Islamic Art and Architecture MPhil

University of Oxford

MSt

The MSt in Islamic Art and Architecture is a one-year degree that aims to provide tailor-made courses in order to train you for research on the history of Islamic art and architecture (to circa 1900).

Before admission to this course, you will have demonstrated that you possess the necessary qualifications in Arabic or Persian or Ottoman Turkish to use primary sources in the original language for the study of Islamic art.

You will be expected to attend tutorials, classes, lectures and seminars regularly, and tutors will give you regular assignments of written work. The structure of the course is flexible and will be tailored to the profile and interests of each student. Possible offerings include taught courses (eg, a historical survey of Islamic art and architecture), object-based study, language classes, and specially designed essay-based options.

MPhil

The MPhil in Islamic Art and Architecture is a two-year course combining comprehensive training in the history of Islamic art and architecture, research, and language instruction. The course is designed for students with little or no background in Islamic art and architecture who also wish to learn Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or another relevant language.

The MPhil in Islamic Art and Architecture is suitable either as a stand-alone course or as a stepping stone to doctoral research.

You will have a supervisor at the Khalili Research Centre, who will guide your progress through the course and who will agree with you a programme of work and a timetable for each term of the course, including: general skills and research specific training, formal teaching and instruction, attendance at lectures and seminars, and regular meetings (normally at least twice per term) with the supervisor for detailed discussion on your progress. You will be expected to attend tutorials, classes, lectures and seminars regularly, and your tutors and language instructors will give you regular assignments of written work.

In the first year, you will take a broad survey course over three terms entitled History of Islamic Art and Architecture. During the second year, you will attend eight practical classes (known as the ‘Portfolio’). Using the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, Bodleian Library, and other Oxford resources, this course introduces techniques to describe and analyse buildings and objects in a range of media (such as manuscripts, ceramics, metalwork, and coinage). You will also build up your independent research and critical skills by writing a dissertation while continuing to receive intensive language training.