Islamic Religious Studies (M.A.)
The Master’s degree program in Islamic Theological Studies offers students the possibility to explore the religion of Islam in depth. It not only covers traditional topics such as theology and law, but also current challenges facing Muslims in today’s society.
The interdisciplinary degree program links theological, philosophical, historical and social science perspectives, leading to a broad understanding of Islam as a religion, but also as a cultural and societal phenomenon.
Fact Sheet
- Degree
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Admission
- Qualification assessment
- Duration of studies
- 4 semesters
- Teaching language
- in German and in the languages of the respective core subjects
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology
- Start of degree program
- Winter semester
- Number of students
- 1-50
Program overview
What is the degree program about?
The Master’s degree program in Islamic Theological Studies is a research-oriented, religious-philosophical and ethical-discursive Master’s degree program exploring the religious and ethical foundations and philosophy of Islam.
Contents
Theology is regarded as a systematically reflective way of giving expression to religious statements of belief and spiritual teachings. It is most definitely not the domain of one particular discipline. It interacts with philosophy, ethics, mystics and other fields of knowledge relating to religion. Students explore the creation and historical development of religious content on one hand and the current significance of religion in society on the other.
The aim of the theological degree program is to develop viable concepts for current issues such as freedom, human rights, tolerance, and religious pluralism from an internal perspective and taking an interdisciplinary point of view. The degree program focuses on the areas of ethics and the philosophy of religion and covers theoretical reflection on the essence of Islamic teachings, as well as their diversity and discursivity in a historical and contemporary context.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
The Master’s degree program in Islamic Theological Studies continues the tradition of teaching in humanities subjects at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology at FAU and therefore has close methodological and content-related ties to other related disciplines that help to establish an external perspective to all topics relating to Islam. From a methodological point of view, Islamic theology is therefore understood as an interdisciplinary discipline. Important partners are Media, Ethics and Religion and the Chair of Oriental Philology and Islamic Studies as well as the Chair of Arabic Studies and Semitic Studies, each of which also offer a Master’s degree program; all Master’s degree programs offer shared modules (e.g. Research methods and source analysis; Qur’an and modernity; Islamic ethics in the context of history and the present) and share teaching resources.
The degree program is intended to teach general academic methods from theological, historical, anthropological and philosophical disciplines. The aim is to merge the most important topics relating to the humanities and issues relating to the Islamic faith and explore them in view of religious diversity.
Unique features
Islamic Theological Studies is a new academic discipline, only offered until now at five universities in Germany. FAU is the only location in Bavaria to offer a Master’s degree program in the subject. The Master’s degree program covers research specializations that have not been offered at a Master’s level in Germany until now. Within the faculty, offering shared modules greatly benefits the Master’s degree programs in Arabic, Islamic and Semitic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and Media, Ethics and Religion.
The Master’s degree program predominantly revolves around critical reflection of Islamic beliefs, with a focus on theology, religious philosophy and an interdisciplinary approach involving related disciplines also working in the field of islam.
1st semester
- 1.1 Essential texts of Islamic research
- 1.2 History of ideas of Islamic beliefs
- 1.3 Research methods and source analysis (interdisciplinary)
Semester 2
- 2.1 Islamic beliefs from a theoretical and critical perspective
- 2.2 Islamic ethics in the context of history and the present
- 2.3 Qur’an and modernity (interdisciplinary)
Semester 3
- 3.1 Islamic religious philosphy
- 3.2 Issues of contemporary Islamic discourse
- 3.3 Orientation module (alternative: placement/internship)
Application for a Degree Program
Admission Requirements and Application
Admission
- Master: Qualification assessment
Application deadline
- Winter semester: 15.07.
- Summer semester: nicht möglich
Language skills
- German language skills for international applicants: DSH 2 (written 2 / oral 1) or equivalent
Content related master requirements
The Master’s degree program in Islamic Theological Studies is open to graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in one of the following subjects:
- One subject or two subject Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Theology at another university (subject-specific).
- Degrees in social sciences, humanities or cultural sciences provided the degree includes at least 40 ECTS credits in Islamic theological studies with a systematical, practical or text-based focus.
- Candidates must have achieved a final grade of at least 2.5 in a subject-specific or subject-related Bachelor’s degree.
- Candidates with subject-specific degrees with a total grade of between 2.51 and 3.0 may be invited to a selection interview. Arabic language proficiency of at least level B2 according to the CEFR. (Proof of Arabic courses amounting to at least 40 ECTS credits or equivalent language certificates e.g. UNIcert level II or above is required.)
