From the 1st of April, 2010 the Islamic Online University (IOU) launched the world’s first tuition-free, Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies in English completely online. This is seen as a major new step towards helping Muslims across the globe fulfill the Prophet's command to seek knowledge of the religion and correct their understanding of its tenets.

The program has recorded audio and video lectures and weekly live tutorial classes in a virtual classroom setting on the net and its syllabus is based on the BA in Usool ud-Deen (Religious Foundations) curriculums of Madeenah University, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, Al-Azhar in Egypt and other similar reputable Islamic institutions. Six subjects are offered each semester. Each semester is 5 months, having an online mid-term exam after two and a half months and a supervised final online at the end of the fifth month. Students are free to access their classes whenever it is convenient for them, however assignments have to be turned in and exams (mid-term and finals) have to be taken at fixed times.

There are no fees for the courses. However, there is a fixed symbolic registration fee and examination fee each semester which is calculated on a sliding scale (from $40 to $120) depending on the student's country of residence.