CENTRE FOR FOUNDATION STUDIES

ORGANISATIONAL CHART

OVERVIEW

The Department of Human Sciences, CFS IIUM was initially part of Department of IRKHS. The department operates on its own starting January 2015 as to accommodate the increasing number of staff and students as well as courses offered.

OBJECTIVES

• To prepare foundation students for admission into the Bachelor Degree programmes at Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences in Gombak.
• To provide the foundation students with knowledge and skills which are required in humanities field.

PROGRAMMES OFFERED 

• Foundation of Human Sciences (HS)
• Foundation of English (BEN)
• Foundation of Arabic (BAR)

COURSES OFFERED

• Core Course
  • Thinking Skills

• Specialised courses for Human Sciences (HS)
  • Basic Sociology and Anthropology
  • Basic Communication
  • Basic Political Science
  • Basic Psychology
  • Basic History and Civilization
  • Research Reading Skills

• Specialised courses for English (BEN)
  • Basic Structure of Language
  • Reading and Analysing Poetry
  • Public Speaking
  • Foundational Linguistics
  • Introduction to Drama and Fiction
  • Research Reading Skills
    

• Specialised courses for Arabic (BAR)
  • Al-Sarf Min Khilal Al Nusus
  • Al-Nahw Min Khilal Al Nusus
  • Maharat Al-Kitabah
  • Maharat Al-Qira’ah
  • Al-Adab Al-Arabi
  • Maharat Al-Muhadathah
    

COURSES DESCRIPTIONS/ SYNOPSIS

• Thinking Skills (HSG0314)

The course focuses on the basis of logical inquiry as a tool to develop thinking skills. The course will introduce Islamic perspective of thinking, elements of critical and creative thinking, logical inquiry discussions. The course will enable students to reason analytically, examine arguments and provide justifications in discussions. It will also guide students to write short argumentative essays.

• Basic Sociology and Anthropology (HSS0314)

This course provides a general understanding of man and society and their culture. The course approaches the study of man and society from two different disciplines; Anthropology and Sociology. In anthropology, man will be studied through various methods and approaches in understanding his relationship with the society. Sociology, then, will be studied in terms of the development of the discipline itself as a sub discipline of social science. Being the basic course of both sociology and anthropology, the course attempts to discuss both major theories in understanding culture and society. Finally, the course will provide some principles of sociological and anthropological understanding that can be analysed from the Islamic perspective.

• Basic Communication (HSS0324)

The course introduces students to such basic concepts in communication as elements, functions, characteristics and perspectives. It also describes the fields, specialisations, and careers in this discipline. The course is designed to provide students with both theoretical and practical aspects of communication. 

• Basic Political Science (HSS0334)

The course provides students with basic understanding of the discipline of Political Science.  It discusses the areas of specialisation, selected political thinkers, as well as basic concepts in Political Science. Topics such as state, government, political parties, political system, pressure group, and bureaucracy will also be highlighted.

• Basic Psychology (HSS0344)

This course provides students to the basic concepts, principles and theories in Psychology as a Science. It exposes students to the various theoretical approaches to the study of human behaviour and thought processes. Relating of these basic psychological concepts, principles and theories in daily life is highlighted. In this course, Islamic perspectives to the study of human behaviour and mental processes are also incorporated. 

• Basic History and Civilization (HSS0354)

This course introduces students to basic concepts in the field of history and historiography. It provides an overview on the definition and distinctive features of a civilisation. It will also highlight major achievements of Muslim civilisation and its impacts on the growth of Western civilisation.

• Research Reading Skills (HSG0324) 

This course is designed to familiarise students with scientific research papers. To do so, students will be equipped with the skills needed to understand research. They will be exposed to the basic concepts in research and learn how to read and explain each component of published research articles.

• Basic Structure of Language (HSE0314) 

This course will introduce English major students to the microlinguistics elements in language structure within topics such as Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Word Formation, Grammar, Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics. 

• Reading and Analysing Poetry (HSE0324)

This course focuses on the study of poetry; highlighting the historical aspects and the key elements of poetry as a literary genre. In principal, the subject focuses on guiding students in conducting critical analyses of poetry. Students will be trained to discuss and write about literature in preparation for degree level studies.

• Public Speaking (HSE0334) 

This course is specifically designed for learners to acquire basic skills in public speaking for both academic and non-academic purposes. This course utilizes activities that enable learners to achieve communicative competence to develop poise and confidence in public speaking, in line with Islamic ethics.

• Introduction to Drama and Fiction (HSE0344)

This course combines the study of drama and fiction; highlighting the historical aspects and the key elements of dramas and fictions as literary genres. In principal, the subject focuses on guiding students in conducting critical analyses of dramatic and fictional texts. Students will be trained to discuss and write about literature (i.e. drama and fiction) in preparation for degree level studies.

• Foundational Linguistics (HSE0354) 

This course will introduce English major students to the various sub-disciplines and theories of linguistics which includes topics such as Origins of Language, Discourse Analysis, Neurolinguistics, Language Acquisition, Gestures and Sign Language, Written Language, Historical Linguistics and Sociolinguistics.

• Al-Sarf Min Khilal Al Nusus (HSA0314) 

This course is designed to highlight the importance of the study of morphology in Arabic. It equips students with basic morphological features in verbs and nouns. These include conjugations, word derivations and verbal nouns (masadir). Students are required to analyse the morphological features through selected texts and various exercises. The skill of using various types of dictionaries is also enhanced throughout the course.

• Al-Nahw Min Khilal Al Nusus (HSA0324) 

This course helps students to master Arabic grammar for basic communication, as well as to enrich their vocabulary. Grammatical analyses are performed in context using various Arabic texts. Construction of basic sentences in Arabic is being dealt with intensively. It also enables students to translate the Malay sentences into Arabic using correct Arabic grammar.

• Maharat Al-Kitabah (HSA0334)

The course empowers students with writing skills for functional purposes, such as resume writing, job application, absence requests, and other official letters as well as personal letters for friends and families. It also includes advertisements and short descriptive articles writing. It emphasizes the correct ways for writing "Hamazat" and punctuation marks.

• Maharat Al-Qira’ah (HSA0344)

The course helps students to enrich their Arabic vocabulary in order to understand Arabic texts. It also helps them to understand the Arabic language learning strategies and how Arabic language used in different settings and exposes them to historical, cultural and Islamic issues. 

• Al-Adab Al-Arabi (HSA0354)

This course is intended for Arabic language beginners to acquire basic knowledge in Arabic literature. It covers all basic components of Arabic literature in two genres: poetry and prose, and their main elements and characteristics. This course provides students with samples of literary texts for analysis in order to enhance their ability in appreciating any literary texts. 

• Maharat Al-Muhadathah (HSA0364) 

This course is specifically designed for learners to acquire basic skills in public speaking for both academic and non-academic purposes. This course utilizes activities that enable learners to achieve communicative competence to develop poise and confidence in public speaking, in line with Islamic ethics. 

View the department's curriculum structure: HERE