Lower Division

Arabic 101: Elementary Arabic I (4 units)
Introduction to Arabic, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation. Focus on vocabulary and structures needed for everyday listening, speaking, and reading.

Arabic 102: Elementary Arabic II (4 units)
Prerequisite: Arabic 101
Continuation of Arabic 101. Develops vocabulary and structures needed for elementary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation.

Arabic 201: Intermediate Arabic I (4 units)
Prerequisite: Arabic 102
Further development of reading, writing, and speaking, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation.

Arabic 202: Intermediate Arabic II (4 units)
Prerequisite: Arabic 201
Further development of reading, writing, and speaking, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation.

 

Upper Division

Arabic 301: Advanced Arabic I (4 units)
Prerequisites: Arabic 202; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Advanced facility in oral expression and writing for practical purposes; exposure to various dialects through newspaper and media Arabic; elements of literary and classical language.

Arabic 302: Advanced Arabic II (4 units)
Prerequisites: Arabic 301 or equivalent; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Continuation of Arabic 301. More advanced writing and longer expository texts. Reading modern and classical texts.

Arabic 330: Arabic Culture (3 units)
Prerequisites: Upper division standing; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Cultures of Arabic speaking peoples of the Near East, Middle East, and North Africa, as reflected in literature, the arts, history, political and social institutions. Taught in English.

Arabic 350: Advanced Conversational Arabic (4 units)
Prerequisites: Arabic 202; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities
Study of one or more spoken varieties of Arabic, with emphasis on advanced conversational proficiency. Social and cultural topics, conversational strategies and stylistic features.

Arabic 360: Advanced Arabic Grammar (3 units) [GE]
Prerequisites: Arabic 202.
Arabic grammar and grammatical relations, parts of speech, and cases. Word, sentence, and discourse structure. Comparison between Modern Standard Arabic and spoken Arabic.
Note: Taught in Arabic. No credit will be given for lower division courses taken after successfully completing any upper division Arabic course taken in Arabic.

Arabic 361: Advanced Arabic Grammar II (3 units) [GE]
Prerequisites: Arabic 301 and Arabic 360; or equivalents.
Continuation of advanced Arabic structure; contextualized analysis of Arabic grammar to include both structure and use.

GE Courses

Students may fulfill their foreign language requirement by taking Arabic 101, 102, and 201.

The following courses satisfy General Education requirements for II. Foundations C. Humanities 5. Foreign Language:

• Arabic 101: Elementary Arabic I
• Arabic 102: Elementary Arabic II
• Arabic 201: Intermediate Arabic I
• Arabic 202: Intermediate Arabic II

The following courses satisfy General Education requirements for IV. Explorations C. Humanities:

• Arabic 301: Advanced Arabic I
• Arabic 302: Advanced Arabic II
• Arabic 330: Arabic Culture (taught in English)
• Arabic 350: Advanced Conversational Arabic

International business is an interdisciplinary major that offers students an opportunity to combine two emphases, one in a language and one in regional/cultural studies, and to create a focused program of study suited to their individual interests and career goals.  Students may select Arabic/Middle East and North Africa as their regional/cultural studies emphasis. Requirements for this emphasis are listed below. 

Preparation for the Major

II. Language Emphasis: Arabic 101, 102, 201, 202

III. Regional/ Cultural Studies Emphasis (Middle East & North Africa): History 100 (World history to 1500) & 101 (World History 1500 to present).

Major

II. Language Emphasis: Arabic 301, 302, and 350 or 496 (12 units)

III. Regional/ Cultural Studies Emphasis: Minimum of nine units, with no more than six units from one department, selected from Arabic 330; History 473, 474, 475,  574; Political Science 363; Religious Studies 310, 328, 330

The past few decades have witnessed remarkable growth in the political, economic, and cultural significance of the Arab World for the US. Academically, the phenomenon has led to the expansion and often the creation of fields of study that seek to understand the region’s language and cultural complexities. In addition to advancing student linguistic skills, a certificate in Arabic will offer students opportunities, both locally and globally, that reinforce their development in our increasingly interconnected world. 

Learning Outcomes for the Certificate

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

1. Communicate effectively in Arabic at the advanced proficiency level in both oral and written forms of language.
2. Demonstrate a cross-cultural knowledge that enables effective communication in Arabic in both formal and informal situations.
3. Apply usage of Arabic in research (for e.g., in higher education in Arabic or related Middle Eastern studies), in professional settings (for e.g., government or businesses), or in social services (for e.g., local refugee programs).
4. Demonstrate familiarity with basic literary genres such as poetry and short stories.

Certificate Requirements

The Basic Certificate requires a minimum of 14 units.

Courses and areas:

Select two courses from:

• ARAB 301 Advanced Arabic I 4.00 units
• ARAB 302 Advanced Arabic II 4.00 units
• ARAB 350 Advanced Conversational Arabic 4.00 units

Select two courses from:

• ARAB 330 Arabic Culture 3.00 units
• ARAB 360 Advanced Arabic Grammar 3.00 units
• ARAB 361 Advanced Arabic Grammar II 3.00 units

Students must obtain a grade of C (2.0) or better in each of the certificate courses.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit is sometimes possible for one equivalent course (or, rarely, two equivalent courses) taken elsewhere. All applications for transfer credit are evaluated individually by the Certificate Program. No academic credit for course work is granted for work experience.

Registration and Academic Credit

(1) Fill out the Certicate Enrollment Form and send to [email protected].

(2) Register and pay for the certificate.  You can register, and pay for, courses for the certificate in any of three ways:

1. as an undergraduate candidate for a bachelor's degree, taking the courses as electives. Information regarding fees can be found at https://bfa.sdsu.edu/financial/student/tuition
   
   
2. as a graduate candidate for a master's degree, taking the courses as electives. Additional information is available at https://admissions.sdsu.edu/graduate
   
   
3. through the SDSU Global Campus ("Open University"). Additional information is available at https://ces.sdsu.edu/open-university

For alternatives 1-2, you must have been admitted to San Diego State University through the regular application process. For alternative 3, no application or acceptance procedure is necessary; the SDSU Global Campus is the division of the university open to the general public. (Note: the course work and all Certificate requirements are the same regardless of the way you register and pay for them, and there is no difference between Certificates earned by individuals registering through Global Campus and those earned by individuals registering as admitted students.)

How to Obtain the Certificate

After completion of the coursework for the certificate, students should contact Darlene Bych ([email protected]) and provide an unofficial transcript showing that relevant coursework has been completed.