M.A.
Requirements
**It is
a general policy of the department to admit only full-time students
to the Graduate Program in Religion.**
American
Religious History
Coursework
Hour Requirements:
30 hours, including 6 hours of thesis credit
Each student
will be assigned an advisor upon entering the program. The program
of course work, up to nine hours of which may be taken in another
department, will be developed with the advisor. Students will
take REL5035 (Theory and Method in the Study of Religion) and
at least four ARH courses.
Languages
Reading knowledge
of one language of research is required.
Thesis
Each student
will write a thesis. Normally the student will choose a thesis
topic and a provisional thesis committee by the end of the first
year. Before the end of the third semester the student is expected
to submit and defend a prospectus. The prospectus should include
a thesis statement, a description of the main sections of the
thesis text and argument, and a working bibliography. At times
deemed appropriate by the major advisor, students will orally
defend both the prospectus and the written thesis.
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Religion,
Ethics, and Philosophy
Coursework
Hour Requirements:
33 hours or 30 hours, including 6 hours of thesis credit
In consultation
with concentration faculty, students will develop a program of
thirty credit hours over and above REL5035 (Theory and Method
in the Study of Religion). Students must take classes from at
least three different REP faculty and no classes taken on an S/U
basis can be counted towards REP course requirements.
Languages
Reading knowledge
of one language of research is required. Classes taken to fulfill
this requirement are not counted toward the thirty credit hour
requirement for the M.A. degree.
Thesis
Students may
petition REP faculty to write an MA thesis under the supervision
of an REP faculty member. If this petition is approved, students
will take eight classes in addition to REL 5035, leading to a
thesis-based MA degree.
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Religions
of Asia
Coursework
Hour Requirements:
33 hours
In consultation
with concentration faculty, students develop a program of course
work allowing both breadth and depth in the religious traditions
of Asia including the following:
- REL5035
(Theory and Method in the Study of Religion)
- Six courses
(18 credit hours) within the Religions of Asia concentration
- Two elective
courses (6 credit hours), which may be inside or outside the
concentration or with prior approval in another department
Languages
Students must
meet the following language requirement:
- Completion
of a third-semester course of one Asian language (such as Sanskrit,
Tibetan, or Chinese) relevant to the student's area of research.
- Completion
of two semesters or a grade of "pass" on a reading
knowledge exam in another (Asian or European) language relevant
to the student's area of research.
Thesis
Students must
write a thesis (6 credit hours) in the area of Religions of Asia,
adhering to the following timetable:
- A provisional
thesis topic and committee will be chosen before the end of
the second semester. The faculty thesis committee consists of
three members of which two are normally within the concentration.
The third may be from inside or outside the department. Optionally,
there may be a fourth member.
- A formal
written thesis proposal with bibliography must be approved by
the committee during the third semester, before October 15 (or
March 15).
- The thesis
will be submitted to the committee in the fourth semester, a
minimum of two weeks before the oral defense.
- The oral
defense will be scheduled in early April for spring completion
(in early November for fall completion) in order to meet University
deadlines for final submission of the thesis.
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Religions
of Western Antiquity
Coursework
Hour Requirements:
33 hours
Students must
take (in addition to REL 5035) at least 24 credit hours in the
area of Religions of Western Antiquity (including ancient languages),
and 6 hours of electives.
Of these 30
hours (all of which must be taken for a letter grade), no more
than 9 hours may be taken outside the Religion Department. Coursework
in the area of Western Antiquity may be done in other departments
such as Classics and Art History. All RWA MA students must take
the proseminars in Hebrew Bible and New Testament offered in alternate
spring semesters.
Up to 9 hours
of introductory ancient language work (i.e. courses focusing on
grammar) may count toward the required M.A. credit hours. Language
courses focusing primarily on the translation and interpretation
of texts (such as Intermediate Hebrew and advanced courses in
Greek and Latin) can be counted as part of the required RWA coursework,
but at least 15 hours of the 33 total required hours, must be
in courses that do not have a significant translation component.
All coursework
needs to be approved by the RWA Faculty (see below).
Language
Requirements
Hebrew
and Greek
Students must
complete a third-semester course of Classical Hebrew or Classical
Greek and a second semester course of the other.
Other
Languages
In addition
to the above, students must either: (1) pass the language exam
or take the equivalent of a third-semester university course in
French or German; (2) take one semester of another ancient language
(such as Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, or Coptic); or (3) complete a
third–semester course in both Classical Hebrew and Classical
Greek.
Advising
Upon entering
the program, each student will be assigned an advisor from the
RWA faculty. At the beginning of each semester, students will
discuss possible courses with their advisor and will then submit
a list of proposed courses to the RWA faculty for approval. At
the end of every spring semester, each student will meet with
the RWA faculty as a group to discuss individual plans and progress.
Although students will have one advisor for administrative purposes,
they are encouraged to discuss their interests and plans with
all members of the RWA faculty.
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