Masters in Middle East Studies Lund/Tel Aviv

[jaking]

I have been accepted into both programs and was wondering if anyone has any firsthand experience with either? My areas of interest are more contemporary, being international relations of the GCC states, Lebanese politics, and Islamist organizations, so I'd be looking at writing a thesis around those topics. 

 

I'd love to hear anyone's overall thoughts on either program, but some specific questions I have are:

 

How exactly does the third semester work at Lund? I understand the school doesn't guarantee anything. How helpful are they in setting up a work/study term?

 

I understand the program at Tel Aviv is part of the history department. Is it possible to do more contemporarily focused research there?

 

Do either of these schools have any particular strengths/weaknesses regarding my stated areas of research interest?

 

How is the quality of teaching/students at both?

 

Thanks in advance. 

[KevinYoungX]

I have a friend who is studying the connection between Hezbollah and Iran at Tel Aviv University as part of his research for for PhD in Middle Eastern History. He says his work is really contemporary.

 

So, did you ever decide where to go?