Job Discussion Forums

[Sigmuu]

Greetings:
I am now living and teaching in Saudi Arabic. I have 3 Bachelors (Arts, Education, and Special Education), Masters (Master of Linguistics (TESOL)) and a CELTA. However, I feel it is time to do another Masters for professional and personal reasons. Essentially, I have a life-long interest in Arabic and Islam and now I would like to study both more seriously, again for professional and personal reasons. Can anyone recommend the best university to do a Masters in Arabic and/ or Islamic Studies via Distance Education or, in my particular circumstances, would you recommend a doctorate program? Any suggestions on this are greatly appreciated. Please note that I also feel that this would be the best combination, Arabic + Islamic Studies but I am always open to suggestions on this.
Doing any program, either Masters or Doctorate, via Distance Education would be the best option for me but if I had to do some courses in the classroom in the summer that definitely wouldn’t be a problem. I have always enjoyed working holidays in the summer so a program with a summer school component would be a plus (also, actual classroom attendance for many people, employers or otherwise, makes a distance education degree sometimes seem more valid.)
If anyone has suggestions on any of the above, please post a reply or contact me at [email protected]

[Noor]

Oddly enough, I was thinking along the lines as Sigmuu, though I don't claim to have his life-long passion. It does, however, appear that I'll be in Saudi soon and I know that I'll be reading about Islam and Saudi and Arab culture. So long as I'm doing that, I thought I may as well turn the effort into a degree.

I don't speak Arabic, I am a non-Muslim, and I expect to complete the degree in English. I suppose most programs at Saudi universities are conducted in Arabic, but if someone knows of one that is not I would be happy to hear from you.

Two distance programs that I have found in my searches are:

Centre for Islamic Studies
Department of Theology, Religious Studies & Islamic Studies, University of Wales, Lampeter
www.lamp.ac.uk/cis/CIS_MA_04.htm

Open Study Islamic College
www.openstudy.org/?p=index.html


I have also been referred to two other programs, one offering an Associate degree through WISE (World Islamic Sciences & Education) University, Jordan.

Zaytuna
www.zaytuna.org/distancelearning.asp

Sunni Path
http://www.sunnipath.com/Degree/


I would be happy to hear about any reputable degree programs (located anywhere in the world) offered through distance learning.

Thank you.

[007]

Well, they say that learning a second language is good for your brain.

I recommend to learn Arabic with one of the Yemeni schools, the Yemeni dialect is the closest one to the Classical Arabic.
Try CALES, the Centre of Arabic Studies and Eastern Studies, University of Science and Technology, Yemen. They are offering online Arabic courses. Their web site is:
http://www.calesyemen.com/all_sections.aspx?pageid=12

Also you may try the Arabic Academy in Cairo, they offer an online Arabic course as well:
http://www.arabacademy.com/