该途径的目标是使人们对穆斯林社会文明的历史，文学，哲学，宗教思想和法律制度的基本要素有基本的了解。由于哈佛的伊斯兰教和穆斯林社会研究是跨学科的，因此，“穆斯林社会的历史和文化”（伊斯兰研究）课程旨在让学生灵活地选择该领域，这是通过结合以下学科之一来完成的。哈佛课程目前提供的观点包括：宗教研究，人类学，历史，艺术和建筑史，性别研究，比较文学和语言以及法律。
The goal of this pathway is to provide a basic exposure to fundamental elements of the histories, literatures, philosophy, religious thought, and legal institutions of the civilizations of Muslim societies. As the study of Islam and Muslim societies at Harvard is an interdisciplinary endeavor, the program in Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies (Islamic Studies) is structured to allow students flexibility in their approach to the field, this is done by incorporating one of the disciplinary perspectives currently available in the Harvard curriculum: Study of Religion, Anthropology, History, History of Art and Architecture, Gender studies, Comparative Literature and Languages, and law.