The Master’s Degree Program in Near & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Basel deals with historical, cultural, social and political topics concerning the eastern Mediterranean area «from Sarajevo to Cairo», which is strongly influenced by Islam. Accordingly, a key feature of the master's program is the inclusion of Southeast Europe, the present-day Republic of Turkey, and the Eastern Arab world (including Egypt). Compared with similar programs of study in Switzerland and at German-speaking universities in general, the focus in Basel is therefore on «Near Eastern Studies». Study focuses on developments from the early modern period, starting around 1500, to the present day. The philology of modern Arabic and/or Turkish serves as the starting point for a historical and sociological approach to Islamic culture and religion.

In Basel, the historical geographical term «Near East» was deliberately chosen as a descriptive complement to the regional research field of «Middle Eastern Studies» in order to reestablish teaching and research on the connections between Southeast Europe, Turkey and the eastern Arab world in the eastern Mediterranean that broke down at the end of World War I.

The focus is on the political and intellectual history of the Middle East in the 19^th and 20^thcenturies. The master’s program deals with the primary political and ideological currents of this period, such as nationalism, Islamism and confessionalism, as well as the rise of modern nation-states in the Middle East and Southeast Europe. The program also includes modern cultural and social studies of the region, as well as current politics and international relations in the Middle East. 

Study is based on methods, models and theories from the social sciences, which are combined with the working methods of humanities disciplines such as history, philosophy and literature.

An example of the research agenda of the Master’s Degree Program in Near & Middle Eastern Studies is the topic «Islam in Southeast Europe»: In light of the accession of Southeast European countries with Muslim populations to the European Union, Islam is set to attract increased attention in Southeast Europe in the future. A large portion of Muslims living in Switzerland already originate from countries in Southeast Europe.

The department is involved in numerous collaborations at the University of Basel, such as the «Cultural Topographies». It has close ties with the departments of Eastern European Studies, Religious Studies and Political Science, as well as the Faculty of Theology.