The University of Pennsylvania offers unparalleled resources for the study of Islam, both for undergraduate students as well as graduate students who wish to become scholars and teachers in the field. In addition to a core faculty with expertise in Islamic thought and history in the classical, pre-modern and modern periods, there is a large and distinguished faculty with interests in anthropology, archaeology, art history, history, law, literature, music, political science and regional studies. Penn offers regular courses in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu as well as relevant languages such as Hebrew, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit. In addition Bengali, Kurdish, Pashto, Punjabi and Uzbek are offered on a semi-regular basis. Penn maintains an active association with a number of research and educational institutes throughout the Islamic world and students are encouraged to study abroad for language training and research.

Van Pelt Library holds significantly more than 100,000 volumes directly related to the study of the Islamic world. Significant additional holdings reside at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, Fisher Fine Arts Library, and the Biddle Law Library. The university also has a number of research centers which organize lectures and events relevant to the Islamic world, in particular the African Studies Center; Center for Advanced Judaic Studies; Center for Africana Studies; Center for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality; Middle East Center; and the South Asia Center.

While this site is under development, please direct all inquiries to Professor Jamal J. Elias, Department of Religious Studies.