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Master's Program: History and Cultures of Ancient Western Asia: Focus on Archaeology of Ancient Western Asia

The Department of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology offers two Master's programmes:

  • the Master's programme in the History and Cultures of the Ancient Near East with a specialisation in Near Eastern Archaeology (in German)
  • the Master's programme in Archaeology of the Ancient World (MA AAW), offered jointly with the Institute of Classical Archaeology and the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology (in English).

The Master's programme in the History and Cultures of the Ancient Near East with a focus on Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology provides students with in-depth specialist knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology,scientific working methods and sufficient analytical skills for independent scientific research and teaching. In addition to subject-specific training, the programme also aims to provide interdisciplinary training in order to promote the ability to carry out interdisciplinary academic work. In accordance with its international focus, the programme teaches professionally oriented foreign language practice, in particular English.

The programme covers the period from the transition from the Epipalaeolithic/Neolithic (c. 12,000 BC) to the beginning of Islam (7th century AD). The geographical area covers Asia Minor, Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia and Iran at its core and throughout the period; for those periods where there are significant links with the Ancient Near East, the horizon is extended to include Cyprus, the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region, the Caucasus, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Expertise in the material culture of the Ancient Near East is taught with the aim of making statements about economic, social, political, religious, cultural, intellectual and art-historical processes. Written sources are used as a corrective to analyse these processes.

For admittance to the master’s program applicants need to fulfill the following admission requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree in ancient history from Freie Universität Berlin with a focus on the archaeology of ancient Western Asia or an equivalent degree with an archaeology of ancient Western Asia component that corresponds to this element in the bachelor’s program in ancient history at Freie Universität Berlin.

  • Proof of language skills in two foreign languages relevant to the subject, preferably Latin, English, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Persian or Turkish (level B1 CEFR).

The DSH - or German Language University Entrance Exam for Foreign Students - is obligatory for all applicants whose first language is not German and who have earned their initial degree from a university (or equivalent institution) where the language of instruction is not German.

Archaeology of the Ancient World (MA AAW) is a two-year full-time Master's programme taught in English.

The MA combines three disciplines - Prehistoric Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology and Classical Archaeology - to examine the past of North Africa, Southwest Asia and Europe from a multidisciplinary perspective.

The programme introduces students to the past of a part of the world that has undergone intense intercultural and inter-societal transformations over the last ten thousand years. In order to explore these processes, MA AAW students are provided with theoretical skills in dealing with texts and opinions as well as artefacts and data.

The MA AAW builds on knowledge acquired in the fields of archaeology, history and cultural anthropology as part of a bachelor's degree or through professional qualifications.

Interested in an English language course? Then take a look at the Archaeology of the Ancient World (MA AAW) website.

Model Curriculum for the MA AWW - Option 1
Model curriculum for the MA AAW - Option 2
Study and examination regulations - Study and examination regulations (in German)
Admission regulations for the MA AAW - Admission regulations for the MA AWW (in German)

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