Launching the first term of the Dual Masters Program

Launching the first term of the Dual Masters Program in Islamic Studies and Muslim Cultures

MEI is thrilled to welcome our first cohort of Dual Degree students to campus this month. The students will study for the first year of their program with us in New York, and then spend part two at Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations in London, and receive MA degrees from both institutions.

The students will begin their first term by diving into an array of classes at Columbia, notably including our required seminar, “Foundation to Islamic Studies and Muslim Societies,” taught by Professor Kathryn Spellman Poots. Featuring weekly visits by faculty from across the university this interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the key concepts, theories and debates in the field of Islamic studies.

The wide variety of courses on offer at Columbia will enable students to define a program of study as broadly or narrowly as they like. Throughout the program students will benefit from a cutting-edge scholarly community of over one hundred specialized faculty members and language instructors who provide trans-disciplinary and critical approaches to the study of the religious and intellectual traditions of Islam and the diverse regional histories, cultures, and social formations of Muslim societies around the world.

The first cohort in this program is a select group of students chosen for their impressive academic and professional credentials. Their varied research interests range from historical trade relations between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, to the disconnect between the hegemonic cultural imaginary of the state in the Gulf and the reality of life for youth on the ground, to exploring how Muslim Americans women deploy the Islamic tradition to respond to life under a surveillance state.

Warm welcome to the new dual degree students!