Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Language, Literature, and Culture

California State University - San Bernardino

Arabic is the native language of more than 300 million people living in Southwest Asia and North Africa. It is the liturgical language of more than 1.4 billion Muslims around the world and is also commonly used among 3.5 million American and Canadian citizens of Arab descent. Learning Arabic is a gratifying experience because it exposes students to a rich culture and civilization and enhances their abilities to comprehend the multi-faceted aspects and complexities of the Arab and Islamic worlds. Generally speaking, Arabs tend to be welcoming and hospitable people with a great passion to engage in historic, cultural, and socio-political discussions. For this, students of Arabic should never be surprised by the fact that uttering a simple expression to an Arab like "Marhaba" (hello), "As-salaamu alaykum" (peace be upon you), or "Shukran" (thank you), could lead them to a prolonged conversation or even an invitation to the Arab's home where staple foods, like hummus, falafel, stuffed lamb, and the aromatic Turkish coffee (actually, Arabs like to call it Arabic coffee) are offered. Learning Arabic also opens tremendous job opportunities and makes applicants competitive both in the private (for-profit/non-profit) and public sectors. Currently, students of Arabic, at all proficiency levels, are in massive demand. They can expect to be recruited and later on conduct business and interact with numerous entities, such as multinational corporations, NGOs, many branches of the public sector, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Conference.