Religious Studies Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Religious Studies (GCRS) allows students across diverse fields in the humanities, social sciences and professional schools to take advantage of the broad knowledge and expertise of Dornsife’s Religion faculty.

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. In addition to taking relevant course work, candidates must also do one of the following: (1) include the study of religion in their dissertation projects; or (2) take a concluding qualifying oral exam based on three seminar or research papers written in conjunction with their Religion course work.

Students admitted into the 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. They must also take 12 units of elective courses from the pre-approved list 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.