Top Ranked Graduate Programs in Islamic Studies

The Princeton Islamic Studies Colloquium is a forum for discussion and peer review of graduate students' research projects and guest scholars' works-in-progress in the field of Islamic Studies. The colloquium meets once or twice a month over lunch to discuss a pre-circulated paper, and all attendees are expected to have read and reflected on the paper beforehand. A discussant initiates the conversation with a summary of the work in progress' main argument, taking care to identify what the piece contributes to current scholarship as well as the potential for further development.

Islamic Studies engages students in the study of the religious institutions, texts and devotional life of Muslim societies. Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Contemporary Islamic Religion and Society (HDS).

The Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Law School is dedicated to promoting research and providing resources for the academic study of Islamic law. We host a suite of projects toward that end: a Portal for organizing the world’s information on Islamic law (SHARIAsource), a set of Publications for cutting-edge scholarship in Islamic legal studies (a book series, occasional papers, and a peer-reviewed journal), and myriad Program events and support for students, fellows, and other scholars working in the field of Islamic legal studies. Harvard University Portal, Publications, and other Program initiatives cover the earliest periods of Islam through today, in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority contexts. We adhere to common principles of academic engagement, including attention to diverse perspectives, peer-reviewed analysis, and the free and open exchange of ideas.

Islamic Studies engages in the study of Islam as a textual tradition inscribed in history and particular cultural contexts. The area seeks to provide an introduction to and a specialization in Islam through a large variety of expressions (literary, poetic, social, and political) and through a variety of methods (literary criticism, hermeneutics, history, sociology, and anthropology). It offers opportunities to specialize in fields that include Qur’anic studies, Sufi literature, Islamic philosophy, and Islamic law and theology. Students without an advanced degree will for admission to the MA program of the Divinity School.

The Mellon Islamic Studies Initiative is a three-year project, designed to support the expansion and enhancement of the study of Islam at the University of Chicago. Administered by the Divinity School, the initiative is a cross-divisional collaboration, intended to create a sustained campus conversation the future of Islamic studies. Funded by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the initiative will bring to the University distinguished visiting scholars representing a wide range of topics in Islamic Studies.

The MA in Islamic Studies focuses on the cultural, political, and religious history of Islam and the nations and populations linked to the practice of this faith. Students pursue their interest in the field through the course offerings of several departments at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as well as, to a lesser extent, other schools at Columbia. Courses give students the foundation to specialize in one period or interdisciplinary area as they design an individual program of study in consultation with the program coordinator. The program concludes with a thesis on a limited topic within the student area of concentration.

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations: Arabic and Islamic Studies, MA. In addition to the MA degree awarded within the PhD program, NELC offers an independent (terminal) MA degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies. All students, regardless of their concentration, must master at least one of the languages in which the primary sources of NELC subfields are written.

JD AM Islamic Studies: Near Eastern Languages Civilizations Arts Sciences. The JD AM in Islamic Studies prepares students to engage in high level decision making in policy and law. Applications to the AM program are welcomed contemporaneously with the Law School application or during the 1L year.

The Program in Islamic Studies‘ minor provides the intellectual and linguistic training to approach Islam — and the world — in a historically and culturally informed way, challenging stereotypes and misconceptions while exploring the diversity and complexity of the world’s second-largest religion. In March we will have Johns Hopkins University Islamic Studies lunch buffet. Everyone is invited. You will also find out the Islamic Studies minor.

Critical Studies in Asian, Islamic, and Jewish Traditions. PURPOSE: The PhD program prepares students for teaching and advanced scholarship in religious studies. Training is two-fold. Students are first introduced to a variety of critical approaches to the study of religion.

Graduate School Leadership and Staff DirectoryOpen sub-navigationClose sub-navigation. The Arabic Islamic Studies offers programs of study leading to M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. The graduate programs in Arabic and Islamic Studies aim to combine a thorough understanding of the Arabic language with scholarly research in the literary, linguistic and intellectual traditions of the Arab and Islamic world. The Arabic and Islamic Studies Department offers graduate level courses in Arabic linguistics, Islamic studies, and literature of the classical and modern eras.

The Arabic and Islamic Studies sponsors this doctoral program for Georgetown students. Students study Islamic religious thought, text, culture, and traditions Arabic language, linguistics, and dialectology and classical and contemporary Arabic literature. Islamic Studies program replaces the separate Ph.D. in Arabic and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies programs.

Islamic Civilizations Studies at Emory University offers a unified thematic approach to the global impact of Islamic civilizations. By using a broad-based, trans-regional, and integrated multidisciplinary approach to understanding and analyzing the Islamic world, graduates of the ICIVS program will be well prepared to assess and make sense of the momentous changes that have and are taking place in this region in a wide range of professional capacities.

The UCLA Islamic Studies program, founded in the late 1950’s, is among the oldest of such programs in the country. The program is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of Islam and global Muslim communities. Islamic Studies courses are offered across academic fields and disciplines including history, law, Arabic, comparative literature, anthropology, sociology, study of religion, philosophy, and art and art history. The Ph.D. program in Islamic Studies is designed primarily for students preparing for an academic career.