Master of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies (Advanced)

Admission requirements

At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to most ANU programs is on a competitive basis. Therefore, meeting all admission requirements does not automatically guarantee entry. 

Applicants must present a Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 6.0/7.0, and the approval of an identified supervisor for the research project/thesis.

Students who do not have the written agreement of an identified supervisor one calendar year in advance, or whose agreed supervisor either subsequently leaves the university or is on leave from the university, will be transferred to the Master of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies. Students must have the written agreement of an identified supervisor in order to enrol in THES8103 Thesis in a specified semester one calendar year in advance of the start date of that semester.

Cognate Disciplines

Diplomacy, International relations, Modern history; Other social sciences and humanities disciplines and fields where there is significant coverage of a relevant aspect of Middle Eastern, Central Asian or Islamic Studies and where similar approaches and methodologies are used; and modern languages relating to the Middle East and/or Central Asia region such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Russian or French. Politics, Political economy, Political science, Religious studies/Islamic studies; Security studies, Sociology; Strategic studies.

In line with the university's admissions policy and strategic plan, an assessment for admission may include competitively ranking applicants on the basis of specific academic achievement, English language proficiency and diversity factors. 

Academic achievement & English language proficiency

The minimum academic requirement for full entry and enrolment is a Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 6.0/7.0. 

However, applicants will first be ranked on a GPA ('GPA1') that is calculated using all but the last semester (or equivalent) of the Bachelor degree used for admission purposes. 

If required, ranking may further be confirmed on the basis of: 

• a GPA ('GPA2') calculated on the penultimate and antepenultimate semesters (or equivalent) of the Bachelor degree used for admission purposes; and/or

• demonstrating higher-level English language proficiency. 

Prior to enrolment in this ANU program, all students who gain entry will have their Bachelor degree reassessed, to confirm minimum requirements were met.

Diversity factors

As Australia’s national university, ANU is global representative of Australian research and education. ANU endeavours to recruit and maintain a diverse and deliberate student cohort representative not only of Australia, but the world. In order to achieve these outcomes, competitive ranking of applicants may be adjusted to ensure access to ANU is a reality for brilliant students from countries across the globe.

Assessment of qualifications

Unless otherwise indicated, ANU will accept all Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications or international equivalents that meet or exceed the published admission requirements of our programs, provided all other admission requirements are also met.

 Where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will base assessment on the qualification that best meets the admission requirements for the program. Find out more about the Australian Qualifications Framework: www.aqf.edu.au

ANU uses a 7-point Grade Point Average (GPA) scale. All qualifications submitted for admission at ANU will be converted to this common scale, which will determine if an applicant meets our published admission requirements. Find out more about how a 7-point GPA is calculated for Australian universities: www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria/tertiary-qualifications

Unless otherwise indicated, where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will calculate the GPA for each qualification separately. ANU will base assessment on the best GPA of all completed tertiary qualifications of the same level or higher.

Applications for course credit

Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 24 units (one semester) of credit. 

Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Bachelor degree with Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 48 units (one year) of credit.

Diplomacy, International relations, Modern history; Other social sciences and humanities disciplines and fields where there is significant coverage of a relevant aspect of Middle Eastern, Central Asian or Islamic Studies and where similar approaches and methodologies are used; and modern languages relating to the Middle East and/or Central Asia region such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Russian or French. Politics, Political economy, Political science, Religious studies/Islamic studies; Security studies, Sociology; Strategic studies.

For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.