The IIS Welcomes GPISH Class of 2011-December 2008

The IIS Welcomes GPISH Class of 2011
December 2008

The IIS welcomed 15 new students this year onto its Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) in September 2008. The students of the class of 2011 originate from Canada, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, USA and the United Kingdom and have diverse academic backgrounds, ranging from psychology, philosophy, and religious education to marketing, languages and political sciences.



The GPISH course attracts a large number of applications every year from many talented individuals globally. It is designed to train individuals to play a leading role in academic and community life. As such, it acts both as a preparatory ground for a research degree and a stepping stone to a variety of career opportunities; past graduates have carved up careers in sectors such as the media, academia, education and development, to name a few.

For the duration of the first two years of their study at the IIS, the students will engage themselves in a variety of courses in the fields of Art, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History and the Social Sciences. Some of the modules that they will be studying during this period include:

Encountering Islam;
Introduction to Islamic History;
History of the Ismailis;
Anthropology of Muslim Societies;
Literature and Culture.
Learning Arabic is required for all GPISH students throughout the first two years of the programme. At the end of the first year, students will have the opportunity to travel to Syria for an Arabic immersion programme, giving them an opportunity to practice their language skills. Those who are already proficient in Arabic are given the option to study Persian and have their language immersion in Tehran.

The field project is also an integral part of the Graduate Programme and is primarily designed to encourage students to formulate and conduct a research project which can serve as a basis for continued postgraduate study or future career development. This is undertaken during the summer, at the end of the second year.

Students spend their third-year studying for a Master’s degree in subject areas resonating with the aims of the Graduate Programme. Past graduates have earned Master’s degrees in various fields from universities such as the London School of Economics (LSE), Oxford, Cambridge, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and the Institute of Education-University of London.

Further information, regarding the programme can be obtained from the “Graduate Studies” section of this website.