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.

Years 1 & 2

• Our programmes are very flexible. In your first two years, alongside language learning, you'll study a range of courses giving you a broad knowledge base and transferable skills. This may enable you to change the focus of your degree going into your final two (honours) years, which is when you start to specialise.
• You'll learn 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.

Years 3 & 4

• You may have the option to study abroad for a full year or half a year during your third year. Regardless of location, you will study a range of courses on subjects relating to Islam or the Middle East.
• You will learn how to undertake your own research to the level of completing a dissertation in your final year. This is your chance to focus on a topic, period or discipline that’s of particular interest to you. Our size and scale means that we have an extensive range of honours courses for you to choose from.

Location

• You’ll 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 Islamic manuscripts.

Teaching and learning

• Our approach to learning and teaching is active, inclusive and question driven to help you gain skills for life after university.
• Across your courses, you’ll typically be taught in a combination of lectures, tutorials (including language classes) and seminars. On some courses, you will have seminars instead of lectures, especially in your honours years.
• You will also be expected to study independently and in small groups, and to read widely.

Assessment and support

• You’ll be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams. 
• Coursework may take a range of forms to give you the opportunity to practice different skills. 
• Exams will include oral exams to test your spoken language skills.
• If you go abroad, Year 3 may include being assessed, in part, by a host university.
• As well as the teaching and other staff you will meet day-to-day, there are lots of ways to get help with your learning, including through the University’s Institute for Academic Development and Edinburgh University Students' Association.

Islamic Studies ​​​​is a single honours degree. If you’d like to study on this programme, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. 

The UCAS site will show you if Islamic Studies remains open for application for 2025 entry.

Search the UCAS website for our Islamic Studies programme

If you have applied to start Islamic Studies with us in September 2025, check out our applicant website for 2025 entry.

Visit the applicant website for Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

Keen to get a head start for 2026?

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:

• the courses you will take each year
• how you will be taught and assessed
• the support we offer
• entrance requirements
• English language requirements
• fees and funding opportunities
• student societies and living in Edinburgh

Find out more about Islamic Studies on Degree Finder

Applications for 2026 entry open in September 2025.

Skills and experience

Graduating with a four-year Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh shows intellectual maturity, resilience, and flexibility.

The skills you will be able to demonstrate to employers include the ability to:

• understand, analyse and articulate complex issues and concepts
• manage your time to meet deadlines on different types of projects
• work independently and as part of a group

Additionally, this programme will give you a nuanced understanding of other cultures and societies and how they shape our world - what employers value as intercultural competence.

Learning Arabic in your first year (with the option to continue into Year 2) will also sharpen your written and oral communication skills.

Local and global opportunities

With increasing migration in response to changing global dynamics, there is demand for graduates with knowledge of Islam and the Muslim world in Scotland, the UK 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, finance, commerce and tech
• 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, consultancy 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, we typically offer both taught and research-led masters programmes in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.

Any of our masters degrees, whether research-based or taught, is a good foundation for a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification.

Find out more about LLC alumni and futures