Religious Studies Certificate

Students admitted into the Graduate Certificate in Religious Studies (GCRS) program will be required to complete REL 500  (Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion) or REL 502  (Themes in the Study of Religion). In addition, they will need to take 12 units of elective courses from the pre-approved lists below. (Students may also take as an elective whichever of the REL 500 , REL 502  series they did not take as a requirement). In addition to the courses listed below, others may also be considered for credit on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the director of Graduate Studies. All GCRS courses must be at the 500-level or above, and at least 50 percent of their content must focus on the study of religion. REL 590  (Directed Research) may not count for more than 4 of these additional 12 units.

Students interested in pursuing the GCRS program should meet with the director of Graduate Studies to apply to the program and plan a course of study. Candidates should be planning to include the study of religion in their dissertation projects. Alternatively they may take a concluding qualifying oral exam based on three seminar or research papers written in conjunction with their religion course work.