Students should take two years of a Middle Eastern language relevant to their area of study or interest. Students planning to continue on for a PhD in a field related to Middle East Studies are strongly encouraged to take at least three years of a Middle East Language. Native speakers of a Middle Eastern language are strongly encouraged to study a second Middle Eastern Language.

To fulfill the language requirement, students must take a proficiency exam in the Middle East Language of their choice demonstrating high intermediate proficiency (the equivalent of two years). Only credits for advanced language courses (beyond second year) can be applied to the 30 required graduate credits (i.e., MES 76001 and MES 76002). Students may apply a maximum of nine credits in language courses toward the 30 credits required for the MA.