International Peace College South Africa

What International Peace College South Africa does

The International Peace College South Africa (IPSA) is a private, non-profit Islamic higher education institution headquartered in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Founded in 2005 through the merger of the Islamic College Southern Africa (ICOSA) and the Darul Arqam Islamic Institute, IPSA operates from a single campus at the corner of Johnston and Duine Road in Rylands Estate and serves students seeking accredited qualifications in Islamic studies.

IPSA's core product is a four-tier academic portfolio spanning NQF Level 5 through NQF Level 9: the Higher Certificate in Islamic Studies (one-year foundation), the Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies (minimum three years, 360 credits), the BA Honours Degree in Islamic Studies (NQF Level 8 postgraduate specialization, 126 credits), and the Masters in Applied Islamic Thought (NQF Level 9). Programs integrate Sharī`ah Law and Arabic language studies with humanities modules, unified by the proprietary Maqasid Al-Shari'ah framework, which reconciles traditional Islamic scholarship with contemporary Western critical scholarship. The institution supplements degree programs with a peer-reviewed academic journal, Al-Wasatiyyah, focused on Islamic and Arabic studies in Africa.

IPSA generates revenue through recurring annual tuition fees and supplementary bursary-based financial assistance, with enrollment managed via direct online and paper-based application forms through its institutional website. Its customer base consists primarily of South African Muslim students aspiring to religious leadership, teaching, or advanced scholarship roles, served exclusively at the single Cape Town campus by approximately 20 employees. Distribution is single-country and direct-to-student, with no enterprise customers, public capital backing, or disclosed ownership beyond its founding non-profit structure.

Name

International Peace College South Africa

Legal name

International Peace College South Africa

Website

https://ipsa-edu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Peace College South Africa (IPSA) is a private, non-profit Islamic higher education institution in Cape Town offering accredited NQF Level 5–9 qualifications in Islamic studies. Founded in 2005, it serves South African Muslim students seeking religious scholarship and leadership training via a single-campus, tuition-funded model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Islamic Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAKAI

Islamic Colleges & Sharia/Fiqh Institutes

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Religious & Theological Colleges

Keywords

• Islamic higher education
• Islamic studies programs
• Arabic language studies
• Religious tertiary education
• Postgraduate Islamic scholarship

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: IPSA generates revenue through tuition fees for its accredited degree programs including Higher Certificate, BA, BA Honours, and Masters degrees. The institution is a higher education provider with various NQF-aligned qualifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IPSA is a higher education institution that sells accredited Islamic studies qualifications — a Higher Certificate (1 year), a BA in Islamic Studies (minimum 3 years, 360 credits), a BA Honours (NQF Level 8, 126 credits), and a Masters in Applied Islamic Thought (NQF Level 9). Programs blend Sharī'ah law and Arabic language studies with humanities modules, delivered at the Cape Town campus and supplemented by the peer-reviewed Al-Wasatiyyah journal.

Product overview

IPSA is an Islamic educational institution offering a unified portfolio of academic programs in Islamic Studies. The core offerings consist of four formal qualification programs: the Higher Certificate in Islamic Studies (undergraduate foundation), the Bachelor of Arts Islamic Studies (undergraduate degree with 360 credits), the BA Honours Degree in Islamic Studies (postgraduate specialization at NQF Level 8), and the Masters in Applied Islamic Thought (NQF Level 9). These programs are supplemented by Al-Wasatiyyah, the institution's peer-reviewed academic journal. The programs follow a progressive pathway from certificate through to master's level, integrating Islamic scholarship with Western academic frameworks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Al-Wasatiyyah: IPSA's Journal of Islamic and Arabic Studies, a peer-reviewed academic journal that aims to promote interdisciplinary and critical scholarship on Islam and Muslim societies in Africa and beyond, as well as Arabic and culture.

Products and services

• Higher Certificate in Islamic Studies A one-year undergraduate certificate program providing foundational knowledge in Islamic Studies, covering core Islamic disciplines, Qur'anic studies, and Arabic language basics. Targeted at students seeking an entry-level accredited Islamic studies credential.
• Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies A minimum three-year undergraduate degree program (360 total credits) designed to produce graduates with a comprehensive understanding of Islam, enabling students to major in Sharī'ah Law and Arabic and combining Islamic studies with humanities modules.
• BA Honours Degree in Islamic Studies A minimum one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) postgraduate specialization qualification at NQF Level 8 (126 credits), preparing graduates in Islamic Studies for research-based postgraduate study at Masters level.
• Masters in Applied Islamic Thought An NQF Level 9 postgraduate specialization qualification oriented toward Contemporary Islamic Thought, utilizing a Maqasid Al-Shari'ah framework that brings together Islamic and Western, old and contemporary, traditional and critical scholarships within shared values.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates prepared as ethical leaders and agents of faith, peace and progress in their communities

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stellenbosch University: Stellenbosch University is a major Western Cape public university offering theology and religious studies programs; it draws from the same regional student pool and competes for the same South African students who might otherwise pursue Islamic studies credentials at IPSA.
• University of Cape Town (UCT): UCT is Cape Town's premier public university and offers religious studies among many other fields; as the dominant local tertiary brand it competes broadly for the same prospective higher-education students IPSA targets.
• Al-Azhar University: Al-Azhar is the world's preeminent Islamic university, offering a full spectrum of programs in Shari'ah, Arabic, and Islamic theology with unmatched global brand recognition; it functions as a broad incumbent whose degrees South African students may choose instead of, or to transfer toward, IPSA programs.
• International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM): IIUM is a large chartered Islamic university offering undergraduate to PhD programs integrating Islamic revealed knowledge with Western human sciences; comparable in mission and qualification levels to IPSA but with vastly greater scale and global recognition.

Direct peers

• International Open University (IOU): IOU is a tuition-free online Islamic university offering undergraduate and graduate programs in Islamic studies and related fields; it directly mirrors IPSA's Islamic higher-education mandate while competing through a global online delivery model rather than a single physical campus.
• Madinah International University (MEDIU): MADIU is an online Islamic university headquartered in Malaysia offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with a focus on integrating traditional Islamic sciences with contemporary disciplines; comparable to IPSA's Maqasid-based curriculum and multi-level qualification stack.

Emerging players

• Knowledge International University of Science and Technology (KIUST): KIUST is an emerging online Islamic higher education institution in Saudi Arabia offering programs that mix Islamic and contemporary disciplines; it is an early-stage competitor in the global online Islamic higher-education niche where IPSA also operates.

Regional players

• University of the Western Cape (UWC): UWC is a Western Cape public university offering humanities and religious studies programs from the same geographic market as IPSA, with a historical strengths in serving South Africa's Muslim community; it represents a comparable public-sector alternative within the same catchment area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-peace-college-south-africa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Peace College South Africa