From its London campus, the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations offers a two-year, full-time Master of Arts in Muslim Cultures. This unique Programme combines courses from a range of disciplines within the humanities and social sciences to study Muslim civilisations – in all of their geographical, linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity.

The Programme seeks to provide students with the skills to place Muslim cultures within their historical contexts, enabling them to comprehensively understand contemporary Muslims societies. It offers students the opportunity to learn more about the cultures of Muslims – their languages, histories, arts and architecture, societies, development processes and legal and political thought.

Approaches

The Master of Arts in Muslim Cultures provides a distinctive way of understanding the cultures of Muslims as they have evolved over time. The course uses the theories and methods of the humanities and social sciences as a framework for study.

The Institute’s MA Programme takes account of the diversity of cultures where Muslims were, and are, a significant constituency.

The approach to the study of Muslim civilisations is within a framework of world cultures, allowing for a wider analytical and comparative perspective.

This approach entails studying the context of cultural and intellectual history within which religious ideas and practices have meaning. It requires that cultural manifestations such as art, poetry and architecture be examined alongside doctrine, law and religious practice.

The Institute endeavours to understand the character of Muslim civilisations as they have evolved over time, and also to focus on the complex social, cultural and historical processes that they are undergoing in the contemporary world.

Teaching and Learning

Learning is both classroom and field-based: as part of their language course, during the summer of their first year, students participate in a Language Immersion Programme - travelling to a relevant country to immerse themselves in a language and culture different from their own; during their second year, students must prepare a dissertation following a four-week field project on a theme of their choice. Students also participate in a wide range of academic excursions during the course of the Programme.

A diverse student body is taught by an international faculty. Students benefit from the facilities and activities offered by neighbouring institutions such as the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the London School of Economics (LSE) and the British Library, among others. Studying in London offers great opportunity for listening to and meeting prominent international speakers.

Furthermore, the Institute’s cultural events, academic workshops and seminars offer students another framework through which the cultures of Muslims can be considered. These events also serve as a chance to be exposed to ideas and meet eminent academics from a variety of disciplines.