The MELC major allows students to pursue a range of interests in the languages and cultures of the Middle East, including study of Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish. It emphasizes the acquisition of a Middle Eastern language as well as cultural studies, with particular strengths in literature, material culture, art history, and music.

This model encourages us all to look beyond the boundaries of language and nation that sometimes obscure our view of the Middle East as a region with a shared past, present, and future.