Middle East Program at MIT (MIT-MEP)

The Middle East Program at MIT, an interdisciplinary course of study taken in conjunction with the graduate program in a student's chosen department, focuses on technology, development, and public policy. The program enables students with an interest in the Middle East (including North Africa and South Asia) to develop an expertise in the area within the context of a coherent program of study. It equips students with an understanding of the processes of socioeconomic change, technological development, political change, environmental management, knowledge networking, institutional development, sustainability strategies, and international business and investment patterns in the region.

This program draws on MIT's unique strengths in science and technology to offer a course of study distinct from a conventional "area studies" approach to the Middle East. The emphasis at present is on challenges of design and development in the reconstruction of the region following violent conflicts, as well as on innovations and applications of advances in information technology and knowledge e-networking to support development objectives.

The program is based on the participation of faculty from the Departments of Political Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Urban Studies and Planning; the History Section of the Department of Humanities; the Sloan School of Management; the Program in Science, Technology and Society; and the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture.