Master of Arts in Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World

The program combines a scholarly focus with a broad range of approaches and concerns. Although it addresses theology, doctrine and religious institutions, its main focus is to place religion in its social context and historical perspective. Topics treated in the range of courses offered include religious belief and popular practices; lay piety and religious enthusiasm; religious reform and evangelization; ritual and mysticism; secularization and tolerance; and the relationship between religion on the one hand, and science and politics on the other.

The faculty of the Department of History is particularly strong in all aspects of this program, with a number of professors who study religion and whose chronological focus is the late medieval and early modern periods. The program also draws upon the participation of members of Catholic University’s distinguished School of Theology and Religious Studies.

Submit a personal statement, which should be a short (roughly two pages) explanation of the student’s academic interests, why the student hopes to pursue these at CUA, and, for PhD applicants, an indication of possible areas of doctoral research Arrange for an official transcript of undergraduate grades (and graduate grades, if any) to be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. It is not necessary for an applicant to have been a History major at the undergraduate level, but ordinarily the Department would expect an applicant to demonstrate significant preparation in History. Take the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination—the Department does not require the History examination—and arrange to have the scores sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Arrange for the forwarding of at least three letters of recommendation—preferably by professors from the applicant’s previous academic program—attesting to the applicant’s ability to perform graduate-level work. Send a sample of writing, which should be a research paper on an academic subject (preferably History). The writing sample for a PhD applicant should be either a seminar paper incorporating original, primary-source-based research, or else an MA thesis. The writing sample should generally be on the lines of 15–25 pages, double spaced. Minimally accepted TOEFL scores, when applying for graduate programs, are 550-paper; 213-computer; and 80 Internet. Students taking the TOEFL should have at least 20 out of 30 in each of the TOEFL subcategories. The minimally accepted graduate IELTS score is 6.5. Individual IELTS test module scores are also reviewed in addition to the overall IELTS score.