The instruments of learning
Arabic language and textual reading; Qur’an and Hadith; grammar, logic and rhetoric; number, proportion and the quadrivium; close reading, writing and discussion.
Proposed programme · Subject to validation
BA (Hons) Islamic Studies
& Liberal Arts.
CAIS is developing a proposed three-year undergraduate degree that brings Arabic, the Islamic sciences and the liberal arts into one coherent course of study.
Coming soon
This programme is not yet open for applications and will be offered only once validation by a UK degree-awarding body has been secured.
The proposed degree
One education.
Two intellectual traditions.
The proposed BA is designed for students who want a substantial grounding in Arabic and the Islamic sciences, together with the intellectual instruments needed to enter the great questions of philosophy, history, politics, literature and the natural order.
Its aim is not to set one tradition beside another, but to form students capable of reading both with depth, judgement and a clear sense of their own inheritance.
Proposed structure
Three years of
ordered study.
The final curriculum, credit structure, award title and assessment regulations will be agreed with the validating university. This outline shows the direction of travel.
Texts, traditions & commentaries
Fiqh, Aqeedah and Islamic thought; intellectual history; Great Books from the Islamic and European traditions; commentary, interpretation and the development of argument.
Integration, enquiry & vocation
Advanced seminars in philosophy, society and civilisation; research methods; a substantial dissertation or capstone project; and the application of learning to contemporary questions.
For Diploma students
Your Diploma could become
the beginning of a BA.
The current Diploma in Islamic Studies has been designed with this proposed pathway in mind. Once validation is secured, eligible Diploma students may be able to apply for recognition of completed study and progress into the final stage of the BA.
This is subject to validation approval, the requirements of the validating university and the academic standard achieved by each student. CAIS will publish the full progression, credit-recognition and fee arrangements before any such route opens.
Explore the Diploma ↗How students will learn
Texts, teachers
and serious conversation.
The proposed degree is built around primary texts and the commentary tradition. Lectures model disciplined reasoning; seminars make room for questioning, debate and the slow work of interpretation. Students learn to read in context, write with precision and make responsible judgements.
Arabic and the Islamic sciences are not treated as a specialism detached from the rest of learning. They give the degree its centre of gravity.
Stay close to the development
A degree in the making.
A college taking shape.
For questions about the proposed BA pathway or how the Diploma may lead into future degree study, contact CAIS.
Contact CAIS ↗