Islamic Online University

The Islamic Online University (IOU) is the brainchild of Dr. Bilal Philips, who envisioned a higher-learning institution that offers intensive online undergraduate and graduate programs that are completely tuition-free.

IOU’s journey began in 2007 with the launch of free online diploma courses in its open campus. In 2010, after just 3 years, the first tuition-free Bachelor of Arts (BA) program was also launched. The University now has seven colleges offering accredited online degree programs: College of Education, College of Islamic Economics, College of Banking & Finance, College of Psychology, College of Islamic Studies, College of Business Administration, College of Information Technology, and the College of Arabic Language and Linguistics. The latter of which offers offline courses in the Gambia, Somaliland and Guinea Bissau.In addition, IOU’s The Global Qur’an Memorization Center offers a unique opportunity for students across the globe to study the Qur’an online.

Mission

"Making authentic Islamic knowledge readily available to the world through the Internet solely for God's pleasure is a noble life-goal and a mission well worth sacrificing all of one's energies and means for."

Programme

Currently the Islamic Online University offers the following programs:

Program	Stream	Department
Master of Arts in Islamic Studies	Degree	Islamic Studies
Master of Arts in Islamic Studies with Concentration in Arabic	Degree	Islamic Studies
Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies	Degree	Islamic Studies
Bridge Diploma to MA in Islamic Studies	Higher Diploma	Islamic Studies
Advance Diploma in Islamic Studies	Advance Diploma	Islamic Studies
BA Islamic Studies Audit courses	Audit	Islamic Studies
Bachelor of Science in Psychology	Degree	Psychology
Associate Degree in Psychology	Associate Degree	Psychology
Certificate in Psychology	Certificate	Psychology
Advance Diploma in Psychology	Advance Diploma	Psychology
BSc Psychology Audit courses	Audit	Psychology
Bachelor in Education	Degree	Education
Associate Degree in Education	Associate Degree	Education
Certificate in Education	Certificate	Education
Advance Diploma in Education	Advance Diploma	Education
BEd Audit courses	Audit	Education
Bachelor of Science in Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance	Degree	Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance
Associate Degree in Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance	Associate Degree	Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance
Certificate in Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance	Certificate	Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance
Advance Diploma in Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance	Advance Diploma	Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance
BScIBE Audit courses	Audit	Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance
Bachelor in Business Administration	Degree	Business Administration
Associate Degree in Business Administration	Associate Degree	Business Administration
Certificate in Business Administration	Certificate	Business Administration
Advance Diploma in Business Administration	Advance Diploma	Business Administration
BBA Audit courses	Audit	Business Administration
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology	Degree	Information Technology
Associate Degree in Information Technology	Associate Degree	Information Technology
Certificate in Information Technology	Certificate	Information Technology
Advance Diploma in Information Technology	Advance Diploma	Information Technology
BScIT Audit courses	Audit	Information Technology
Intensive Arabic Program	Diploma	Arabic Language and Linguistics
Associate's Degree in Islamic Studies (DC IS)	Youth Dual Credit Program	Islamic Studies
Associate's Degree in Education (DC ED)	Youth Dual Credit Program	Education
Associate's Degree in Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance (DC IBE)	Youth Dual Credit Program	Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance
Associate's Degree in Psychology (DC PSY)	Youth Dual Credit Program	Psychology
Associate's Degree in Business Administration (DC BA)	Youth Dual Credit Program	Business Administration
Associate's Degree in Information Technology (DC IT)	Youth Dual Credit Program	Information Technology

The IOU also has the Global Qur'an Memorization Center and a free diploma section where the students get a certificate after completing each course and a diploma after completing 24 courses or more.

Minimum Requirement

There are several streams of study at the IOU.

1.         There is no prior educational qualification required for the free diploma courses here .

2.         As for the accredited degree, diploma and certificate programs in the mainstream studies, the minimum requirement is a high school diploma.

3.         The admission requirement of the graduate program of MA is mentioned here.

4.         It is also possible for students who do not have a high school diploma to join the bachelor's or even the master's program and complete the entire study without getting a degree at the end. Such students will get an IOU Advanced Diploma upon successful completion of the program. This option is available under the IOU Open Education Program.

Fees

Studying with the Islamic Online University is affordable, and manageable. We are an institute that seeks its reward from Allah, and therefore do not charge tuition fees. With just one modest registration fee per semester, the cost of an Islamic Online University MAIS program is a small fraction of the total cost of a comparable degree from a public university or other online universities.

The registration fee ranges from US $160 - US $360 per semester, with the total fee for the complete program ranging from US $640 - US $1440 * based on the standard of living in the student’s country of residence.

Click Here for comprehensive details for Semester Registration Fee and Sliding Scale Fee.

All course materials are available online free of charge.

How it Works

The IOU Way of E-Learning:

Comprised of students from around the globe, the student body will learn through watching and listening to video and audio lectures as well as reading PDF format texts with the support of well-trained tutorial assistants. Within the online study communities, students may share resources, exchange ideas, discuss weekly topics, submit assignments, and take exams.

IOU courses take place over a 5-month term. Each term has a midterm and a final exam as well as written assignments.

The learning week starts on Thursday at 00:05 am Qatar Time and ends the following Wednesday at 23:55. Weekly study units will be released at the beginning of each learning week and late students will have access to previously released units.

Please note: All reference to time in the study process and schedule is according to Islamic Online University Time – (Qatar Time)

The student community will be divided into subgroups, or classes, of a maximum of 400 students who all participate in the same online course. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the various supervised IOU student forums by posting questions, responding to questions posted by other students, or by commenting on discussion questions from the readings or recorded or live lessons.

The Course Material consists of

1.      Course text in PDF. The basic text(s) used for teaching the course will be provided as downloadable, printable PDF files. Supplementary reading texts will also be identified for the students. However, this will not be currently provided as soft copies. We do plan to have in the future an exclusive library of PDF books for our students to use as supplementary reading.

2.      Course details in PDF which includes syllabus, name of the instructor of the course and details of the tutorial assistant assigned to the course

3.      Recorded sessions (Video and Audio) of actual classes taught on that subject. We recommend that the students watch the video at least once so as to geta near classroom experience. The audios are extracted from the same videos and are provided primarily to cater to those who have poor internet connections or to those who wish to make mp3 copies and listen at their leisure.

4.      Weekly live sessions will be conducted according to the schedule provided.

Study Path of each Course

1.      Each Course consists of 20-30 Recorded Sessions. Video and audio recordings of these will be available to the students.

2.      The student first watches or listens and reads the study material of Module 1.

3.      Having thoroughly studied Module 1, he or she then proceeds to the Module 1 Test. The tests follow a multiple choice format. Test scores will be available immediately after the test attempt.

4.      After completing the Module 1 Test, the student proceeds to Module 2 and follows the same procedure as for Module 1 till the end of the course.

5.      Students should attend the weekly or bi-weekly live sessions to get one-on-one clarification about what they have studied from the recorded sessions and their texts of the preceding days.

6.      Students are required to submit research papers in response to their critical thinking assignments to round off the assessment of their understanding and their ability to express themselves.

Demo Credentials

Click Here to login in to the IOU online campus using the below credentials
username: demouser

password: demouser

Accreditation

The Government of Somalia's Ministry of Culture and Higher Education has granted a university license to the Islamic Online University, adding it to its list of accredited universities in Somalia which are recognized by the UN and therefore recognized by accredited universities globally.

B.Sc. IBE Program Accredited by ICIFE

ICIFE, global body for professional certification and accreditation for Islamic finance education, carefully examined the IOU B.Sc. in Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance (B.Sc. IBE) program and decreed that it fulfills all the requirements and passed all the prescribed assessments. Hence, the ICIFE awarded the B.Sc. IBE program with ICIFE Certificate of Conformity on Accreditation Standards accordingly.

ICIFE was established on December 18, 2013, from an initiative known as Entry Point Project (EPP) 7 under Malaysian government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has been appointed to spearhead this project jointly with other selected universities with the purpose of developing and internationally acceptable Curriculum and Talent for Islamic finance education. This body plays an important role as guardian and global authority on Islamic banking and finance. ICIFE aims to increase and maintain the professionalism of the educators in Islamic Finance field at the national and international level.

Collaboration (Volunteering)

Are you committed to serving your community? Are you passionate about putting the needs of others before your own? Are you looking for an opportunity to provide a helping hand for the greater good of the Muslim community (Ummah)?

Volunteering for the Islamic Online University ( IOU) may be just what you’ve been looking for! The IOU relies on its volunteers to fulfill a wide range of tasks. Without our 70+ dedicated volunteers from across the globe, IOU would not exist. Why not join our dynamic group of volunteers now?

As an IOU volunteer, you can sow countless good deeds in the duniya and the akhira. InshaAllah!

  Volunteering Form is available here