Crafting a Compelling MA Near Eastern Studies Personal Statement

Crafting a Compelling MA Near Eastern Studies Personal Statement

I think the center of my world as a student at the University of XXXX, if I were to be honored by acceptance to your distinguished program in Near Eastern Studies, would be literary criticism. I especially appreciate the strength of your program in this area. I look forward to a full immersion in literary criticism in English, so as to learn how to apply what I learn to Arabic literature as well.  

Before I came to the U.S, I taught several subjects related to Arabic language, Arabic 101, Arabic 102, Arabic Literature, and Arabic Rhetoric. I have now been living in the USA for 16 months and I now feel strongly that my English language skills are at a level, as a result of a lot of hard work, in my being able to excel in your program. The Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of XXXX is my first choice for graduate study because of the excellence of your program in general and the breadth of your curriculum in particular. I especially admire the research track record and interests of Professor XXXX and his work in Modern Arabic Literature especially as it relates to modern critical theory.

Crafting a Compelling MA Near Eastern Studies Personal Statement

A young Saudi man whose academic focus so far has been concentrated in the area of Arabic Literature, I have been fascinated since I was a child with this area of studies and I have stayed in touch with developments in this area through my studies so far. I write poems. I also memorize many old and modern poems written by famous poets. I was an active member of the Makkah Literary Club and the Umm al-Qura University Literary Club as well. I finished my bachelor degree in three-and-a-half years in Arabic Literature with honors and a GPA of 3.54. I have also worked to distinguish myself as a volunteer in my country of origin, serving as a Quran teacher at a mosque in my neighborhood for several months teaching kids to memorize and read the holy Quran.

Crafting a Compelling MA Near Eastern Studies Personal Statement

I am keenly interested in every aspect of your diverse curriculum, as I hope to establish myself at some point as an academic leader in the Near East. I think it is especially important for nations in this part of the world to develop firm academic ties that help to mitigate all-too-often virulent political difference. In particular, I hope to build a specialization in the area of modern critical theory in such a way as to make important contributions to our understanding of Arabic literary studies and Arabic rhetoric. I am an experienced teacher and I look forward to a lifetime of teaching in Saudi Arabia. I have served as a Lecturer in Arabic at XXXX University for almost 2 years. When I was teaching at my university we had a department meeting every week as well as a seminar discussing each other’s research. This enabled us to grow close and to help each other and I very much look forward to again enjoying this type of academic solidarity with my peers at the U of M.  I have probably been working harder in the USA for the last year-and-a-half at English than I have anything in my life. I first went to Cleveland, Ohio and studied intensive English at XXXX Community College until I finished their advanced level on Aug 03, 2014. Since that time, I have been in Chicago taking a TOEFL preparation program at Kaplan International. I began this course on September 15 and will finish on Dec 15.  I am also studying Spanish because I enjoy learning new languages and I want to have a better understanding and knowledge about languages and literature, especially those that are highly relevant to contemporary US culture.

I thank you for considering my application to your competitive program.

Crafting a Compelling MA Near Eastern Studies Personal Statement