The International Open University courses are structured as three-credit-hour courses. They consist of recorded lectures by the instructor and supplementary sessions by the faculty members. A student will earn three credit hours after successful completion of each course.

i. Bridge Diploma to MA in Islamic Studies Course Credit Requirement

To obtain a Higher Diploma in Islamic Studies (Bridge Diploma to M.A. in Islamic Studies), a student needs to complete a total of 16 courses or 48 credit hours of academic courses.

To obtain a Higher Diploma in Arabic (Bridge Diploma to MA in Arabic), a student needs to complete a total of 10 courses or 30 credit hours of academic courses.

ii. Master of Arts in Islamic Studies Credit Requirement

To obtain an M.A. in Islamic Studies, a student needs to complete a total of 16 courses or 48 credit hours of academic courses including the M.A. thesis.

Note: the requirement of the first batch scheduled to graduate in Fall 2016 semester is to complete a total of 19 courses or 57 credit hours of academic courses including the M.A. thesis, Muslim Minorities (DHD 501), Tafseer Soorah Mulk (TAF 503) and Educational Administration (EDU 501).

iii. PhD in Islamic Sciences Graduation Requirement

Please refer to the details of the completion and evaluation requirements of PhD in Islamic Sciences program at IOU here.

i. Higher Diploma Community Service Hours Requirement

To obtain a Higher Diploma, a student needs to complete a total of 108 hours of community service.

ii. Master’s Program Community Service Hours Requirement

To obtain an M.A., a student needs to complete a total of 144 hours of community service.

To successfully complete each course, a student needs to obtain at least 50% marks, which must include the final exam score. No course is considered complete without appearing the final exam at an IOU approved center where the identity of the student can be confirmed by his or her ID.

1. Higher Diploma Course Score Requirement

To obtain a Higher Diploma in Islamic Studies (Bridge to M.A. in Islamic Studies), a student needs to complete a total of 16 courses or 48 credit hours of academic courses. The passing score for each course is minimum 50% including the final examination score.

To obtain a Higher Diploma in Arabic (Bridge to M.A. in Arabic), a student needs to complete a total of 10 courses or 30 credit hours of academic courses. The passing score for each course is minimum 50% including the final examination score.

2. Master of Arts Course Score Requirement

To obtain an M.A. in Islamic Studies, a student needs to complete a total of 16 courses or 48 credit hours of academic courses. The passing score for each course is 50% including the research paper and/or final examination score.

To obtain an M.A. degree, a student needs to successfully complete an M.A. thesis and obtain a minimum passing score of 50%.

A thesis is not a graduation requirement for the Bridge to M.A.I.S. programs.

Clearance from the Admission Office

The successful completion of all categories of degree/diploma program includes successful receipt of the attested (notarized) documents at the IOU admissions office in Gambia.

Documents that are mandatory to be sent via airmail are the following:

Please mail your documents to the following address:

International Open University
21 Kanifing Mosque Road,
P.O. Box 2340,
Kanifing South, KMC, Banjul
The Gambia.

The following documents are required to be sent in case of credit transfer/course waiver received:

Clearance from the IOU Payments Department

The graduation requirement for all categories of the degree/diploma programs includes receiving “No Dues” clearance email from the IOU payments department.

The following list includes some of the university dues that require clearance:

Any outstanding balance with IOU, i.e., dues, must be cleared prior to the graduation.

Upon completion of the program, all students,whether registered full-time or part-time are required to pay a flat fee of $200 USD as degree/higher diploma processing fee.

The fees cover attestation of the IOU accredited degree or diploma and the postal charges. This should be paid prior to the graduation.

Dual Program students must meet all of the following graduation criteria individually for each of the enrolled programs: