Prospective graduate students at McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies will be interested to know that courses of study and research are offered by a dynamic team of Professors and Faculty Lecturers leading to the degrees of MA and PhD in Islamic Studies and MA and PhD in Islamic Studies: Gender and Women's Studies Option/Concentration.
The strongly international atmosphere at the Institute and the low student-faculty ratio provide an opportunity for face-to-face exchange among professors and students at various levels. Frequently during the academic year, the Institute invites prominent scholars in the field of Islamic Studies to give lectures, which are open to the public.
Opportunities for research are wide and varied reflecting the interests of both the Faculty and students. Future students could choose a specialization from the following options: Arabic Literatures; Arab American/Arab Canadian Literatures; Persian Literature; Urdu Literature; South-Asian Literature; Islamic Theology; Islamic Philosophy; Qur'an, History of Qur'anic Interpretation, Sufism; Islamic History; Safavid History; Shi'i Studies; History of the Modern Middle East; Anthropology and History of Modern Iran; Islam and Politics; Islam in Africa; Ottoman and Turkish Studies; Women and Gender in Islamic Societies.
Courses in the Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu languages are also offered to both graduate and undergraduate students.
One of the unique features of the Institute is that it is located in the same building (Morrice Hall) as McGill’s Islamic Studies Library (ISL). The ISL is counted among the major North American collections in Islamic Studies with virtually all Islamic research materials housed in Morrice Hall with the exception of rare books and manuscripts that are located in a special climate-controlled room in the Humanities library. Study carrels are available in ISL for graduate students, and the Common Room, located on the third floor of Morrice Hall, is a great meeting and discussion area for students, faculty and staff.
Our graduates help to ensure that a plurality of approaches to Islamic civilization is available to the students of today and tomorrow. Our PhD students have been successful in securing top-ranking academic jobs in North America.