The Applied Arab Studies programme consists exclusively of specialised professional courses, through which students will acquire the necessary knowledge and practical skills to become in-demand and competitive professionals in the job market.
The academic programme includes general, compulsory professional, and elective courses. The content of the compulsory and elective professional courses pertains to the analysis of current regional issues and key topics in Arab Studies, political science, linguistics, and cultural studies.
The programme is taught by the leading specialists in the field, who also collaborate with top international academic institutions.
Duration of the programme: 2 years
Annual tuition fee: 750,000 (seven hundred fifty thousand) AMD
Format of the entrance examination: Oral
Entrance Exam Questionnaire
1. Umayyad Caliphate
The struggle between ʿAlī and Muʿāwiya
The Umayyad Caliphate at its height of power (ʿAbd al-Malik, al-Walīd)
2. Abbasid Caliphate
Establishment of the Abbasid dynasty (Rebellion of Abū Muslim, Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr)
The Abbasid Caliphate during the reigns of Hārūn al-Rashīd and al-Maʾmūn
3. Establishment of Muḥammad ʿAlī’s Rule in Egypt; His Reforms
Establishment of Muḥammad ʿAlī’s power in Egypt in the early 19th century
Reforms by Muḥammad ʿAlī in the fields of education, agriculture, state governance, and the military
4. The Sykes–Picot Agreement
Secret negotiations regarding the division of Arab countries
Objectives of the Sykes–Picot plan
Zones of division of Arab countries
5. Proclamation of the State of Israel
Situation in Palestine after World War II
UN resolution on the creation of two states in Palestine
Proclamation of the State of Israel and the First Arab–Israeli War
6. Signing of the Camp David Accords and the Reaction of Arab Countries
The Arab world on the eve of the Camp David Accords
The peace process of Camp David
Egypt and the League of Arab States after Camp David
7. Civil War in Lebanon, 1975–1990: Causes
The new socio-political crisis in Lebanon
Causes of the second civil war
The Armenian community during the years of civil war
8. Life and Activities of the Prophet Muḥammad
Characteristics of Muḥammad’s Meccan preaching
Muḥammad’s arbitration and leadership in Medina
9. Shiʿism
Activities of Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and the Jaʿfarī madhhab
The religio-political content of Ithnā ʿAsharī (Twelver) Shiʿism
10. Sufism: The Mystical Direction of Islamic Philosophy
Historical preconditions of the emergence of Sufism: the Zuhd period
Formation of Sufi doctrine: the Taṣawwuf period
The Sufi path (ṭarīqa), stations (maqāmāt), and spiritual states (aḥwāl)
11. Muslim Reformation
Ideology of Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī
Activities and major works of Muḥammad ʿAbduh
Literature List
Denny F., An Introduction to Islam, Taylor & Francis, 2015
The Encyclopedia of Islam, Brill
Hodgson M., The Venture of Islam, Volume 1: The Classical Age of Islam, University of Chicago Press, 2009
Hodgson M., The Venture of Islam, Volume 2: The Expansion of Islam in the Middle Periods, University of Chicago Press, 2009
Hodgson M., The Venture of Islam, Volume 3: The Gunpowder Empires and Modern Times, University of Chicago Press, 2009
Hovhannisyan N., History of Arab Countries, Vol. 3, Yerevan, 2006
Hovhannisyan N., History of Arab Countries, Vol. 4, Yerevan, 2007
Contact Information
Email: arabicstudies@ysu.am
