Undergraduates
One of the defining characteristics of Islamic Studies at Duke is our commitment to undergraduate education. This commitment is reflected in the scope of our academic and extracurricular programming, which includes an Undergraduate Certificate in Islamic Studies, a “Muslim Cultures” Focus cluster that is offered regularly in spring semesters, Study Abroad and internship options, lectures, film screenings, and informal student-organized seminars.
Islamic Studies students looking for study abroad experiences may be especially interested in the new Duke in Istanbul program, a new spring semester study abroad program. Duke also offers a summer Duke in Turkey study abroad program. In 2008, the Study Abroad office and DukeEngage are launching a joint program built on the summer Duke in Turkey program. At the conclusion of their Duke in Turkey study abroad program, DukeEngage students will participate as volunteers in the “Ben Büyüyünce” (When I Grow Up) project at the Eyup Orphanage in Istanbul by serving as mentors, leading small-scale activities, outdoor exercise, etc. to children suffering from neglect and low self-esteem.
DISC works with the DukeEngage program to support students interested in immersive service learning projects in Muslim communities at home and abroad. In 2007, we offered a pilot DukeEngage program in Yemen, which you can read about in the Yemen blog created by the students. In the summer 2008, 10 students will be participating in a new DukeEngage Cairo project, where they will spend the summer at St. Andrew's Refugee Ministry teaching English literacy to teenage Somali refugees, strengthening their Arabic language skills at Al Diwan, and volunteering in other Egyptian organizations.
Our Arabic classes and instructors are among the most popular language offerings on campus. In addition to Arabic, Persian and Turkish are offered at Duke, and students can study Swahili and Urdu at UNC-Chapel Hill.