Hawzah News Agency – Cambridge Muslim College: After close to a decade of delivering higher education degrees in Islamic Studies with the help of our donors and supporters, we are excited to offer this new Online Diploma in Islamic Psychology. The Diploma in Islamic Psychology is a nine-month online programme designed to provide students with theoretical and practical perspectives of psychology and the Islamic sciences. The diploma is unique in that it reorients traditional academic assumptions and understandings of human psychology towards a Qur’anic paradigmatic approach which defines human nature and psychology from the foundations of the Islamic tradition.

Applications are now open for the Islamic Psychology Diploma Programme.

Accepting applications from 1 March – 12 April 2022

PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

The learning outcomes for students completing the programme are as follows:

1. Articulate classical Islamic philosophical, theological, medicinal, and psycho-somatic paradigms of human psychology.

2. Identify major psychological theories from the 19th century and the development of modern psychology from both secular and spiritual perspectives.

3. Engage critically with modern psychology from an Islamic perspective and developments in Islamic psychology in the 20th century.

4. Analyse Islamic and secular models of the self and identify what is distinct about Islamic perspectives of lifespan development, personality and therapeutic approaches.

5. Differentiate traditional Islamic legal, ethical and historical instantiations and realities of cultural and communal psychologies in contemporary contexts.

6. Evaluate innovative approaches to integrating contemporary psychology and classical Islamic psychology in modern contexts.

7. Discern the dynamics of counselling skills within a spiritual orientation informed by the Prophetic model and Islamic ethics.

8. Formulate the development of self-examination practices informed by the Islamic contemplative tradition oriented toward one’s own self-transformation.

TEACHING METHODS

The programme is designed to be a transformational learning journey for students. Instructors use a learner focused orientation to teaching and provide opportunities for inquiry-based and experiential learning using synchronous online teaching, seminars, and case study sessions.

Students will also observe and monitor their own intellectual, psychological, relational, and spiritual development throughout the programme using a variety of individual and group activities.

This intentional design is meant to develop a rich and engaging cohort of students who interact as a group of learners and seekers, reflecting to one another the principles, practices and skills that they learn throughout the course of study. Thus, the cohort class size will be restricted to 25 students.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

    The programme will be delivered over three terms, each 11 weeks in length.

    Six hours contact time in class per week.

    Students should expect to spend nine additional study hours per week.

    Live online lectures take place Mondays, Tuesdays, & Thursdays from 1-3pm UK time.

ASSESSMENT

Students will be assessed using different methods aligned with module objectives. This may include, but not limited to class discussions, essays, critical dialogue, presentations, group projects, journaling progress or written examinations. Students are not permitted to miss more than three live sessions per module. In lieu of missed classes, students must watch recordings of the missed lecture.

Is the Islamic Psychology Diploma right for you?

The Diploma in Islamic Psychology is designed for practitioners looking to deepen their understanding of classical Islamic psychology and engage with contemporary theory and practice. Diploma candidates may be professionals in the fields of therapeutic practice or Muslim pastoral care. The programme is for those wishing to gain grounding in an Islamic theoretical orientation to psychology and psychotherapy.

Students who wish to further their studies after the Diploma and pursue certification as a practitioner, will be eligible to do so via the International Association of Islamic Psychology’s clinical training programme, scheduled for Summer 2023 in Cambridge, UK.

Please Note: The Diploma is not a substitution for a formal qualification in psychology or Islamic Studies.