Comparative Islamic Studies
The BA in
Program Overview
The Honors Program offered by Usul Academy is a four-year academic program comprised of two years Foundations, and two years Core Studies. Students who are not proficient in Arabic are required to complete a one-year Academic Arabic preparatory program before being admitted to Foundations. The program is designed to introduce students already enrolled in secular universities to the time-honored scholarly traditions of Islamic Civilization as well as comparative Social Sciences. We believe that the challenges of the modern world can be analyzed and answered only by knowing both the traditional scholarly heritage of Islamic Civilization in critical dialogue with modern scientific knowledge. By equipping students with this multiplex curriculum, the program aims to educate future scholars who can tackle contemporary problems facing humanity from an authentic Islamic perspective.
Program Structure
The annual program consists of three, 11-week terms, plus a 3-week retreat in Istanbul during the summer. The weekly schedule consists of 9 hours of online classes: 5 hours pre-recorded and 4 hours live on Saturdays. Students can watch pre-recorded classes on their own time Monday through Friday, and are required to attend live classes on Saturdays. These online classes will be complemented with a face-to-face 3-week long Summer Suhbah retreat in Istanbul for in-class education, forming ṣuḥbah (fellowship), meeting with our distinguished scholars, as well as visits to historically and culturally important sites throughout Turkey.
For more details about individual courses and the selections of texts taught, please visit our Course Directory.
Components of the Program
I. Classical Islamic Studies
Classical Islamic Studies courses comprise both what is traditionally called Auxiliary Disciplines (disciplines that are instrumental in understanding and interpreting classical texts) such as grammar (ṣarf and naḥw), logic (manṭiq), rhetoric (balāghah); and the core Islamic Disciplines such as fiqh, uṣūl al-fiqh, tafsīr (exegesis), kalām (theology), and uṣūl al-ḥadīth (principles of hadith). The courses on Classical Islamic Studies will follow the curriculum and methods of traditional education in Islamic Civilization, specifically the Ottoman madrasah system, which consists of reading a classical text from each discipline under the supervision of an instructor.
II. Comparative Social Sciences
Comparative Social Sciences courses comprise a number of courses in the humanities and social sciences that critically engage with and comparatively analyze modern and postmodern narratives. The courses aim at providing the student with the conceptual tools and perspectives of traditional Islamic Civilization combined with critical perspectives in the humanities and social sciences in order to engage with the contemporary challenges of the modern world. The courses will include Islamic Civilization, The Birth of the Modern World, Comparative Theories and Methods, Comparative Psychology, Comparative Economics, Bio-Ethics, and Self, Society, and Politics.
III. Spiritual Development
Spiritual Development is the third component of the program. In accordance with the scholarly tradition in Islamic Civilization, which aims at producing individuals not only with knowledge but also with exemplary ethical behavior, the Honors Program offers classes on ethics, moral character, and spiritual purification through the classical texts and a sense of fellowship (ṣuḥbah) amongst the cohort. This will be a particular focus of the Summer Suhba Retreats.
IV. Academic Arabic
For students who are not proficient in Arabic, the Comparative Islamic Studies BA at Usul Academy starts with a rigorous one-year preparatory Academic Arabic program. The student is trained to develop a capacity for engaging with classical and contemporary Arabic texts, including reading, writing, and oral communication. By the end of the year, the students reach an advanced level according to the ACTFL standards. Students who have Arabic competency can take the Arabic proficiency exam at Usul Academy and be exempt from the preparatory year.
V. Summer Suhbah
Usul Academy’s Summer Suhbah is the culmination of 10 months of online learning, when our students and teachers finally meet face to face, where friendships kindle and ‘ilm can flourish, all while being immersed in the aesthetic beauty of Istanbul. The Summer Suhbah is mandatory for first- and fourth-year students of the BA program. The face-to-face component is a crucial element of our curriculum based on the holistic pedagogies of ta’lim and tazkiyah. It is where our students can build a special bond with each other and ‘ilm can come to its full fruition. Students attend classes daily in the morning, while the afternoons are reserved for tours, culturally immersive experiences, and talks with esteemed scholars.
Curriculum
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Usul Academy is not accredited by any external organization. Usul Academy is self-accredited according to the time-honored tradition of the ijazah system of traditional Ottoman Madrasahs.