Welcome to ISME!
How do you understand a region as complex as the Middle East? Through its languages and literatures? Its histories and societies? Its religious traditions? Its manuscripts and knowledge systems?
At Freie Universität Berlin, you don't have to choose just one approach. ISME brings together Arabic Studies, Iranian Studies, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Kurdish Studies, Ottoman Studies, Semitic Studies, and Turcology - each with its own way of engaging with the region's languages, cultures, histories, and intellectual traditions. You learn to work across these different perspectives and develop your own interdisciplinary path.
The program is two years, taught in English, tuition-free, in Berlin.
contact
For program questions:
Email the academic advisors Lukas Muehlethaler and Victoria Mummelthei at isme@geschkult.fu-berlin.de
Ask us about: Program structure and requirements; application process; courses, examinations, modules, recognition of achievements (ECTS); thesis supervision and graduation; transfer from another FU program
For other questions:
See Support for resources on visa, housing, IT, health insurance, funding, and student life.
Office: You can find ISME in the "Holzlaube", Department of History and Cultural Studies, Fabeckstraße 23/25, 14195 Berlin.
Just admitted?
Welcome! You'll receive information about registration and orientation here on the website and from the program coordinators via your @fu-berlin.de email address.
While you wait:
→ Starting your studies - key dates, first semester structure, housing
→ Support resources - visa, registration, health insurance, IT setup
→ Pre-program German course information (if interested)
