Hi guys,
I'm currently a junior at a fairly prestigious university, 3.77 GPA, interested in early modern to modern Middle East history (Levant and North Africa). Though I'm determined to take a few years off after I graduate to travel/buff up my languages/have a "real" job for a while, the more I think about the overall path I want my life to take, the more a PhD in history makes the most sense.
Here is what I'm worried about: I'm not a history major. My major is Modern Middle East Studies. There were a lot of reasons I chose my major, in spite of the fact that my university's history department is highly respected; I knew I was interested in the Middle East but wasn't sure if I was interested in history, the requirements for our history major are heavily Western-centric, it has a reputation for being a huge and impersonal department for undergrads to navigate, etc. (These are also the reasons I don't want to switch my major now.)
By the end of this year I'll have taken four history seminars and three history lectures. I will be writing a historical senior thesis next year, with a history professor as my advisor. By the time I graduate, I'll have reading knowledge of at least Arabic and Hebrew, and maybe French or Turkish.
Basically, I want to know: how un-rigorous does area studies look as a major? Should I plan to go for a history MA before I even think about applying for history PhD programs? (I really would rather not do this.) Is there anything I can do now to make my chances for getting into a good history PhD program better?
Your patience in dealing with this freaked-out undergrad is highly appreciated.