GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian university students can now enroll in classes specializing in Arabic music — a first in Palestine. Birzeit University, located just outside Ramallah in the West Bank, launched a bachelor's degree program in music to provide Palestinians with advanced music learning and place Palestine on the map of regional and international music study.

Classes in the newly created program started Sept. 26, and the degree includes 132 course hours accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The program was launched in cooperation with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (NCM) in Ramallah, which is one of the main music institutes in Palestine aimed at spreading creative and vibrant musical culture among Palestinian youths.

This bachelor's degree program is part of Birzeit University's faculty of literature, as the university has no fine arts department.

Bashir Abdel Razzaq, the administrative assistant of the dean of the faculty of literature, told Al-Monitor, “There are many universities and institutes that teach music in Palestine, but what is new in this program is that it emphasizes musical performance rather than music education alone. Palestine is the third Arab country teaching the science of musical performance, after Tunisia and Egypt.”