- Quran and Hadith Studies (on-campus)
PhD program in “Quran and Hadiths Studies” is a comprehensive, specialized, educational package in line with the regulations and decisions made by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology of Iran. The studies related to the Quran and hadiths (narrations) are analyzed and examined in terms of exegesis, history, content, biographical evaluation, etc. The noble Quran and hadiths are considered as the origin of various Islamic studies, i.e. the main source for understanding religious teachings.
The study and analysis of these resources have been regarded as the most important religious studies. Among the subjects which have always been taken into consideration by Muslim scholars are the exegesis of Quran, collection and validation of hadiths, the history of the Noble Quran and hadiths, etc. These studies age as long as the age of Islam. The current program of “Quran and hadiths studies” is based on historical and scholarly studies and examines the content and form of the field of Quran and Hadith. Topics such as the exegesis of Quran, methods of understanding Quran, history of Quran and hadiths, methods of analyzing hadith transmitters, etc. are also studied.
PhD graduates of this program will be able to instruct as university professors, enter cultural activities, and do research in the related organizations. Other graduates of the field may choose to work in executive-cultural activities such as Quranic and religious management. Moreover, they will be able to start teaching, doing research, or preaching and spreading the word. Other job opportunities available for the graduates of this program are as follows: instructing, teaching as high school teachers, obtaining a license for educational institutes such as schools, daycares, or cultural-religious centers, etc., being employed as researchers in research institutes or as researcher-authors in non-research institutes, being employed in governmental, cultural, and religious centers, preaching and giving lectures, propagating Islam, etc.
Holding a Master’s degree or an equivalent is sufficient for enrollment in this program. The previous degree of the applicants must be verified by the consulate of Iran in the issuing country. Also, matching the applicants’ previous field of study with the current program is not necessary. Upon establishing the applicants’ scholarly competency and the committee’s agreement, the applicants are eligible to study in this program regardless of their previous field of study. However, those applicants without a matching academic background are expected to prove their competency to the faculty members. Previous publications including books, research papers, and journal articles can positively influence the committee’s judgment.
The PhD program of “Quran and hadith studies” takes 4 years, which equals 8 academic semesters. The semesters are scheduled as follows: 4 semesters dedicated to the coursework, 1 semester dedicated to the comprehensive examination, and the last 3 semesters are dedicated to witting the thesis. The students should pass the prerequisites during the first semester. During the following semesters, they will take the core and elective courses.
The PhD program of “Quran and hadith Studies” includes 50 units: 30 units of core courses and 20 units for the thesis. The following are some of the core courses taught in this program: “biographical evaluation”, “history of Quranic recitations”, “hadith studies”, “review of and research on the exegesis methodologies”, “iʿjaz (miracle) of Quran”, “review and analysis of forged hadith”, “thematic exegesis”, “early and late Shiite hadith collections”, and “early and late Sunni hadith collections”.