Undergraduate study | Islamic Studies

• You’ll complete a four-year MA (Hons) degree, engaging with a broad range of subjects in your first two years, then specialising in the aspects of Islamic Studies that interest you most.
• You'll learn basic Arabic in first year, with the option to take it on into second year. There are also options to study Persian and Turkish. All of these open up a range of original material from our collections.
• Courses are taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars, and you'll be assessed through a mix of exams and coursework, including essays, exercises and presentations.
• You'll develop the critical, analytical and comparative skills to interpret and discuss key issues and concepts, and learn how to undertake your own research to the level of completing a dissertation in your final year. 
• You’ll typically be based at the heart of the University of Edinburgh, in the city’s historic centre. Our Georgian building has its own library and the Main University Library is just across the square from us, housing over 23,000 IMES resources, including the Serjeant and Watt Collections.

Islamic Studies ​​​​is a single honours degree. 

Applications for 2022 entry are now closed. If you are holding an offer to start studying with us in September 2022, check out our Offer Holder Hub for Islamic Studies and other degree programmes in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES).

Visit the IMES Offer Holder Hub

Keen to get a head start for 2023?

There’s lots of information about our undergraduate Islamic Studies programme on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder. For example, you can find out about entrance requirements, English language requirements, fees, and funding opportunities.  

Find out more about taking Islamic Studies in 2023 on Degree Finder​​​​​

If you’d like to study on any of our undergraduate programmes, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Applications for 2023 entry open in September 2022.

Go to the University of Edinburgh web page on how to apply for undergraduate study

Skills and experience

Graduating with a four-year honours degree from the University of Edinburgh shows high-level intellectual strength and flexibility, including the ability to understand, analyse and articulate key concepts, and to work to varied briefs to deadline, both independently and in groups.

Additionally, this programme will give you a nuanced understanding of other cultures and societies, and how they shape our world, giving you the Intercultural Competence valued by employers around the globe. Learning Arabic in your first year (with the option to continue into Year 2) will also sharpen your written and oral communications skills.

Opportunities at home and away

With increasing migration in response to changing global dynamics, there is demand for graduates with a knowledge of the Islamic World both at home and abroad.

Your degree in Islamic Studies, which includes some language learning, is an excellent primer for a range of careers. Within the private, public, not-for-profit, and for-benefit sectors, previous graduates have gone on to work in:

• Business and commerce

• Communications, marketing, advertising and public relations

• Education, outreach, advocacy and training

• Journalism, broadcasting and media

• Leisure, tourism and travel

• Politics, policy work, diplomacy, civil service and law

• Publishing, culture, heritage and the arts

• Research, development and venture acceleration

Further study

The enhanced research skills you will develop on a four-year programme, particularly in your honours years, are a valuable asset if you wish to continue studying at postgraduate level. At the University of Edinburgh, for example, you can take a taught or research-led Masters in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, or choose from MScs in The Globalised Muslim World, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, and more.

Find out more about LLC alumni and futures