MSc The Globalised Muslim World

We are now accepting applications for our MSc The Globalised Muslim World for the 2025/26 academic year. CLICK HERE TO APPLY.

This programme is run over one year (full time) or two years (part time).

You will complete three core taught courses across two semesters which will provide you with the knowledge and research expertise needed in order to embark on your own original research project in the form of a 15,000-word final dissertation.

Core courses

• Regional Perspectives in a Globalised Muslim World
• International, Transnational and Globalised Dynamics of the Muslim world 
• Research Methods and Dissertation Writing on the Muslim World (taught across semesters 1 and 2)

Option courses

In addition to your core courses, you will have the opportunity to select three option courses which reflect your individual interests. Option courses are taught by leading experts from across the University of Edinburgh's College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences. Click on any of the names below to find out more.

Option Courses may include

• Muslims in Europe  - Dr Richard McNeil-Willson
• Muslim Society in Southeast Asia - Dr Siti Sarah Muwahidah
• Islamic Africa - Dr Jeremy Dell
• Law and Power in the Muslim World - Dr Nora Jaber
• Unfolding Afghanistan in a Globalised Context - Dr Sayed Mahdi Mosawi
• South Asia: Culture, Politics & Economy  Dr Hugo Gorringe​​​​​​
• Political Contestation in the Middle East - Dr Ewan Stein
• International Relations Theory - Dr Andrew Neal
• International Security - Dr Andrew Neal
• The Middle East in International Relations - Dr Lucy Abbott
• Gender and Media in the Arab World - Dr Ebtihal Muhadeen
• The History and Culture of Iran - Dr Andrew Newman
• Digital Islamic Art History - Dr Glaire Anderson
• Critical Readings in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies - Dr Elvire Corboz
• Major Themes in the Study of Islam - Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla
• Political Islam: Key Thinkers and their Contexts - Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla
• Liberation Theologies in Christianity and Islam - Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla
• From diatribe to dialogue in Christian-Muslim relations - Dr Joshua Ralston
• Islamic Theology: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives - Dr Joshua Ralston
• Arabic language
• Persian language
• Turkish language

Dissertation

You must also complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a relevant subject of your choosing.

For the 2025/26 academic year, the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World is offering scholarships of £5000 to five exceptional students on the MSc Globalised Muslim World programme.

Scholarships are available to both UK and international students and will be paid directly to successful applicants once they have commenced their studies and paid their full tuition fees. The deadline for scholarship applications is midnight on Tuesday 31st July 2025.

You can now apply for a scholarship by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions about these scholarships, please do not hesitate to contact us: thealwaleedcentre@ed.ac.uk.

Other funding options are available, with plans to offer scholarships in subsequent years.

• Search for funding

Professor Frédéric Volpi: Programme Director

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Frédéric Volpi is Chair of the Politics of the Muslim World in the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. He is also the Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2000. Before coming to Edinburgh in 2018, he was in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews.

Frédéric's research addresses the processes of democratization and authoritarianism in the contemporary Muslim world, the role of Islamist actors in social and political mobilizations, the construction of the discourse of political Islam, and the contemporary regional and transnational dynamics of North Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Learn more about Professor Volpi's work

Dr Kholoud Al-Ajarma: Programme Co-Director

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Kholoud Al-Ajarma is Alwaleed Lecturer in the Globalised Muslim World with research interests in environmentalism across the contemporary Muslim World.

In addition to her academic experience in anthropology and religion, Kholoud has worked in the fields of refugee studies, gender, youth development, migration, human rights, and environmental justice in several countries of the Mediterranean region including Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco. She was a Chevening visiting fellow at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and peace fellow of the MENA cohort fellowship programme of the United Nations Allience of Civilizations.

Learn more about Dr Al-Ajarma's work

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ.

Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than three and a half years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

We are now accepting applications for our MSc The Globalised Muslim World for the 2025/26 academic year. CLICK HERE TO APPLY.