Master of Arts in Religious Studies (Project)

Religion is of critical importance for understanding society, and the Department of Religious Studies engages in intensive and broad-ranging research across Asian and Western traditions in their historical and modern expresssion. Since 1964, the department of Religious Studies has offered graduate programs dealing with religion and human religious experience, past and present, East and West. The department has no confessional ties; it seeks, rather, to cultivate a positive appreciation of the world’s religious traditions in a spirit of free, open enquiry, critical reflection, and solidly-grounded judgment. The department draws on a wide variety of methodological resources, especially philosophical, philloogical, literary, historical, and social scientific, in the effort to understand religion and religious phenomena.Areas of ResearchAsian Field (Buddhism, East Asian)Biblical (Early Judaism, Early Christianity)Western (Religion and Politics, Religion and the Social Sciences)

The application portal opens in late September and closes on January 15. If the date falls on the weekend, the portal will close on the following business day.Statement of Interest. Please include in your statement of interest (500-700 words) a description of your intended area of research, as well as information on your academic background and proficiency in foreign languages, detailing the relevant courses you have taken, levels at which they were taken, and the grades that you received for themTwo academic references Official Transcripts