Middle Eastern, North African, South Asian Student Resource Center
The MENASARC promotes the cultural awareness and academic success of students of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian (MENASA) heritage. The center also serves as an organizing hub for our MENASA student communities and serves as a dedicated space to organize events and programming for the campus-at large.
Department of Religious Studies
UCSB offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Middle East Studies and minors in Iranian and Jewish Studies. Students who pursue a Religious Studies degree prepare them for a host of different careers, including law, medicine, journalism, non-profit and NGO work, and so on.
Center for Middle East Studies (CMES)
Founded in 2000, the Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) promotes the study of the Middle East, North Africa, and Islam at the University of California, Santa Barbara. CMES has long been a bastion of interdisciplinary scholarship, collectivity, and exchange. The last decade has witnessed a flourishing of CMES faculty and graduate students at UCSB across disciplines (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences) and methodology (archival, ethnographic, quantitative, qualitative). CMES curates events geared to the campus academic community and broader public, including conferences, film series, musical performances, lectures, and book talks. It supports graduate studies of the Middle East, North Africa, and Islam through funding, conferences, symposia, and workshops.
Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies
The creation of the Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was approved in the spring of 2004. Located in the Global Studies Department, the Center provides institutional support for the study of the Sikh tradition, the region of the Punjab, and the Punjabi communities settled in other parts of the world.