Program Overview

Program Overview

The Islamic Studies (MA) program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Islamic studies, with a focus on research and academic excellence. Student advising begins with admission to the program, at which time students are matched with one or more faculty members whose specialties relate to the student’s areas of interest.

Advising and Progress Review

During the first year, students meet quarterly with the program chair, who also serves as the graduate adviser. By the end of the first year, students must secure the agreement of a faculty member to serve as their supervisor and notify the student affairs officer of this arrangement. For the following terms of graduate study, students meet quarterly with their faculty supervisors and, as needed, with the student affairs officer. Student progress is reviewed annually.

Areas of Study

The areas of study are the same as listed under Major Fields or Sub-disciplines for the doctoral degree.

Foreign Language Requirement

Other than the language proficiency required for admission to the program, there is no foreign language requirement to attain the Master’s degree. However, students who plan to go on for the PhD in Islamic Studies are strongly advised to continue their foreign language study to achieve required levels of proficiency in their research languages early in their graduate study.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 12 courses (48 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be at the graduate level. Two courses in the 500 series may be applied toward the degree, one of which may be applied toward the five-graduate course requirement. All courses applied toward the degree must be taken for a letter grade. The 12 courses must be divided among three categories of courses as follows:

• Category one: Three required courses:
  • Middle East Studies 201
  • Islamic Studies 201
  • ARA 220 (Themes in Islamic History)
  • or HIS 200J (offered either as Islamic Historiography or Historiography of the Modern Middle East)
• Category two: Three courses that present specific methodological approaches to the study of Islam, such as:
  • Anthropology of Islam
  • Sociology of Islam
  • Islamic Art The student’s primary advisor must approve the courses selected, and certify that the courses meet the methodological specialization requirement.
• Category three: Six additional courses from at least two different disciplines (not including language courses), and at least two geographic regions, chosen in consultation with the student’s primary advisor.

Teaching and Field Experience

Teaching experience is not required for this program. Field experience is also not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

The comprehensive examination requirement is fulfilled either by submitting a single paper (50-100 pages) that combines work in two or more fields of study, or by submitting one paper (maximum of 30 pages) in each of three fields. The paper or papers are evaluated by the student’s three faculty supervisors. Regardless of format, the comprehensive examination is graded, by a minimum vote of two, as (1) pass to continue for the Ph.D., (2) terminal M.A. pass, or (3) fail. Reexamination in exceptional cases will be determined by the interdepartmental degree committee.

Thesis Plan

There is no thesis plan for this program.

Time-to-Degree

Seven academic quarters is the expected time-to-degree for full-time students with no deficiencies upon admission. The normative time to degree is 7 quarters, with a maximum of 10 quarters.