MEIS fosters an intellectual community on campus that applies a critical lens to the teaching and the study of related scholarship. We encourage the free flow of ideas, debates and research projects among this community. We hope this will promote a deeper understanding of pertinent issues regarding the history, culture and civilization, arts and literature, and domestic and international politics of the Middle East and the wider Islamic world through a multi-disciplinary perspective.

We seek to create a new Certificate Program in the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. The Certificate will provide students with the opportunity for a rich multidisciplinary experience, with a choice of courses in the fields of Political Science, History, Religious Studies, Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Music, and more. We also aim to provide funding opportunities and awards for graduate students who research on the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

MEIS organizes public events and brings local and international scholars together at the University of Alberta. These events bring together researchers across the disciplines to share ideas, projects and opportunities with scholars, students and communities. This will contribute to the formation of a distinct community of scholars of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.