RE

Indonesian International Islamic

University (IIIU)

About Us
IIIU is a newly established post-graduate institution that provides seven schools
and offers various academic programs focusing on the study of Islam and the
Musim world. The university, also known as Universitas Islam Internasional
Indonesia (UIII), has various research centers with specific expertise to respond
to strategic issues and challenges related to Muslim society worldwide. To
preserve and promote Islamic culture and civilization, including Indonesia’s rich
and diverse ones, IIIU develops an umbrella institution dedicated for the study,
preservation and promotion of Muslim heritage in the region, and establishes a
museum to exhibit a collection of artifacts with historical, aesthetical and
scientific significance to the Muslim world.

Islam in Indonesia
Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. There
are around 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, 200 million of them live in Indonesia.
This is a much higher number compared to other Muslim countries in South

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

Asia, as India (144 million), Pakistan (140 million), and Bangladesh (115
million). The difference is even greater when compared Middle Eastern
countries, whose Muslim population accounts for a sixth of Muslims worldwide.
This fact should place Indonesia in a strategic position, not just among Muslim
countries, but also non-Muslim countries.

Indonesia is not muslim country, but it is a Muslim majority country. Indonesia’s

constitution assures the right for all citizens worship according to his or her own
religion. As one of the world's great plural societies, Indonesia has a strong
history of coping with its diverse religions. Indonesia’s Islam has so far moved in
lockstep with modernity. Muslim ulama, intellectuals, academics, politicians
have always strived to develop Islamic comprehension and practices which
encouraged national progress. Educational institutions, organizations, and
political parties under the umbrella of Islam are all working against
backwardness and towards modernity. Their works are not just dedicated to
Muslims in Indonesia, but also for the nation as a whole. In this context, the
Indonesian Muslim class is spearheading Indonesia’s overall effort to accelerate
modernization.

Many have voiced their expectations for Indonesia to contribute to world peace.
At the regional level, Indonesia is the main driver for and upholding human
rights. Indonesia is always present to help resolve domestic conflicts triggered
by religious differences the Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar. On the global
stage, many developing countries from various continents – including Muslim-
majority countries – are turning to Indonesia for inspiration on development
programs and democratic transition. Admittedly, quite a few developing failed
to develop and were unable to transform themselves into democratic societies.

The success of Indonesian Islam in keeping up with changing times was proven
a long time ago. As the world’s Muslim society faced the necessity of modern
countries during the first half of the twentieth century, Indonesia quickly
managed to navigate this stage. There was a disagreement whether it should be
an Islamic or a secular country, but all groups ultimately agreed on the creation
of a nation-state, and none of the Islamic groups issue with the ideology of
nationalism.

This has resulted in a sustainable development, better positioning Indonesia in

comparison to other Muslim countries. Indonesian Muslims today have again
proven that the principles of plurality, openness, and tolerance can lead into one
of the largest democratic nations.

This has not been an easy transformation and is quite rare in the context of the
Islamic World, giving rise to the hope that Indonesia can share its experience
with other nations. Indonesia is a concrete example where Islam, modernity and

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

progress can go together and where religion can play a great role in the positive
and transformative development of the society.

IIIU and Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia

Indonesia has not established any institution that specifically works to collect,
develop, and present the wealth of its Islamic civilization. Numerous Islamic
centers have been established across the country, but their activities are mostly
limited to conventional Quranic studies and charity activities.

There are also quite a few Islamic study institutions researching actual issues,
but published works that can help with decision-making remain in short supply.
These shortcomings reveal the need to establish an institution dedicated to
strengthening Islamic civilization.

The founding of the Indonesian International Islamic University (Universitas

Islam Internasional Indonesia - UIII) is a part of this effort to increase academic
community recognition of Islam’s role in Indonesia, and to turn the country into
one of the world’s Islamic civilization centers through higher education meets
international standards and its various levels.

IIIU was founded under the mandate of Presidential Regulation Number 57 of

2016 on Establishment of the Indonesian International Islamic University as a
higher education with International standards, to be a leading Islamic higher
education model in studies, social sciences, humanities, and technological
sciences.

The Indonesian government wants a world-class Islamic university in Indonesia

that not only explores Islamic studies, but also introduces to the world that
Islamic in Indonesia can also make a positive contribution in the discovery of
knowledge and the preservation of world civilization.

“A better world through excellent prostgraduate education and

research on Islam and Muslim societies”
~ Indonesian International Islamic University ‘s vision

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

Our Objectives
Indonesian International Islamic university (IIIU) seeks to promote the
advancement of modern Islamic higher education with these specific aims:

 to procreate scholars that hold the expertise in the fields of Islamic

Studies and/or social sciences through multi-disciplinary approach;
 to be the strategic centre for the study of Islam and society to bring out
high quality and inspiring scientific works, shaping and spreading
thoughts and knowledge about the world of Islam;
 to be the centre of study, preservation, and development of Indonesia’s
Islamic culture;
 to bring out strategic policies to empower the national’s identity;
 to be the legacy of world civilization, an inspiration for a peaceful,
democratic and just/civilized world order.

Our Mission
 Organizing excellent postgraduate education in Islamic studies;
 Developing innovative research on Islam amd Muslim societies and
contributing to the development of knowledge and social welfare;
 Promoting Indonesian Islamic culture as a part of world civilization;

Our Values
 Moderate Islam
 Academic freedom
 Equal opportunity
 Respect for diversity
 Meritocracy and professionalism

Teaching and Learning Environment

Students and lecturers are major components in the IIIU’s institutional
development to become an international higher education institution. To
develop Islamic higher education in Indonesia, good development strategies for
these two components will be the key to the IIIU's success. Given its
importance, the qualification required of potential students by the IIIU is

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

different from requirements at General Higher Education Institutions and
Islamic Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia.

The IIIU applies high academic standards to all potential students. This
strategy ensures that they will be able to achieve the exacting learning goals.
As with other top line higher education institutions in developed countries, the
IIIU has high expectations for participants of graduate and doctoral programs.
Therefore, potential IIIU students are required to fulfill main academic
qualifications, such as a good academic background, language skills, and
experience in research based on their selected field of study field.

The IIIU applies high academic standards for all potential lecturers to ensure
that teaching and research are conducted in line with international standards.
Lecturer positions at the IIIU are open to domestic and overseas lecturers who
meet the qualifications by, among other, possessing the highest academic
degree (Dr.), having a record of accomplishment in research that includes
published books or international journals, and having the expertise needed by
the IIIU.

Curriculum
The IIIU designed the curriculum in each department by referring to academic
benchmarks, which have become the norms in leading general higher
education institutions. This will ensure that IIIU graduates are not only
superior at the national level, but also able to be a part of academic activities
in the international academic community.

In general, graduate programs at the IIIU are intended to produce scientists

on par with research associate (peneliti madya). Students of such programs are
directed to conduct an in-depth study of the grand theory in their respective
fields of study. They must also delve deeper into more specific theory (meso
theory) related to their sub-specialization interests. Furthermore, they will be
provided with knowledge of the methodology underlying the scientific
construct of the study program. It should be noted that a graduate student is
not expected to pick a specialization, but the student is encouraged to pick an
area of interest, which can later be developed into a specialization at the
doctoral level. To that end, they can choose from a considerable number of
elective courses on which to later develop a theme of their interest.

Meanwhile, doctoral programs at the IIIU are designed to produce expert

thinkers and researchers. Doctoral students are required to fully master the
main theories of the study program they have selected. They must also

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

correctly understand all of the more specific theories relating to their field or
specialization. At this level, students must already understand and be able to
fully apply methodologies developed in their respective disciplines. Compared
to the graduate programs, the IIIU doctoral programs require complete
mastery at the level of theory and methodology, as well as in-depth knowledge
regarding the sub-field or specialization of the student’s primary interest.
Graduates of doctoral programs are being prepared to become expert
researchers who can innovate and generate new thoughts and findings.

Potential students may not be able to meet all of the main requirements above
at the same time, so a matriculation program is needed. The IIIU also holds a
matriculation program in each field of study for potential students whose
science background differs from the study program in which they want to
enroll. Essentially, all of the study programs at the university will prioritize
potential students whose study fields are aligned with their backgrounds. This
is based on the expectation that the accepted students are ready to enter the
specialization program. Thus, they will no longer be preoccupied with
mastering the basic knowledge of the science field in which they will enroll.

Academic Ethics
As an international university, the IIIU applies universally applicable
academic ethics standards in research and research writing. Academic ethics
covers many things, such as how research procedures are to be performed, how
the research is written under a standardized system that meticulously lists the
sources, and how the research results can be accessed by other researchers.

The IIIU should be pioneering the view that plagiarism of scientific works is
an intellectual crime and that the perpetrator must be punishable by law, not
just moral punishment. Serious sanctions should be strongly considered, for
example, being fired from functional positions. Thus, the IIIU has clear rules
or guidelines on plagiarism, so intellectual works produced by scholars in the
IIIU can avoid such a culture of plagiarism.

Academic Programs: Faculties and Departments

There is a broad range of scientific fields gathered into faculties as part of the
IIIU’s studies in the future. In the first stage, the IIIU will begin with three
Faculties: Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Faculty of Education, and
Faculty of Islamic Studies.

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

The IIIU's teaching program is similar to graduate programs in other higher
education institutions, where learning activities are conducted at the graduate
and doctoral level. The IIIU examines Islam and the society through various
disciplines, which already have established theories and methodologies. The
IIIU as a university does not incorporate all studies into a single institution,
but accommodates them in Faculties and Departments.

The faculty is an academic institution that brings together and, at the same
time, differentiates the branches of knowledge according to its basic tenet and
methodology. The faculty accommodates various disciplines of study from the
same branch in considerable numbers. The Faculty of Social Sciences hosts
sociology, political science, psychology, economics, administration,
anthropology, to geography. The Faculty of Humanities hosts law, history,
literature, anthropology, language, philosophy, and so on. The Faculty of
Religion (Theology) houses the sacred text studies (biblical studies),
proselytization, religious education, divinity, and so on.

In the IIIU’s nomenclature, the term faculty is synonymous with institute, and
the term school refers to a more homogenous grouping of knowledge studies.
Meanwhile, the term department refers to a type of knowledge grouping which
has its own separate theory, methodology, and object of study. For example,
political science focuses on power issues, sociology focuses on the structure and
culture of society, economics focus on the allocation of goods and services, and
psychology focuses on the phenomena of individual psyche. Each of these
departments applies methodology developed in the social sciences branch, but
focuses on separate studies and are thus able to build their own respective
theoretical traditions.

There is a broad range of scientific fields gathered into faculties as part of the
IIIU’s studies. For the future, the IIIU plans to develop at least six Faculties:
Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Islamic Studies,
Faculty of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Fine and
Applied Arts, and Faculty of Education. In the first stage, the IIIU will begin
with three Faculties: Faculty of Social Sciences (which in English is translated
as School of Social Sciences), Faculty of Humanities (School of Humanities),
and Faculty of Islamic Studies (School of Islamic Studies).

Academic Degrees: MA and PhD Programs

The master’s program is intended to produce graduates with research associate
(peneliti madya) qualifications who understand the grand theory and
methodology in Islamic studies, as well as understand a few more specific
theories associated with their specialization and area of interest.

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

The doctoral program is intended to produce graduates with expert researcher
qualifications and thinkers who have mastery over main theories in Islamic
studies, and possess comprehensive understanding of theories specifically
related to their area of interest. Graduates of the doctoral program at the
School are expected to understand and be able to apply methodology developed
in the Islamic studies discipline in their dissertation writing.

Academic Qualification
Potential students of master’s and doctoral programs must fulfill the following
academic qualifications:

 Priority is given to those who have an academic background in Islamic

studies from national higher education institutions with A-grade
accreditation, or from international higher education institutions with a
good reputation in the relevant department.
 Potential students from ‘non-linear’ fields, i.e. from a different cluster of
knowledge, but who graduated from national higher education
institutions with A-grade accreditation, or from international higher
education institutions with a good reputation in the relevant
department, may be considered for admission provided that they take
matriculation on Islamic studies and research methodology as needed,
before or as the program starts;
 The minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) for potential students is 3.0
out of 4.0 for social sciences or 2.8 out of 4.0 for natural sciences to be
admitted to the master’s program, and 3.5 out of 4.0 for social sciences
or 3.2 out of 4.0 for natural sciences to be admitted to the doctoral
program;
 Pass the Academic Potential Test (Tes Potensi Akademik - TPA);
 Submit a statement of study, which must be no more than 3 pages.
 Potential students of master’s and doctoral programs who have
published any papers in internationally accredited, peer-reviewed
journals on Islamic studies are preferred for admission.

Library and Museum

The role and function of the library and museum in strengthening teaching
and research are strategic and lie at the heart of the IIIU as an international
higher education institution. The IIIU’s library is managed well and
professionally, marked not just by the growing collection of reading materials

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

with support from a good cataloging service, but also by the increased services
provided to users. The IIIU’s library has been directed to use the latest
technology to help maintain a more optimum teaching and research by
academics at the IIIU.

The IIIU’s library and museum are designed to preserve intellectual works
written by Muslim scholars, many of whom remain unknown as their works
are scattered across the archipelago. Old manuscripts addressing key aspects
of life have not been codified properly. Some are stored in knowledge
institutions in various locations. These collections are lucky to be well-
preserved, even though the institutions holding them are located in different
countries. The University of Leiden, Cornell, Ohio, and the Australian
National University (ANU) are higher education institutions that hold many
Indonesian manuscripts. Within Indonesia, some religious manuscripts are
stored in libraries, such as in the Baitul Qur’an, National Museum, and Radya
Pustaka in Surakarta. Many more are in individual possession as family
heirlooms or community heritage.

As with manuscripts written by intellectuals, other non-written works are also

scattered in many placed and remain undiscovered. These works may be in
even worse conditions than written works because of the diverse types of
material culture. For example, works of art related to religious rituals.
Produced by numerous tribes and religious affiliations, these works exhibit
incredible variety. Among them are songs of praise, calligraphy, mosque and
praying room architecture, worship attire, and prayer accessories like prayer
beads, prayer mats, and skullcaps. The Aceh, Malay, Minang, Sunda, Banjar,
and Lombok communities, as well as tribes in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and
Maluku, have all developed different works. These invaluable riches have not
received serious attention, as there is no institution that specifically collects,
studies, and disseminates information on works of art related to religious
rituals.

Center for Strategic Studies

As a center of Islamic civilization in Indonesia, the IIIU is also involved in the
establishment of several strategic review centers dealing with important
issues regarding contemporary life in an Islamic society. These centers are
intended to implement new findings from academic activities at the IIIU
associated with original ideas about Islam that is plural, open, and tolerant.
The scope of activities is quite broad, covering academic studies such as
seminars, conferences, the formulation of policy recommendations, strategies,

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

and providing data required by the government, civil organizations, business
actors, political parties, and education institutions.

Aside from consulting, these centers also organize other activities to support
the implementation of new findings. Among these activities are short courses,
trainings, workshops, public dialogues, and online discussions, which directly
involve community groups who are interested in issues concerning the Muslim
society. These short programs will accommodate those who only have a limited
amount of time. This encompassesa numerous group, ranging from students to
professionals and academics who want to exchange ideas with colleagues from
other academic institutions.

Language Requirements
Potential students whose first language is not English must provide evidence of
English proficiency with certification taken no more than 6 months prior to
application submission in the form of:
 A paper-based TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 570 (for master’s
level) and 600 (for doctoral level) or;
 An internet-based TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 88 (for master’s
level) and 100 (for doctoral level) or;
 A computer-based TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 230 (for
master’s level) and 250 (for doctoral level) or;
 An IELTS certificate with an overall band score of 6.5 (for master’s level) and
overall band score of 7.0 with a minimum score of 6.0 for each part.

Potential students must also provide evidence of Arabic proficiency with

certification taken no more than 6 months prior to application submission in
the form of a paper-based TOAFL certificate with a minimum score of 570 (for
master’s level) and 600 (for doctoral level).

10

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

 The IIIU Master Plan (2016)

11

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies

Application Procedures
IIIU’s online application form for graduate program candidates is available
at:

www.IIIU.ac.id/gradeapplicants/apply

Contact Us
Indonesian International Islamic University (IIIU)

The Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

Jalan Lapangan Banteng, 2nd Floor,
No. 3-4, Jakarta Pusat 17010, INDONESIA

Phone: +62 21 3811-679, 3483-004

E-mail: info@IIIU.ac.id
Website: www.IIIU.ac.id

12

Center for the Study of Islam and the Muslim Societies