Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center
The mission of MEMEAC is to promote the production and exchange of knowledge on and with the Middle East and Middle Eastern Americans.

Since 2001, the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC) at the CUNY Graduate Center has been promoting the study of the Middle East and migrants from the region. Bringing together a critical mass of more than eighty affiliated faculty members from throughout the CUNY system, MEMEAC serves as a magnet for doctoral students at the GC who focus on the Middle East and North Africa from different disciplinary perspectives and a hub for our own Master’s students. With growing interest in the Middle East, the Center launched a Master’s Program in Middle Eastern Studies in 2008 that draws students from across the country and around the world. MEMEAC regularly sponsors book conversations, manuscript reviews, works-in-progress seminars, dissertation writing groups, and workshops. The Center functions as a resource for both the CUNY community and the public at large, and advocated for academic freedom and opposed the Muslim Ban. With MESA, it launched and hosts the Global Academy.


M.A. Program in Middle Eastern Studies
The Center is a magnet for doctoral students in Anthropology, Art History, History, Music, Political Science, Sociology, and other disciplines. With growing interest in the Greater Middle East, the Center launched a Master’s Program in Middle Eastern Studies in 2008. Visit the Middle Eastern Studies Master’s Program page for more information.
Learn about the Master's ProgramLatest News
Apr 25, 2023
Dream comes true for alumna on the tenure track
Douaa Sheet will join American University as an assistant professor in the fall 2023 semester.
- GC Stories
- Alumni News
Apr 1, 2022
'Protesting Jordan' by Professor Jillian Schwedler Praised
Schedler's new monograph was named a 2022 Notable Book of the Year by the National Endowment for Democracy.
- Faculty News
Aug 5, 2021
The MESA Global Academy Connects Displaced Middle East Scholars in a Time of Crisis
The new joint initiative of the CUNY Graduate Center and the Middle East Studies Association, supported by Carnegie Corporation, offers an intellectual home for scholars from the Middle East and North Africa.
- Student News
Jun 22, 2021
MEMEAC Family Achievements 202o-2021
The Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center celebrates the professional and academic achievements of our affiliated faculty and students.