The Islam-UK Centre and MA programme adopt\nan interdisciplinary and sociological approach towards the study of Islam. Academic\nstaff, MA students, and PhD students study Islam at the intersections of\nreligious studies, media studies, British history, education, and more. The Centre\u2019s interdisciplinary ethos encourages\nMA students to pursue a wide range of research interests. Prior to beginning the\nMA programme, I studied women\u2019s, gender, and sexuality studies as an\nundergraduate, and my research interests focused on Muslim women\u2019s activism, feminist\napproaches towards Islam, and Islam\u2019s role as a Black protest religion. At the\nCentre, I was encouraged to continue to pursue these interests through summative\nassessments, as a part of the Centre\u2019s reading group, and in my dissertation\nresearch on Muslim women\u2019s participation in a Welsh feminist organization. The\ninterdisciplinary instruction I received as an MA student enabled me to\narticulate the importance of my research interest to the study of Islam in the\nUS and UK in PhD applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strong\nNetwork of Advisors <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Centre staff are incredibly supportive and make themselves available to prospective applicants, students, and alumni. As I was making the decision to apply to the MA programme and still in the US, Prof. Sophie Gilliat-Ray and Dr. Mansur Ali spoke with me on multiple occasions and wrote me an endorsement letter for the Fulbright grant. While in the programme, my dissertation advisor Dr. Michael Munnik helped me develop a dissertation topic, refine my research interests, polish my writing, and offered encouragement throughout the entire process. In addition, Dr. Saira Malik also frequently sent me articles on the study of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Muslim communities to ensure I stayed abreast of research in the field. After I graduated and began applying to PhD programmes, my supervisor and Centre staff not only wrote me recommendation letters but helped guide me through the application process and what to consider when deciding on a doctoral programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nLearning Goes Beyond the Classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the Islam-UK Centre, students are encouraged and given the opportunity to be active members of Cardiff\u2019s vibrant learning community. As a new student, instructors connected me with university students and volunteer opportunities in Cardiff. Centre lectures and events exposed me to cutting-edge research on Islam in the UK and served as an opportunity to engage with visiting scholars and PhD students. The Centre\u2019s reading group also provided an opportunity to discuss my research interests in Black Muslim communities amongst peers, academic staff, and community members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing\nExperience and the Opportunity to Conduct Research <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The MA programme\u2019s emphasis on developing\nstudents\u2019 academic writing skills and voice through the dissertation module and\nsummative assessments prepared me for submitting a strong writing sample and\nstatement of purpose for PhD applications. The writing sample and statement of\npurpose are the most important part of the application process. I felt\nconfident about submitting papers I worked on as an MA student as writing\nsamples, in large part because of the detailed feedback I received from\ninstructors. In addition, the opportunity to conduct qualitative research as a\npart of the dissertation module allowed me to point to actual research I hope to\ncontribute to the field in my statement of purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are just a few of the ways the MA\nIslam in Contemporary Britain prepared me to apply for doctoral programmes here\nin the United States. After completing the programme almost two years ago, I am\nstill making connections between what I learned in modules and from instructors\nto my current work and the contributions I hope to make to the study of Islam\nin the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.cardiff.ac.uk\/islamukcentre\/files\/2020\/05\/Graduation-1024x614.jpg\")