The MPhil in Islamic Studies and History is a two-year course intended primarily for students who are interested in acquiring an intensive introduction to Islamic history and thought in the pre-modern period. The course focuses on the political, social, and intellectual history of the central Islamic lands (Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Central Asia and Anatolia) up until c. 1800, and differs from analogous MPhil courses at other universities in the significance it places on language instruction in classical Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and the study of primary sources.