This cross disciplinary minor concentrates on social and political issues involving Muslim, Christian and Jewish populations in their own right and in relation to one another in the territory between the Nile and Indus rivers during the modern period. The program is also designed to accommodate consideration of other communities including Hindu and other South Asians, Anatolian and Central Asian Turks, and Mediterranean peoples in the larger area stretching from North Africa to Southeast Asia as well as Middle Eastern diaspora communities in Europe and the Americas from the ancient period to the present.

The cross disciplinary orientation of the program emphasizes comparison and a synthesis of local, regional, trans-national and global perspectives. The program provides an intellectual foundation that can be usefully applied and built upon in graduate school, the private sector or government service.

The requirement for a minor in Middle Eastern communities and migrations is 18 credit hours comprised of six credit hours of core course work and 12 credit hours of electives.