American Military University

Almost done with my BA in Middle Eastern Studies, and on the whole I'm very impressed with the degree and the university. I already possess a Bachelor's in International Politics from a British university and wanted to explore my area of interest more in depth. With the exception of the odd class that I was dissatisfied with (usually with the level of instruction) I am enjoying my studies. At all universities, whether online or not, there's always that one class where the teacher just isn't with the program. But I've been able to get beyond all that and work hard, do my best and I have learnt a lot over the past 2 years. I like the wide variety of courses that make up this degree, covering politics, religion, history, culture and language. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in Middle Eastern affairs, but be prepared for lots of reading, essay writing and at times some tough subjects (and opinionated classmates!). Excellent program.

Back in 2006, I was a student of International Relations at Florida International University. When I was a junior there, I was dissatisfied with the level of expertise and availability of courses that concentrate on the Middle East. After doing a little bit of research on some of the online programs, I found out that APUS (AMU) was the only online-based institution that offers in-depth concentration on the Middle East through its BA Middle Eastern Studies program. With some skepticism in the back of my head, I have transferred to AMU, while simultaneously joining active duty military. In the beginning, it was tough being a full-time soldier and a student at the same time. I had to concentrate on my priority--obtaining a higher education. This way, whenever the Army was not able to accommodate my schooling, I had to go ahead and find time, regardless of what was going on around me. With sufficient time invested into following through with the coursework, I was able to pull up my GPA to a decent 3.4. This was not an easy task, though. In fact, I have found the online format to be more rigorous and more satisfying, as far as my education goals were concerned. When talking about the Middle Eastern Studies program at AMU, we have to have in mind that this is a one-of-a-kind program that is mainly available within only a few traditional colleges and universities. Based on my initial search for similar online programs, AMU was the only online institution that grants a BA in Middle Eastern Studies. Today, as a graduate, I can sense that my academic understanding of the Middle East is extremely vital to myself, to our nation, and to the world in which we live. Thank You, AMU, for your academic excellence and a professional approach to education!!!!

I recently finished my BA in ME Studies. I had previously attended Brigham Young University as an Economics major for 2 years. After joining the Air Force, I became genuinely intrigued by Middle Eastern Affairs and switched majors. Over the last 2 years, I tried hard to do all the assignments and readings that were assigned by the instructors. I had always thought that the education I was getting might somehow be second-hand simply because it is an online-degree. But the materials and the expertise of the instructors to me was very similar to those I had interacted with while attending a physical campus. Nevertheless, there was still that uneasiness. That was until very recently. About 8 months ago I applied for a State Department Critical Language Scholarship for overseas Advanced Arabic Studies. This is a very competitive, merit-based scholarship awarded to students from all over the country. Well I got it. Imagine the inadequacy I felt during the orientation introductions in Washington, D.C. where I was surrounded by students from all of the Ivy League schools, and many other prominent ones...yes, ALL of the Ivy League schools, as well as some very good schools known for their developed regional programs such as UCLA, UCSB, UT Austin, George Washington University and Georgetown. Some students were pursuing their Bachelor's degrees, but most had already completed theirs and were now pursuing Masters, and even a few Doctorates. Most were focused on Middle Eastern Studies, International Relations, Islamic Studies, History, etc. I felt for sure that my ignorance would soon be revealed by simply participating in intellectual discussions that would undoubtedly arise. Well I have been in Jordan (scholarship) now for almost 2 months with these students and I have come to realize that I have been very well prepared and educated in ME studies and issues by the instructors and materials from American Military University. Of course, I do believe that one could easily skate through classes without putting in the effort that I did, but I know from experience and from talking with these other students that this can also be easily done in the nations best schools. The school (AMU) does indeed prepare the student; the materials are excellent, I had some professors better than others (which I made a point to bring up on each end of class review), and some classes were cake while some I wanted to throw out the window. It is the same at a regular university. I guess I expected much less out of an online school, but I got a much better education than what I expected, and as it turns out, one that can stand proudly next to the best schools in the country. My only CON would be the cost. I guess I shouldn't complain since TA paid for it all, but for those of you who do not receive some sort of tuition assistance, I feel like $250 per credit hour might be a little steep.

I have been with AMU for about a year and a half and have been satisfied with the quality of instruction and the course materials. Most classes I have taken required a lot of writing and provided plenty of opportunity to discuss course materials on the message boards. My only real complaint was that I was required to take an extra political science class as a prerequisite for one of my core requirements. I was not pleased to have this additional requirement added but overall my experience with AMU has been positive.