Islamic Art and Architecture (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

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.

The structure of the course is flexible and will be tailored to the profile and interests of each student.

Course structure
You will be expected to complete a thesis, whilst attending tutorials, classes, lectures and seminars as agreed with your supervisor, and completing regular assignments of written work set by your tutors. You will complete a Portfolio of Practical Work, for which you will attend sixteen hours of classes in museums, libraries and historic buildings in Oxford, introducing techniques to describe and analyse buildings and objects in a range of media (such as ceramics, epigraphy, manuscripts, metalwork, numismatics, and textiles). Depending on your research interests, you can either complete short assignments on the whole range for your Portfolio or focus on one medium.

In addition to these compulsory components, you will choose two papers relevant to your research interests in consultation with your supervisor.

MPhil
The MPhil in Islamic Art and Architecture is a taught course combining language training in Arabic, Persian or Turkish with historical study, a thesis, a portfolio of practical work, and a specialist option in year two.

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

Course structure
In the first year, you will attend language classes throughout the three terms, whilst taking a broad year-long survey course entitled History of Islamic Art and Architecture, consisting of weekly lectures and discussion sessions (two hours per week), and bi-weekly individual tutorials.

During the second year, you will build up your independent research and critical skills by writing a thesis, while continuing to receive intensive language training. You will also complete a Portfolio of Practical Work, and take a specialist option relevant to your thesis research. For your Portfolio of Practical Work, you will attend sixteen hours of classes in museums, libraries and historic buildings in Oxford, introducing techniques to describe and analyse buildings and objects in a range of media (such as ceramics, epigraphy, manuscripts, metalwork, numismatics, and textiles).

Your specialist option could either be a text-based option in the language you are studying, or a historical paper relevant to your research.