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Specialist level

One specialism, taught in depth

Four electives, each a self-contained live cohort. For Practitioner alumni and professionals with equivalent experience, and for institutions that need the depth in house.

CIEA Specialist Four electives One elective a quarter Every session recorded
Join early access See the four electives

The question you arrive with

How does a sukuk actually get structured? Could this deal be one? Sukuk & Islamic Capital Markets What would insurance look like if it were genuinely mutual? Takaful & Islamic Insurance Who checks the checks, and could I do that job? Shariah Audit & Governance Is this token, protocol or product compliant, and could it be? Islamic Fintech & Digital Assets

The four electives

Four questions, four live cohorts

One elective runs each quarter, so each one runs once a year, and the waitlists decide the order.

Elective 1 · 6 weeks

Sukuk & Islamic Capital Markets

How does a sukuk actually get structured? Could this deal be one?

You leave with the full structuring playbook and one case built end to end.

Built on AAOIFI Shari'ah Standard No. 17, Investment Sukuk.

Next run: To be announced
See the six weeks
  1. What a Sukuk Is, and Is NotCertificates of ownership vs bonds, asset-based vs asset-backed, and why the distinction decides compliance.
  2. The Contract MenuIjara, musharaka, mudaraba and wakala sukuk, and murabaha, salam and istisna'a sukuk: the SS 17 family and when each is used.
  3. Structuring a SukukThe SPV, the underlying assets and the payment waterfall, and corporate vs sovereign issuance.
  4. The MarketWho issues and who buys, green and social sukuk, and the opportunity for Australian issuers.
  5. Controversies & ScreeningPurchase commitments, ratings and secondary-market trading: where scholars disagree and why.
  6. Case ClinicStructuring a sukuk for a real Australian scenario (for example infrastructure or housing) and defending it before the faculty and the Shariah board.

Elective 2 · 4 weeks

Takaful & Islamic Insurance

What would insurance look like if it were genuinely mutual?

You leave with the model's mechanics, the product types, and the Australian gap as an opportunity.

Next run: To be announced
See the four weeks
  1. Why the Alternative ExistsWhy conventional insurance is problematic (gharar, maysir, riba) and the mutual-protection concept the tradition built.
  2. The ModelsWakala, mudaraba and hybrid takaful, fund mechanics, and underwriting and the surplus decision.
  3. The ProductsFamily, general and health takaful, and retakaful: how cover is priced and claims honoured.
  4. Case ClinicDesigning or auditing a takaful-style offering for the Australian market, where no full operator exists yet.

Elective 3 · 6 weeks

Shariah Audit & Governance

Who checks the checks, and could I do that job?

You leave with the AAOIFI governance framework and a mock audit conducted and written up.

Built on the AAOIFI Governance Standards series and Code of Ethics, and CIEA's own advisory practice.

Next run: To be announced CIEA's signature elective
See the six weeks
  1. The Governance StackThe Shariah supervisory board, fatwa procedures, internal Shariah review and audit: who does what, and independence.
  2. The Audit ItselfScope, evidence, sampling and reporting, and classifying and escalating non-compliance risk.
  3. Product ReviewTracing a structure from contract drafting to workflow to live execution, and where drift happens.
  4. Beyond BanksGovernance for funds, fintechs, superannuation and halal corporates: smaller teams, same principles.
  5. The Australian ContextNo Shariah-specific statute: regulator expectations, documenting rulings and defensible files.
  6. Mock Audit ClinicConducting a structured mock audit on a live-style product, and writing the findings and a remediation plan.

Elective 4 · 6 weeks

Islamic Fintech & Digital Assets

Is this token, protocol or product compliant, and could it be?

You leave with a screening methodology and a product design checkpoint map.

Next run: To be announced
See the six weeks
  1. The LandscapeIslamic fintech sectors (payments, P2P, neobanks, robo-advice) and who is building what.
  2. Digital Assets Through the Classical LensMal, gharar and qimar as a way of thinking: AAOIFI has issued no binding crypto standard as of 2026, so scholars assess case-by-case, and the session teaches how.
  3. TokenisationTokenised sukuk, fractional ownership, and smart contracts as executable aqd.
  4. Islamic DeFi & the Hard QuestionsLending protocols, staking and stablecoins: the live debates.
  5. Building CompliantlyProduct design checkpoints and the certification pathway (a tie-in with CIEA's advisory work).
  6. Case ClinicScreening and structuring a real digital-asset product, and presenting the compliance case.

How the electives run

The Practitioner rhythm, one level deeper

  1. Who can join

    The Practitioner Certificate first, or equivalent experience. Practitioner alumni enrol straight away; anyone else applies with their experience, and CIEA decides.

  2. Every week

    The same rhythm as Practitioner level: a one-page pre-read, a live evening session, a worksheet, and the recording within 24 hours.

  3. The clinic

    Each elective ends with a clinic week built on a real case, so you leave having done the work, not just heard about it.

  4. The certificate

    Finish an elective and earn its CIEA Specialist Certificate. Two electives and a capstone project make you eligible for the CIEA Professional Diploma at Expert level, when it opens.

Onsite masterclasses. A premium, in-person version of each elective is planned for major cities, and every one is filmed.

Prices

One price an elective

$995

Each elective's live cohort

$795

The live cohort, for Practitioner alumni

$595

On-demand: the recordings, after each elective's first run

Training a team? Corporate seats come through CIEA's institutions channel. Talk to CIEA

Which question do you need answered properly?

Each elective is a small live cohort, with every session recorded. Join early access to hear first when each one opens.

Join early access

New to Islamic finance? Start at Practitioner level.

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