I'm looking to do a regional specialization in either Africa or the Middle East. I will probably be taking classes at either IAS or MEI to satisfy the requirement, and want to see if there are non-language courses offered by either of those institutes in French or Arabic focused either on development or cultural studies--intended for people who already speak the language.
Yes, SIPA does offer this to a certain degree. You can take courses throughout Columbia, so the offerings in other languages in terms of cultural studies are pretty extensive (especially for French, not sure about Arabic). In terms of development, I can't say if there are any. SIPA also offers many 1.5 credits