On November 21, 2015, at the institute of Oriental Studies of the Saint Joseph University, Najah Atieh Hawwa, after nearly nine years of hard work, was offered the Ph.D. Degree with distinction. She defended her thesis in front of a four member committee of distinguished professors. The subject of the thesis was a notable Arab poet, al Akhtal, with a focus on his poetry of praise, as a poetic form. Al Akhtal, who belonged to the Taghlibtribe, then a prominent Arab Christian tribe, became the poet of the Umayyad court.
The thesis presented was described by the committee as an indispensable reference for all future research on the subject.