Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies

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Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies


Established:	1989^[1]
Type:	Private
President:	Sabri Saleem
Location:	Sana'a, Yemen
Campus:	Urban
Website:	ycmes.org

The Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies, commonly referred to as YCMES, is a private college located in the historic Old City of San‘a, Republic of Yemen. The YCMES is located on the 26th of September St, close to the Yemeni Parliament building, and a five minute walk from Tahrir Square.

1 History
2 Location
3 Facilities
4 References
5 See also

[edit] History

The Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies was created from the standing buildings and reputation of the Yemen Language Center (YLC). The Yemen Language Center was founded in 1989 by Sabri Saleem, the former Associate Country Director for the US Peace Corps for twelve years. ^[2]

In 1993, the the YLC expanded by founding the Yemen Center for Arab Studies, adding academic courses to those of language instruction. In 2006, to accommodate the increasing academic interest in Arabic and the Middle East, the Yemen Language Center and the Yemen Center for Arab Studies transitioned into the YCMES.

The YCMES is a project of president and founder Sabri Saleem, and Dr. Steve Caton, the honorary Dean of YCMES and Professor of Contemporary Arab Studies in the Anthropology Department at Harvard University. Dr. Caton has also directed Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard since 2004. ^[3]

The school was established as a coeducational institution, and residences are shared by male and female alike, although they live on separate floors.

The educational programming of the YLC continues to provide Arabic instruction as the YCMES prepares for its inaugural semester in Fall 2008.

[edit] Location

Yemen is a traditional Middle Eastern country located on the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Compared to other Arabic-speaking countries, Yemen has one of the lowest-percentages of English speakers.^[4] This lack foreign language fluency by the native Yemenis, paired with the fact that the Arabic spoken in Yemen is conservative and close to the formal dialect, provides a unique location for studying Arabic. ^[5]

[edit] Facilities

The YCMES has four sites within walking distance of one another. All are fully modernized and renovated, providing wireless internet, mafrajs, shared kitchens, laundry facilities, computers, and single and shared housing options.