 Under the reign of King Fuad I , two laws were passed that reorganized the educational structure at al @-@ Azhar . The first of these , in 1930 , split the school into three departments : Arabic language , sharia , and theology , with each department located in buildings outside of the mosque throughout Cairo . Additionally , formal examinations were required to earn a degree in one of these three fields of study . Six years later , a second law was passed that moved the main office for the school to a newly constructed building across the street from the mosque . Additional structures were later added to supplement the three departmental buildings . 
