About IAIS

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies is one of the foremost academic institutions in the UK offering research and taught degree programmes in a wide range of areas within the field of Arab, Middle Eastern, and Islamic Studies. The Institute offers Arabic, Persian and Kurdish language studies as well as the literatures and cultures of the Arab world and Middle East, the history, politics, economies, societies, and anthropology of the region and almost every aspect of Islamic studies from medieval to modern Islam. A number of dedicated Centres and links with other subject areas provide students with an opportunity to branch out into other disciplines and subjects of study.

Research

• The latest Research Assessment Exercise in 2008 rated IAIS research activity as 80 per cent internationally recognised and 15 per cent as world leading.
• Research Centres focus on sub-regional specialist areas of interest

Teaching

• The Institute attracts academic staff from around the world
• Postgraduate students have a choice of a number of degrees at MA, MPhil or PhD level.
• All undergraduate students spend one year abroad at a language centre in an Arab country
• All students have the opportunity to learn Arabic, Persian or Kurdish

Facilities

• The Institute has its own dedicated building, completed in 2001 to a distinctive architectural style evocative of the region studied.
• The building includes a postgraduate study centre, a state-of-the-art language laboratory and computing facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• The building also contains the Arab World Documentation Unit with its unique collection encompassing the Arab world and the wider Middle East.