FIKR
Assessment

How students are evaluated.

A balance of weekly oral discipline, sustained scholarly writing, an annual viva, a research colloquium, and a final capstone.

  1. 01Weekly Oral Quizzes
  2. 02Four Yearly Papers
  3. 03Annual Oral Examination
  4. 04Research Colloquium
  5. 05Final Capstone
  6. 06Grading Distribution
One

Weekly Oral Quizzes

Each week begins with an oral quiz on the prior session's Arabic text and arguments. Seven dimensions are assessed across every quiz.

  • 01
    Arabic text reading, translation, and parsing
  • 02
    Conceptual definition of technical terms
  • 03
    Argument reconstruction in premise–conclusion form
  • 04
    Comparative theology across the three schools
  • 05
    Western philosophy application to a kalām discussion
  • 06
    Contemporary response to a modern objection
Two

Four Yearly Papers

Four sustained papers per year, distributed across the traditions and Western philosophy. Word counts grow with the student.

Year 1
  • Textual Exposition
    1,500–2,000 words
  • School Comparison
    1,800–2,500 words
  • Logic & Argument
    1,800–2,500 words
  • Western Philosophy Interface
    2,000–3,000 words
Year 2
  • Systematic Kalām
    2,500–3,500 words
  • Advanced Comparative Theology
    2,500–3,500 words
  • Philosophy of Religion
    2,500–3,500 words
  • Research Bibliography & Method
    2,000–3,000 words plus bibliography
Year 3
  • High Scholastic Kalām Paper
    3,000–4,500 words
  • Neo-Kalām Paper
    3,000–4,500 words
  • Contemporary Application Paper
    3,500–5,000 words
  • Final Capstone
    5,000–7,500 words
Submission Rhythm

Forty-Week Paper Timeline

  1. 1
    Paper 1
    Weeks 8–10
    Proposal → draft → submission → feedback
  2. 2
    Paper 2
    Weeks 17–19
    Proposal → draft → submission → feedback
  3. 3
    Paper 3
    Weeks 26–28
    Proposal → draft → submission → feedback
  4. 4
    Paper 4
    Weeks 35–38
    Proposal → draft → workshop → revision → submission
Three

Annual Oral Examination

A formal viva at year's end

Students sit before a panel of faculty for a sustained oral examination. The viva evaluates textual, comparative, and philosophical fluency across the year's anchor texts and satellite readings.

  • ◆Reading and parsing an unseen Arabic passage
  • ◆Defining and locating key technical terms
  • ◆Reconstructing a major argument from memory
  • ◆Comparing the schools on a chosen problem
  • ◆Engaging a philosophical or contemporary objection
Four

Research Colloquium

A recurring Sunday session where students present work-in-progress papers and receive structured critique from faculty and peers.

Present

Each student presents a paper draft or research argument twice per year.

Respond

A designated peer responds in writing and orally, modeling academic exchange.

Revise

Final papers integrate colloquium feedback before submission to faculty.

Five

Final Capstone

In the final year, each student produces a 5,000–7,500 word capstone paper integrating the three pillars of the program: a primary text or corpus from the kalām tradition, a sustained argument formalized through manṭiq or modern logic, and engagement with a Western philosophical or contemporary theological problem.

  • ProposalSubmitted by Week 8 of Year 3
  • Bibliography ReviewWeek 16
  • DraftWeek 28, presented at colloquium
  • DefenseWeek 38, oral defense before faculty
Six

Grading Distribution

Four yearly papers & capstone45%
Weekly oral quizzes20%
Attendance & preparation15%
Annual oral examination15%
Seminar participation5%