Postgraduate study
Choose from a range of programmes taking either an Area Studies approach, or combining intensive language study with the interdisciplinary exploration of societies and cultures. Providing excellent teaching and supervision, we offer programmes ranging from one-year masters degrees to PhDs.
What's it like to study here?
With over 260 years of history in teaching and research, we are globally recognised as a leading centre for postgraduate study in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Join our community and you’ll be part of a friendly, international group with interests spanning the languages, history, culture, religion and politics of the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.
Highlights include regular seminars by staff, research students and visiting speakers, the annual W.M. Watt Lecture, and a wide range of cultural events, conferences and collaborations, helping you develop the fluency and confidence to operate at the highest professional and academic levels.
Our research resources and facilities are outstanding, and we have excellent links with a number of centres and networks, from the Alwaleed Centre and the Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies at the University of Edinburgh, to the Edinburgh Iranian Festival.
What can I study?
Combining an intensive language programme with critical and analytical research, this year-long masters programme will equip you with the skills to speak and write Arabic to a high level. Uniquely, we teach spoken Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic, deepening your understanding of media such as film and song, as well as a growing amount of oral intellectual discourse. You can also opt to take a course in Arabic pedagogy, exploring how to teach Arabic to non-native speakers.
Full-time, one year
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Drawing on the expertise of some of the UK’s leading experts on the Arab world, this two-year masters programme offers a unique opportunity for the in-depth study of the Arabic language and region-specific culture, history and politics. Studying in Edinburgh and abroad, you’ll combine intensive language learning with training in research skills and methods, critical readings, and option courses spanning the social and political sciences, arts and humanities.
Full-time, two years
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Intended for students with prior knowledge of Arabic, this two-year masters programme offers a unique opportunity for the in-depth study of the language together with region-specific culture, history and politics. Studying in Edinburgh and abroad, you’ll hone your parallel skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, including in spoken ‘dialect’ and Modern Standard Arabic, as well as taking option courses spanning the social and political sciences, arts and humanities.
Full-time, two years
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Distinctive in its breadth and diversity, this interdisciplinary masters programme draws on the expertise of specialists in ancient history, Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies, from pre-Islamic Iran to the present day. It is unique in the field of Persian Studies, combining postgraduate research with specialist methodological, theoretical, literary, and historiographical training, and optional language learning.
Full-time, one year ꟾ part-time, two years (UK/EU students)
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Combining a course in critical readings, training in research skills and methods, option courses spanning a wide range of specialisms, and optional language learning, this masters programme will help you gain an advanced, interdisciplinary understanding of the history, modern politics and culture of the Islamic Middle East, as well as the paradigms behind the various disciplines within the field.
Full-time, one year ꟾ part-time, two years (UK/EU students)
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Tailored to your area of interest, this masters programme combines training in research skills, methods and problems in IMES, with supervised independent research assignments and a final dissertation of around 15,000 words. Drawing on our staff expertise, you can choose from a wide range of specialist and interdisciplinary areas, from diaspora studies, and Islamic history, to the Persian, Arabic and Turkish languages, and the politics of the modern Middle East.
Full-time, one year ꟾ part-time, two years (UK/EU students)
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Designed to support you make a definite and original contribution to the field of knowledge in IMES, our PhD programme will enable you to pursue independent research under the supervision of one or more of our expert staff, with optional training in research skills and methods. We offer supervision in a wide range of specialist and interdisciplinary areas, from diaspora studies, and Islamic history, to the Persian, Arabic and Turkish languages, and the politics of the modern Middle East.
Full-time, three years ꟾ part-time, six years (UK/EU students)
You are strongly advised to submit a draft PhD proposal to Dr Andreas Görke before applying so that we can evaluate your research interests and offer useful comments for incorporation into your final application.
Find out more and apply on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder
Not sure which programme is right for you?
We're happy to help you decide between taught and research-led masters programmes.
Email us about postgraduate study in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
The programme was, for me, a genuinely life-changing experience. In its demanding but sympathetic environment, I went from basic spoken Palestinian Arabic to working on literary translations. But perhaps more importantly I found in IMES a department in which enthusiastic students had space to grow, flourish, and explore. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Help us shape a brand new programme on the Globalised Muslim World
We are looking at developing an on-campus Masters programme exploring the Globalised Muslim World. The programme would be aimed at students with relevant academic experience in Islamic Studies, Political Science, Sociology or Religious Studies who are seeking to deepen their knowledge of the contemporary Muslim world. If you are interested in this programme, we'd be grateful if you could complete our short survey. Your feedback will help shape the content and structure of this new programme and there is an opportunity to leave your contact details so that we can keep you up to date on developments.
Related links
Postgraduate study in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Funding for postgraduate study in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures