Islamic and West Asian Studies MA

The course

The political map of West Asia, home to more than 60 per cent of the world’s oil and gas wealth, is in flux. The on-going process of forming fundamentalist ideologies in the region, new waves of political Islamic revival, and the re-emergence of sectarian struggles in the region have heightened concerns about religio-political dynamics which are still not fully understood by scholars and policymakers. Moreover, the growing number of organised Islamic groups in the region, representing diverse political goals, are generating tensions that threaten to move beyond the borders of the Middle East.

The MA in Islamic and West Asian Studies is designed for students interested in the Islamic and West Asian world, as well as those wishing to pursue either a career in international affairs or further research on Muslim and West Asian communities.

The programme is taught by scholars affiliated with Royal Holloway’s Centre for Islamic and West Asian Studies (CIWAS), an inter-disciplinary centre whose mission is to promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge among scholars from East and West. You will have the opportunity to engage critically with the history and politics of West Asian societies and Muslim communities, and have access to a wide range of regional resources which CIWAS has recently acquired.

Teaching & assessment

Teaching and learning is delivered primarily by means of seminar discussions, informal lectures, oral presentations, guided independent research, and guided independent study.

Assessment takes the form of various formative and summative assignments, including, in the case of some modules, an unseen written exam.

The final assignment is a dissertation on a topic developed in consultation with an assigned supervisor. It is expected that the dissertation will be researched and written primarily in the summer months, although supervision and dissertation training will begin during the academic year.

Your future career

Graduates of political degrees have much to offer potential employers having developed a range of transferable skills, both practical and theoretical, whilst studying with us.

The methodological nature of a politics degree provides graduates with valuable analytical and research skills in preparation for careers in government, political consultancy, NGOs and research organisations.

In recent years, departmental graduates have secured jobs in a wide range of professions, such as the law, the civil service, accountancy, management, journalism, broadcasting, teaching, international development and diplomacy. In fact, six-months after graduation, 90% of our most recent graduates are enhancing their skills with further study or forging careers in companies and institutions such as:

• Amnesty International
• Bloomberg
• The Church of England
• Citigroup
• The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.