About this program

This flexible, interdisciplinary major takes students into the history and teachings of Islam and the makeup of Islamic societies, employing a variety of research methods. Students attain intermediate proficiency or higher in the language of a major Muslim population of the Middle East: Arabic, Turkish or Persian.

Why choose Islamic Studies?

The Islamic Studies program allows students to combine relevant courses from a number of fields history, history of art, philosophy, and others with work in Islamic languages and literatures. In choosing elective courses, majors are not limited to the area commonly known as the Middle East, but rather are urged to explore dimensions of Islamic civilization across spatial and chronological boundaries.

What can you do with this degree? 

Islamic studies offers students a unique approach to all the major disciplines within the humanities. As a part of the arts and humanities and, hence, of the liberal arts, Islamic studies seeks to prepare students for further study in the humanities as well as prepare them for employment in state and local government, religious organizations, social agencies, teaching, business, and the arts. Graduates have also become college and university professors, lawyers, and business executives.