ARABIC STUDIESAT ST. KLIMENT OHRIDSKI UNIVERSITY OF SOFIA

ARABIC STUDIES were founded at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" in the academic year 1974/5. At first Arabic Studies were one of the programs in the Department of Oriental Studies at the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology. In 2000/2001 the program was established as an independent Department of Arabic and Semitic Studies - one of the four departments that constitute the Center for Oriental Languages and Cultures as part of Sofia University's Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology.
During the 30 years' history of Arabic Studies more than 200 students have graduated from the program. Nowadays a large number of them work in fields in which knowledge of the Arab world and the Arabic language is a prerequisite.The teaching staff of the department includes 9 full-time members, working in different fields of Arabic and Islamic Studies. Some of them have been teaching since the establishment of the program:
Tsvetan Theophanov, Ph.D., Dr.Habil., Professor of Classical Arabic Literature and Culture, Head of the DepartmentPenka Samsareva, Ph.D., Dr.Habil., Associate Professor of Arabic Linguistics, Founder and Former Head of the DepartmentYordan Peev, Ph.D., Dr.Habil., Professor of Arabic and Islamic HistoryBaian Rayhanova, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Modern Arabic LiteratureSimeon Evstatiev, Ph.D., Major Assistant Professor of Arabic and Islamic HistoryTsvetomira Pashova-Salim, Ph.D., Major Assistant Professor of Arabic LinguisticsVictor Todorov, Ph.D., Major Assistant Professor of Arabic LinguisticsHristina Tchbanova, Ph.D. Candidate, Senior Assistant Professor of Arabic LinguisticsIvan Dylgerov, Ph.D. Candidate, Senior Assistant Professor of Arabic Linguistics
Apart from the full-time members there are more than 10 part-time lecturers, whose teaching activity helps the department maintain the variety of disciplines in the curriculum. Among them are:
Pavel Pavlovitch, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Varna Free University - Arabic Civilization, Arabic LanguageVladimir Chukov, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Varna Free University - Legal Systems in the Arab WorldGalina Stefanova-Evstatieva, Ph.D. - Arabic Language, Arabic CultureMariana Malinova, Ph.D., Major Assistant Professor at the New Bulgarian University - Theory of TranslationMuhammed Aruci, Ph.D., Research Fellow at the Center for Islamic Studies (ISAM), Turkey - Arabic Civilisation and Islamic CultureRossitsa Gradeva, Ph.D., Research Fellow at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Islam in the BalkansShaker Salim, Ph.D. - Arabic Language, Arabic CultureTeodor Lekov, Ph.D., Major Assistant Professor at the New Bulgarian University - EgyptologyAli Talib - M.A., Journalist - Arabic LanguageAram Najaryan - M.A. - Arabic LanguageKamen Velichkov - M.A., Diplomat - Arabic Society and PoliticsKhudr Salfidge, M.A. - Arabic LanguageKiriak Tsonev, M.A., Diplomat - Bulgarian-Arab RelationsMaya Tsenova - M.A., Translator and Interpreter - Arabic LanguageVesselina Rayjekova - M.A., Translator and Interpreter - Arabic Language

At present the department offers one undergraduate (B.A.) and two postgraduate (M.A.) programs, as well as Ph.D. degree.

The undergraduate program comprises 4 years or 8 semesters. It includes subjects from three broad disciplines - Linguistics, Literary Studies, and Social and Cultural Studies. A special emphasis is laid on the mastering of the Arabic language, especially of its Modern Standard variety. The regional colloquial variants of Arabic are taught in a program consisting of a number of both obligatory and optional theoretical and practical courses. The following numbers give an impression of how the graduate program is set up:The minimum number of contact hours for the whole graduate program is 2910 (lectures and seminars); they include:Obligatory courses (not an object of choice) - 2730 hours;Optional courses (restricted choice) - 680 hoursAdditional optional courses (free choice) - in addition to the set program the student may choose extra courses of his own choice.Contact hours are of two types, formal lectures and seminars. For the obligatory subjects they are distributed as follows:Arabic Language - 1545 seminars, 570 of them in the first year;A Second Oriental Language (Hebrew, Turkish or Persian) - 90 seminars;Arabic Linguistics - 390 lectures and seminars;Arabic Literary Studies - 240 lectures and seminars;Arabic Social and Cultural Studies - 330 lectures and seminarsThe subjects in the undergraduate program are spread evenly over the 8 semesters so that each semester the student can collect 30 credit points (ECTS). The number of credits for the whole program is 240 ECTS.On the basis of the cultural agreements signed between Bulgaria on the one hand and Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt on the other, the students in our undergraduate program receive one- or two-semester grants to study at universities in these Arabic countries.
The Department of Arabic and Semitic Studies offers five modules (a combination of a number of set courses) of optional subjects to enable undergraduate students to acquire an additional qualification - Translation and Interpreting and Methodology of the Teaching of Arabic for students in the undergraduate program "Arabic Studies", Arabic Society and Culture and Arabic Language and Literature for students in other undergraduate programs. Egyptology and Assyriology is offered both for students in "Arabic Studies" and those in other undergraduate programs. Each module includes courses with a total number of 390 classes per module and takes up four semesters. Apart from that the department organizes a four-semester course in Arabic, of 4 contact hours a week, for students from all the faculties of Sofia University.


Students in the program Arabic Studies qualify for the BA-degree on the basis of a state exam in two parts - written and oral - held after the 8th semester.
The holder of a Bachelor Degree in Arabic Studies has a translator's qualification in the Arabic language, as well as the qualification to work in a variety of other fields, such as the media and governmental and non-governmental institutions concerned with the political, economic and cultural relations between Bulgaria and the Arab states.
Since 2003/4 the Department of Arabic and Semitic Studies has offered two postgraduate (M.A.) programs: Arabic Language and Literature and Arabic Society and Culture. Each program lasts three semesters and ends with the defense of a Master thesis. 
M.A. Program in ARABIC LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Obligatory courses - 570 hours;optional courses - 150 hours;Credits - 90 ECTS.Candidates for this program have to meet the following requirements:- to have a B.A. in Arabic Studies (a very good command of Arabic is necessary);- to have a minimum of 4.50 (very good) average score from the undergraduate programThe program includes courses that concentrate on theoretical issues regarding Classical and Modern Arabic linguistics and literary studies. Special emphasis is laid on theoretical analysis and mastering the different genres of translation and interpreting, Arabic serving as both the source and the target language. As a result the holder of an M.A. in Arabic Studies - Language and Literature, has theoretical competence in a vast range of topics concerning the Arabic language and literature, and translation. He is able to make translations at a high professional level, to teach Arabic language and literature at the secondary and the higher educational level, and to conduct research in the fields of language and literature.
 M.A. Program in ARABIC SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Obligatory courses - 495 hours;optional courses - 180 hours;Credits - 90 ECTS.Candidates for this program have to meet the following requirements:- to have a B.A. in a field of the Humanities or Social Sciences;- to have a basic knowledge of Arabic that enables them to work with Arabic texts;- to have a minimum of 4.50 average score from the graduate program.In this postgraduate program for students who have graduated in fields other than Arabic Studies additional lessons in Arabic are offered.
The courses making up the program aim to provide an in-depth analysis and a thorough understanding of the socio-political processes and cultural phenomena both of the past and the present Arab world and Islamic civilization, the interactions between the Islamic and the Christian world, and the role of the Arab countries in the contemporary system of international relations, including their political, economic and cultural relations with Bulgaria. As a result, the holder of an M.A. in Arabic Studies - Society and Culture is able to competently analyze problems in the above mentioned areas and is a trained specialist whose expert knowledge of Islam and the Arab world can be applied in such spheres as education, the media, and domestic and foreign policies.

At present the courses in the M.A. programs are taught only in Bulgarian. However, non-Bulgarians can obtain an M.A. degree in one of the programs through individual consultations with the professors and lecturers in English.

The Department of Arabic and Semitic Studies offers two ways of obtaining a Ph.D. degree. One way is to pass an exam and be registered as a regular Ph.D. student. The Ph.D. program lasts three years and the student works under the supervision of a professor from the department. The other way to qualify as a Ph.D. student is to work independently, and without any time restrictions, and then submit to the department a substantial part of one's thesis. If this is approved by the academic council of the department the candidate will be registered.
B.A. Program ARABIC STUDIES
Obligatory Courses

Discipline Semester Lectures Seminars
Arabic Language 1-8 - 1545
Introduction to General Linguistics 1 30 15
Introduction to Literary Studies 1 30 15
Introduction to Semito-Hamitic Linguistics 2 30 15
Introduction to Arab Society and Culture 2 45 15
Stylistics of Writing in Bulgarian 2 - 30
Phonetics and Lexicology of Standard Arabic 3 45 15
Early Medieval Arabic Literature 3 45 15
Medieval History of the Arab World 3 45 15
Methodology of the scientific research 3 15 -
Morphology of Standard Arabic 4 60 30
Late Medieval Arabic Literature 4 45 15
Syntax of Standard Arabic 5 45 15
Modern Arabic Literature 5 45 15
Modern and Contemporary History of the Arab World 5 45 15
Second Oriental Language 6 - 90
Linguistics of the Arabic Text 6 30 15
Arabic Dialectology 6 30 15
Contemporary Arabic Literature 6 45 15
History of the Arab-Islamic Philosophy 7 45 15
Medieval Arab-Muslim Civilisation 7 30 15
Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Translation 8 30 15
Modern Arabic Culture 8 30 15

(For the optional courses, see the Students' Guide.)
M.A. Program ARABIC LANGUAGE AND LITERATUREObligatory Courses
Discipline Semester Lectures Seminars
Issues in Arabic Linguistics 1 45 15
Issues in Classical Arabic Literature and Culture 1 45 15
The Arab-Islamic Tradition in Translation 1 30 -
Synchronic and Consecutive Interpreting 1,2 15 90
Arabic Language 1,2 - 90
Contrastive Linguistics (Arabic-Bulgarian, Standard Arabic-Colloquial Arabic) 2 45 30
Issues in Contemporary Arabic Literature 2 45 15
Translation of Fiction 2 15 45

(For the optional courses, see the Students' Guide.)

M.A. Program ARABIC SOCIETY AND CULTUREObligatory Courses
Discipline Semester Lectures Seminars
Tradition and Innovation in Arab Society and Culture 1 45 15
Statehood and Legal Structure of the Arab States 1 30 15
The Arab World and International Politics 1 30 -
Arabic Language 1,2 - 180
Political and Religious Movements in the Arab World 2 45 15
History of Christian-Muslim Relations 2 45 15
Political, Economic and Cultural Relations between Bulgaria and the Arab World 2 30 0

(For the optional courses, see the Students' Guide.)