PhD in Islamic History

[Gypsy_Heart]

Hi,
 

I've been looking for some PhD students in Islamic history and found this blog. I'm interested in pursuing a PhD in Islamic history, and I'm looking for some guidance.

I'm a recent graduate from Columbia University's MFA program in Creative Writing. I completed my undergraduate, with a 3.7 GPA, from Michigan State University in English and a minor in Philosophy. 

 

The History professor that I met at Columbia told me that I need at least 4 years of Arabic, including ancient Arabic and Persian to get into an Islamic studies doctorate program. It seems pretty steep considering that it's a 6 year program with ample time to perfect my Arabic skills. I'm fluent in Urdu, and have been learning Arabic. I can read and write Arabic, and can speak it at an elementary level.
 

And secondly, I've been told that I must include in my application a focused dissertation topic. I know that I'm interested in early Islamic history, and have been reading books about that period, but still, my curiosity about that period remains broad. I've been reading Sahih Bukhari lately, and I can say that I'm curious about the contradictions in it, and how they've been interpreted.

 

And I'm confused about the differences between a university's History program and Religious studies program. What's the difference? Where am I better of applying?

 

 

Regards,

Syed

[Kuriakos]

I think the chances of you being admitted to a PhD program in Islamic Studies with no previous degrees that are directly relevant are quite slim. (I understand of course that your Philosophy minor might have given you some exposure to Islamic history, but I think most adcomms would be inherently skeptical about your application.)

[sacklunch]

I too can't imagine getting into a competitive history program without fluency in Arabic. Though religious studies programs may be more relaxed on this requirement. I would suggest contacting potential advisers and just asking them.

 

My initial thought is you will likely need another masters. Not because you don't have enough Arabic, but because you don't have a degree in history, religious studies, or philosophy.

 

Then again, I could be totally wrong. There are plenty of people (I think?) who study the early Islamic period, focusing on Jewish or Christian stuff, that I doubt are at a fluent speaking level. Unless there is a lot of modern scholarship in that field in Arabic, I doubt it's necessary.

 

From my own field, I know people that study Syriac texts within the same time period and I'm fairly sure many of them do not have fluency in Arabic. 

[Body Politics]

Heyyy, I'm from Lansing. Go State!

[Safaliy0]

Hello! 

 

I was in a similar position earlier this year when I began thinking about applying for PhDs in Islamic Studies. I have an undergraduate degree in Arabic and a Masters in Anthropology but I have never taken a Religion class or a class on Islam. Don't waste your money and time applying if you won't have a chance of getting in. You will be competing against top students who have an MA and an MA thesis in the field. I have since decided to apply for several Masters programs in Religion with a focus on Islamic Studies. My interests are Shi'a history, ethics and the sermons of Ali ibn Talib. 

I applied to: Duke, Harvard MTS, UToronto, Hartford Seminary, and UChicago. 

 

First of all, you need to pin down your specific interests. Then, search for professors who match those interests. Then, email graduate students in those fields or attend a professional conference to get advice on the ins and outs of applying. 

 

Basically, Islamic Studies can be divided into 2 tracks: (1) a Near Eastern Studies department (NELC) which is more the classical, Orientalist tradition which emphasizes heavy language study, historical approaches, archaeology, etc. (2) a Religion department, which focuses more on questions of theology, doctrine, ethics, etc. They are more open to an interdisciplinary or sociological approach which is what I decided to do. 

 

You will definitely need at least 6 semesters of Arabic before applying to a PhD program, so a Masters will give you time to do that. It will also allow you to narrow down your interests to one dissertation topic that you will have to propose. It helps if your MA thesis is on the same or similar topic! 

 

Feel free to message me for more advice. 

[mdiv2014]

from my perspective, your background does not match your goals 

you might consider a year at the american university of cairo for arabic immersion (they have an established and recognized course for this used by us state dept)

with your background you could even take a year to teach english in the middle east

[alizeh55]

 

[AyoYellow]

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