PhD – Entry Requirements | Faculty of Islamic Studies

Doctor of Philosophy

Candidates who wish to apply for the Doctor of Philosophy program by research must have one of the following qualifications:

A Master’s Degree from UKM or any institution of Higher learning recognized by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and/or having accreditation recognized by an overseas Accreditation Body, or an institution having accreditation as prescribed by a program; or
other qualifications equivalent to a Master’s Degree or having other qualifications with experience recognized by the Senate; or
Faculty students who is currently attending a full time Master’s program (fully research) and get an approval from the Program Evaluation Committee of the Faculty to convert his status to a Doctorate programme with the approval of Dean of the Faculty; or
Bachelor’s Degree with excellent results from the University or any higher learning institution recognised by the Senate; or
other qualifications recognised by the Senate and through Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL); or
meet the requirements of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA); or
Candidates WITHOUT qualifications or work experience in the field of Islamic Studies, but interested in conducting cross-disciplinary studies with the field of Islamic Studies, must take appropriate prerequisite courses and meet the minimum requirements set by the Program; and
fulfils other requirements prescribed by the programme (if applicable); and
Fulfils Language Requirements.

Malay Language (International students are required to take a Malay language Course (3 credits) as prescribed by the University. Exemption may be granted to candidates who had attended a Malay language course by an institution recognized by the University Senate.
English language- An international candidate must meet the English Language competency requirements by obtaining the minimum score or band results which is TOEFL iBT (30-34) or TOEFL pBT (396-416) or IELTS (4.0) or MUET Level 2.0 (Band 2.0). The score results must be submitted in your application.
- Candidates who do not meet the competency requirements can be given a Conditional Offer, which is students are allowed to attend an internal English Preparatory Course at UKM with a maximum time limit of two (2) years and sit for related exams to meet the English competency requirements.
- Faculty may grant exemption to the English language competency requirement if;
  1. international students from countries where English is the official language; or
  2. international students using academic qualifications from institutions that use English as the medium of instruction.