IAIS building exterior

A very warm welcome to The Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (or IAIS for short) here at the University of Exeter and alf mabruk – congratulations - on gaining a place to study here! You are joining a friendly and lively interdisciplinary centre and we look forward to getting to know you and welcoming you into our community. 

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. We offer Arabic and Middle Eastern languages as well as comprehensive education in the literatures and cultures of the Arab worlds and Middle East, the history, politics, economies, sociology, and anthropology of the region and almost every aspect of Islamic studies from medieval to modern Islam. A number of dedicated research centres and links with other subject areas provide you with an opportunity to branch out into other disciplines and areas of study, as well as reinforcing the teaching you receive through cutting-edge research and engagement with current issues. 

The Institute offers multiple programs, from BA Middle East Studies to BA Arabic and Politics. We also incorporate students from both Flexible Combined Honours (FCH) and Liberal Arts. Modules which you may choose in your first year range from Elementary Persian all the way to Religious Minorities of the Middle East or The Politics of Development. 

As a relatively small and close-knit community, you will soon get to know us, especially those staff who will be teaching you. In the meantime, you can find out a bit more about us and our specialisms through our staff profiles. 

Key contacts 

You will each be assigned a personal tutor whom you will meet as part of your academic induction in Welcome Week. This person will be your first port of call for any questions you might have. Other key contacts include: 

Expectations for attendance and engagement 

We expect you to attend all your timetabled classes. If you are unable to attend a class because you are ill, you should report your absence via the iExeter absence reporting tool. You should also email your lecturer directly to let them know that you will not be able to attend, and to find out what work you will need to do to make up for your absence. If you have a longer illness and are absent for more than 7 days in a row, you will need to get a doctor’s certificate and lodge this with the IAIS Hub at IAIS-Office@exeter.ac.uk. 

Our Institute 

Our unique Institute can trace its history back to 1971, with the appointment of the first Arabic language teacher, in the University’s Department of Theology. During the next few years, further staff appointments were made until, in 1979, a new Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies was founded, independent from Theology. In that same year, a Centre for Gulf Studies was also established. 

Our IAIS building was opened in 2001 as the result of an endowment from a former Ph.D. student—the ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi. In fact, Exeter’s connections with the Arab and Islamic world’s run deep: the University’s ‘new’ library building was built in 1983 with funding from Dubai, while Shaikh Sultan was also a major benefactor in the construction of the University’s Forum, completed in 2013. 

From five members of academic staff in the early days of the Department, today’s Institute now boasts a grand total of 45, including permanent staff, emeritus professors and research fellows. We also have a large number of postgraduate students, including a large cohort of PhD researchers from all over the world. We hope you will meet them and each other at the social events we host in our remarkable building with its wonderful views. Everyone in our community is invited to our many workshops, conferences and exhibitions and we hope that like students in previous years, you will get involved and join us in organising new events. 

What can I do to prepare for my degree? 

We do not expect you to complete any preparatory work before you get here, but if you are keen to acclimatise yourself to your course and do a little reading before term starts, we suggest Albert Hourani’s A History of the Arab Peoples, which gives a great overview. Also, the usual English-language agencies – BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, for example – plus the web-based ones, such as Middle East Report and Information Project (MERIP) and Jadaliyya, will feature lots of Middle East-related stories from different perspectives. Do not hesitate to go outside the social media and explore what the print, broadcast and online media are saying, and think about who is saying what (and why they might be saying it). This is good preparation for the critical thinking and awareness of your sources you will be doing at university. Our IAIS social media accounts will give you further material linked to subjects of interest, from politics to art and architecture. 

Once you have activated your Exeter IT account, you’ll be able to access the Arabic Independent Learning Resource Hub on ELE.

Our community 

You will have a student representative for the Institute of Arab and Islamic studies who you will meet in Welcome Week. You can contact them if you would like to provide feedback on any aspect of your teaching, learning or wider student experience. 

We would also encourage you to look out for the Arabic and Middle Eastern Society advertising their events in Welcome Week and throughout the year. They are a friendly subject society who run social events and other activities including hosting world-class speakers, Lebanese wine tastings and balls and topical panel discussions with academics. In addition to all of that, they also help Arabic students to prepare for their year abroad in the Middle East by bringing different year groups together and encouraging older year groups to advise their peers. 

Be sure to also follow our events page to see the latest events happening within the Institute. Or follow us on Instagram, X (Twitter)and Facebook. You will find many of the biggest questions of our time discussed on our YouTube channel. 


Last modified: Thursday, 5 September 2024, 9:06 AM