从伊斯兰教到现在，伊斯兰研究集中的学生在很宽的历史时期内工作，在各种文化地区，尤其是中东，南亚和北美，都有这样的经历。该学院鼓励对伊斯兰的不同形态和背景以及对穆斯林的历史，社会和文化多样性的研究，以及对伊斯兰与其他宗教和非穆斯林人民的互动的调查。希望学生熟悉该领域中使用的各种方法，包括语言文字研究，社会和政治历史，比较研究，性别研究和民族志田野调查。
Students in the Islamic Studies concentration work on a wide range of historical periods from the advent of Islam to the present in a variety of cultural regions, especially the Middle East, South Asia, and North America. The study of Islam in its different formations and settings and of Muslims in their historical, social, and cultural diversity is encouraged by the faculty, together with inquiry into Islam's interactions with other religions and non-Muslim peoples. Students are expected to become familiar with various approaches used in the field, including philological textual studies, social and political history, comparative research, gender studies, and ethnographic fieldwork. The doctoral program in Islamic studies at UCSB expects students to develop expertise in the following areas:<br><br>The foundational texts of Islam (Quran, hadith) and the major genres of Islamic literature (such as, tafsir, fiqh, kalam, falsafa, Sufi text, balagha).<br>Islam's formations in historical, social, political, and cultural contexts, including modern ones.<br>The theoretical and methodological tools needed to conduct original, independent research in an area of specialty within the fields of Islamic studies.