF copy of your MyUCSC student portal showing that the courses under review have been posted to your UCSC academic record . Be prepared to justify why these courses should qualify as part of your minor. Obtain the director’s digital signature on the form.
- Share your completed form with the MENAS Advisor (humadvising@ucsc.edu) for final approval and inclusion in your student record. Make sure the “Notify people” box is checked!
Be prepared to justify why these courses should qualify as part of your minor. Only courses passed with the equivalent of a letter grade of C or better may be applied to MENAS minor requirements.
Course Substitutions
The purpose of a course substitution is to allow students to use “related” regularly scheduled UCSC courses from another discipline toward their degree requirements. MENAS minors may substitute upper-division “related” courses towards their upper-division elective course requirements. There is no limit to the number of course substitutions.
Applying Course Substitutions
- Complete the MENAS Outside Course Approval Form. Email the completed form to the MENAS Faculty Director (Muriam Haleh Davis muhdavis@ucsc.edu). In that email please include the following: this form (be sure to share it with the faculty director’s email), all relevant course materials (e.g., syllabi, course description from general catalog, reading lists, written assignments, etc.) and a screenshot/PDF copy of your MyUCSC student portal showing that the courses under review have been posted to your UCSC academic record . Be prepared to justify why these courses should qualify as part of your minor. Obtain the director’s digital signature on the form.
- Share your completed form with the MENAS Advisor (humadvising@ucsc.edu) for final approval and inclusion in your student record. Make sure the “Notify people” box is checked!
Independent and Field Studies
MENAS minors may substitute two upper-division individual study courses for their Upper-Division Electives requirements.
Applying Independent and Field Studies
- Download a UCSC Petition for Undergraduate Individual Studies Course (pdf). It is best to initiate this process during the quarter before the one in which you plan to do the study. Outline your proposed course of study and obtain the approval of an instructor who is willing to supervise your study; Students are expected to initiate a discussion with and independently acquire faculty sponsors.
- Complete the MENAS Outside Course Approval Form. Email the completed form to the MENAS Faculty Director (Muriam Haleh Davis muhdavis@ucsc.edu). In that email please include the following: this form (be sure to share it with the faculty director’s email), all relevant course materials (e.g., syllabi, course description from general catalog, reading lists, written assignments, etc.) and a screenshot/PDF copy of your MyUCSC student portal showing that the courses under review have been posted to your UCSC academic record . Be prepared to justify why these courses should qualify as part of your minor. Obtain the director’s digital signature on the form.
- Share your completed form with the MENAS Advisor (humadvising@ucsc.edu) for final approval and inclusion in your student record. Make sure the “Notify people” box is checked!
- The MENAS Advisor will review your petition and will issue you a class number. Use this class number when you enroll via the Student Portal. Make sure to enroll with the grade option approved on the petition.
Advising
Students can connect with the MENAS minor advisor by sending an email or setting up an appointment on Slug Success.
Email Advising
- Email advising is great for asking quick questions. Please email us at humadvising@ucsc.edu with your UCSC email account, and provide your full name and student ID number (SID).
- Please allow 3-5 business days for a response.
Appointments
- Schedule 30-minute appointments on Slug Success or the Navigate app. For help with Slug Success, please refer to these how-to guides.
- Here is a direct link to MENAS Advisors Appointment Availability
- Please provide more details in the “Comments” as to the reason for making an appointment
- A confirmation email will be sent once your appointment is scheduled — a Zoom link will be included if it is a virtual appointment.
Meet the MENAS Advisor
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