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Postgraduate Taught

MA Palestine Studies

Please note: The below is for 2025 entries. Click here for 2024 entries.
UCAS code 1234
Duration 1 year full time
2 years part time
Entry year September 2025
Campus Streatham Campus
Discipline Arab and Islamic Studies
Contact

Programme Director Dr Nadia Naser-Najjab
Web: Enquire online
Phone: +44 (0)1392 723192

Typical offer

View full entry requirements

2:2 Honours degree

Contextual offers

Overview

  • Equips you with the skills, sources and tools to study the Middle East, with a specific focus on Palestinian Studies
  • A specialised, flexible programme which you can tailor to your particular interests and conduct independent research
  • Our teaching places an emphasis not only on a nuanced understanding of Israel/Palestine but also on finding practical, real-world solutions to the issues
  • The European Centre for Palestine Studies is a lively and supportive research community, where students have the opportunity to get involved in organising events
  • Your knowledge and expertise in Israel/Palestine and the wider Middle East will be valued by public and private sector employers and open doors for further academic study

Apply online

View 2024 Entry

Fast Track (current Exeter students)

Open days and visiting us

Get a prospectus

Contact

Dr Nadia Naser-Najjab

Web: Enquire online

Phone: +44 (0)1392 72 72 72

Second icon

2nd in the UK for African & Middle Eastern Studies

The Complete University Guide 2025

Third icon

3rd for Middle Eastern and African Studies

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Books icon

Home to Europe's most important research collection on the Arab world

Scholarship icon: a pound sign attached to a paper scroll

Masters Excellence Scholarships available

Second icon

2nd in the UK for African & Middle Eastern Studies

The Complete University Guide 2025

Third icon

3rd for Middle Eastern and African Studies

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025

Books icon

Home to Europe's most important research collection on the Arab world

Scholarship icon: a pound sign attached to a paper scroll

Masters Excellence Scholarships available

I enjoy having the freedom to explore a huge range of topics and areas - – there are modules offered on literature, politics, gender studies, language, media and specific conflicts, but with the flexibility to apply those studies to different situations around the world.

Joanne

Arab and Islamic Studies Masters student

Entry requirements

We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree with 53% or above in a social sciences or humanities discipline. While we normally only consider applicants who meet this criteria, if you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.

Entry requirements for international students

English language requirements

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

Course content

The MA in Palestine Studies will equip you with the general research skills, sources and tools relevant to the study of the Middle East and the Muslim world in general, and introduce you to a broad range of key theorists whose work has underpinned scholarship in several key fields of study.

You will learn how to make self-conscious choices around your own work and promote forms of theoretically-aware and interdisciplinary work found in some of the most successful research in Arab, Islamic and Middle East Studies.

Compulsory modules

120 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of option modules

CodeModule Credits
ARAM221 The Palestine Question: Past and Present 30
ARAM232 Theorising the Middle East 15
ARAM233 Dissertation skills 15
ARAM027 MA Dissertation 60

Optional modules

Option modules can be viewed via the URL below
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=arabislamicstudies

45 credits of optional modules chosen from modules offered by the IAIS, including up to 30 credits worth of modules offered outside of the department (also at the UG level) in line with the University’s modularity policy.

Find a list of example IAIS modules here Find a list of example Politics modules here

Fees

2025/26 entry

UK fees per year:

£12,500 full-time; £6,250 part-time

International fees per year:

£25,300 full-time; £12,650 part-time

Scholarships

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships*.

For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.

*Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.

Teaching and research

Teaching

  • Lectures will give you direct access to the cutting-edge research being carried out by our academic team
  • Take responsibility for your own learning and that of your peers by participating in group work, class discussions and student presentations
  • Fine tune your critical reading skills and learn how to ask and field incisive questions
  • Utilise a range of media from video and audio to articles from newspapers and academic journals

Assessment

The taught modules on this programme are assessed by a combination of essays, presentations and group work. Following completion of these in April, you will then be assessed by a 15,000-word dissertation for submission in September.

Research

As a Masters student you can attend regular research seminars held across the College of Social Sciences and International Studies and organised by our research centres. These are given by academics from Exeter and other Universities in the UK and overseas, as well as guest speakers from the private, public and charity sectors.

The European Centre for Palestine Studies (ECPS) aims to function as a hub for intellectual engagement with the Palestine question, facilitating scholarly research, helping to refine public discussion, and offering programmes for postgraduate study

Facilities

The Institute is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including a computerised language lab, lecture theatres, seminar rooms, lounge, satellite TV for viewing Middle Eastern channels and a gallery for Middle Eastern art exhibitions.

The Arab World Documentation Unit based in the Research Commons is a valuable research resource, housing numerous collections of academic textbooks, press cuttings,  government papers and reports, periodicals, pamphlets, business yearbooks, and much more, with material in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

Read more

Gareth has been a regular commentator and adviser on Middle East politics over the last decade. He lived in pre-regime change Iraq between 1996 and 2001, where he was funded by the UK government to advise the Kurdish leadership. 

He served as a Senior Political Adviser to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and is a member of the Command Advisory Group of the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters.

He has considerable fieldwork experience in a range of countries in the Middle East and Islamic World, including Iraq, Syria, the Kurdish regions, Morocco, the states of the Gulf, and more recently Afghanistan.

Read more from Professor Gareth Stansfield

Professor Gareth Stansfield

Al-Qasimi Professor of Arab Gulf Studies, Professor of Middle East Politics

Careers

Graduates from this programme may find professional employment in a wide range of sectors both in the UK and internationally. A comprehensive background in Islamic Studies is relevant to careers in:

  • academia and education
  • international agencies such as the United Nations or the European Union
  • international development
  • print and broadcast media
  • politics
  • private sector companies with interests in Islamic countries
  • business and risk analysts

Further study

The academic skills developed on the MA Palestine Studies will enable to you to pursue doctoral study. The Institute has an international profile for our pioneering regional focus on the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula and expertise in Islamic Studies providing an ideal place in which to undertake an MPhil/PhD.

Employment and professional development

Our excellent Career Zone provides invaluable support, advice and access to graduate employers. Visit the employment and professional development pages for more information, including podcasts and profiles, about the range of support available.

In addition, the location of this programme within a hub of renowned academia will offer you the possibility of connections, networking opportunities, advice and guidance from others with extensive academic and career-related experience in this field.

Read more