Best Colleges for Arabic

Arabic is one of the world’s most commonly spoken languages with as many as 420 million native speakers around the globe; it is the official language of 20 countries. Of course, with the Middle East being a perpetual hotspot in the eyes of the United States government, the ability to speak Arabic carries a premium with organizations like the CIA, the NSA, and the State Department. Couple that with the business interests of many multinational corporations in the region, and many successful Arabic majors have a long line of employers competing for their services. Yet, you need to be prepared for a challenge while earning that degree—the Foreign Service Institute ranks Arabic as one of the most challenging languages to learn, right alongside Korean, Cantonese, and Japanese. This list of Best Colleges for Arabic Majors includes elite schools like Dartmouth, Georgetown, and Notre Dame but also a number of a state universities that are more within reach for B students.

Click the links below for more information about each college’s Arabic program. Click here to read our methodology. Finally, note that although some of the colleges featured below do not offer a formal major in Arabic, their undergraduate offerings in this subject area are so strong that they warrant inclusion on our list.

Binghamton University

Brigham Young University

Dartmouth College

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Michigan State University

Ohio State University

Tufts University

United States Military Academy

United States Naval Academy
University of California, Los Angeles

University of Georgia

University of Maryland