Islamic Art and Architecture MSt
About
Before admission to this course, you will have demonstrated that you possess the necessary qualifications in Arabic or Persian or Ottoman Turkish to use primary sources in the original language for the study of Islamic art.
You will be expected to attend tutorials, classes, lectures and seminars regularly, and tutors will give you regular assignments of written work. The structure of the course is flexible and will be tailored to the profile and interests of each student. Possible offerings include taught courses (eg, a historical survey of Islamic art and architecture), object-based study, language classes, and specially designed essay-based options.
Many graduates have pursued doctoral study in Oxford and elsewhere, and/or successful careers at universities, museums, and in business-related fields worldwide. Examples of alumni’s current positions can be found on the Khalili Research Centre’s website.
Assessment
Assessment is taken at the end of the course and consists of four elements.
The first is a thesis which should be equivalent to a substantial draft chapter or chapters of a proposed thesis for the MLitt or DPhil.
The second element is either a portfolio which introduces techniques to describe and analyse buildings and objects in a range of media (such as ceramics, epigraphy, manuscripts, metalwork, numismatics, and textiles) or a report or reports on practical work completed on an object or objects that will form part of a proposed thesis for the MLitt or the DPhil.
The third and fourth elements consist of any one of the three options below:
a. two examination papers, which may be any combination of language and non-language papers (a year-long survey course on Islamic art is among the available options
b. two extended essays which may be any two of the following:
- an essay on the theoretical issues raised by the subject which the candidate is proposing for the thesis for the MLitt or DPhil;
- an essay on a topic relevant to the subject of the proposed thesis for the MLitt or DPhil; or
- an essay discussing the historical or literary background, or the source material, relevant to the proposed thesis for the MLitt or DPhil.
c. one examination paper under (a) above and one essay under (b) above.
Many graduates have pursued doctoral study in Oxford and elsewhere, and/or successful careers at universities, museums, and in business-related fields worldwide. Examples of alumni’s current positions can be found on the Khalili Research Centre’s website.
Teaching staff
Course director
Teaching staff
Resources for study
Khalili Research Centre
Islamic Art & Architecture is based at the Khalili Research Centre (KRC), where you will have most of your classes, lectures and tutorials. The KRC is the University of Oxford's centre for research and teaching in the art and material culture of the Islamic societies of the Middle East and of their non-Muslim members and neighbours. The KRC houses some members of faculty staff, and you will be given your own workspace. The centre has a lecture room with audio- visual and IT equipment; an image digitisation room (available by appointment only); common room, kitchen facilities and a computing officer, as well as a wide range of IT facilities which can be used by staff and students, including network laser printing, audio visual equipment, and scanning equipment. You will also have access to the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies common room and computing rooms.
Libraries and museums
The KRC adjoins the world-class specialised collections of the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library and the Nizami Ganjavi Library for the history and literatures of the Islamic world. Some colleges (such as Wolfson College) have additional lending collections of books on Islamic Art and Architecture. The Ashmolean Museum and Weston Library, with their superb collections of Islamic art and manuscripts, are a few steps away.
Faculty resources
Students have access to the University's centrally provided electronic resources, the Faculty's IT Officer, and other bibliographic, archive or material sources as appropriate to the topic. There is a computing room for the use of graduate students in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, as well as a common room where tea and coffee are available and staff and students can meet.
Oxford colleges
Oxford’s colleges provide support, facilities and membership of a friendly and stimulating academic community. All colleges provide library and IT facilities, welfare support, and sports and social events. Although your academic studies will be directed by the faculty, colleges can be a valuable source of support. Please check the application guide for information about colleges.
How to apply
Improving access to graduate study
The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is taking part in initiatives to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.
Socio-economic data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used as part of an initiative to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process.
FAQs
Can I submit one 4,000 word piece of written work instead of two 2,000 word pieces?
Not for our courses. We ask for two pieces which will show a range of ability rather than two highly similar pieces and you may find it useful to check the criteria your written work will be assessed for when choosing your samples. Your samples can be extracts from longer pieces of work and if this is the case, please indicate this on a cover page, or at the beginning of each piece of work.
Where can I find out about funding available for applicants?
Your best guide to funding opportunities will always be the University's admissions webpages. We recommend that you use the Fees, funding and scholarship search which is a useful tool for finding any funding that you may be eligible to apply for.
If you submit your application by the January deadline you will automatically be considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships. There’s no separate scholarship application process or extra supporting documentation required for funding. Based on the information supplied in your graduate application, you will be automatically considered for scholarships where you meet the eligibility criteria with most scholarships using academic merit and/or potential as the basis on which award decisions are made.
However, please note, in addition to submitting an application form for your chosen course, the scholarships listed on the following page also require an additional application to be considered for them.
