Islamic Studies and History MSt

MSt Islamic Studies & History

The MSt in Islamic Studies & History is intended for students who already possess substantial knowledge of the field and who are able, without further language training, to work with pre-modern Arabic, Persian, and Turkish primary sources as appropriate to their particular research interests.

About

The Master of Studies in Islamic Studies and History focuses on the political, social, and intellectual history of the central Islamic lands (Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Central Asia, and Anatolia) up until c. 1800. The course is characterised by a strong emphasis on research based on primary sources, thus making it a very good entry gate for subsequent doctoral study. You will already possess substantial general knowledge of Islamic or Middle Eastern studies and history.

You can take specialised classes and undertake independent research under the supervision of a faculty member. You will receive specialised teaching in two elective papers, taught during the first two terms, while also working on a dissertation (or on two extended research essays) under the supervision of a suitable member of the faculty. Available elective papers may vary from year to year, but topics that are frequently taught include:

the Qur’an and Qur’anic exegesis
hadith
Islamic law
Sufism
Islamic theology
Arabic philosophy
medieval Islamic history
Islamic art and architecture

In the past students have also taken options in Arabic and Persian literature. Elective papers normally involve a weekly meeting of two hours devoted to the reading and primary sources, student presentations, informal lecturing, and the discussion of student essays. Students spend a significant amount of time preparing for these meetings by working through primary texts, reading secondary literature, and writing essays.

Assessment

Your final examination will consist of four units, which carry the same weight: two elective papers (often examined as one-week take-home essays); an essay on methods and research materials related to one of the options chosen by a candidate (examined during Hilary term); and a thesis, or two essays, on a topic (or topics) selected in consultation with your supervisor and approved by the Faculty Board.

Teaching staff

Resources for study

Libraries and museums

You will have access to the Nizami Ganjavi Library at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The library, comprising approximately 80,000 volumes of books, periodicals and pamphlets, housed both on and off-site, supports students of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Eastern Christianity, South and Inner Asian Studies and Korean. The library’s Middle Eastern and Islamic collections have a strong focus on language, literature, and pre-1800 history, religion, philosophy and culture which is complemented by the modern Middle East collections of St Antony’s Middle East Centre Library. The Nizami Ganjavi Library provides access to publications in both vernacular languages (i.e. Arabic, Persian, Turkish and others) as well as European languages.

Adjacent to the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is the Ashmolean Museum, which houses superb collections.

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

Apply

Make an application, check the course entry requirements and what supporting documents you need to submit

Application guide

The University's Application Guide covers all aspects of completing the graduate application form and uploading your supporting documents

How-to-guides

Students and staff provide tips and advice on preparing your application for postgraduate study, such as how to write a personal statement

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.