RYADH (AFP)

Dreaming of an advanced degree? Try a doctorate in dreams, something which could soon become a reality in a new Saudi academy offering undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Yusuf al-Harthy, a well-known Saudi dream interpreter, plans to start up an institute offering bachelors and masters degrees as well as even a PhD in explaining dreams and visions, Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Sunday.

	Dream interpretation is by nature a way of counseling a person
Yusuf al-Harthy

"Dream interpretation is by nature a way of counseling a person," said Harthy, who already runs an instructional website on deciphering the meaning of dreams.

His academy will be linked to an unnamed Arab university, he said.

Islam has a long history of dream interpretation, with the seventh century-born scholar Muhammad Ibn Sirin, a native of Basra in present-day Iraq, credited with authoring a classic Islamic catalogue on dream interpretation.