Master of Arts

The department requires the completion of nine courses (totaling not less than 45 units) of graduate work (courses numbered 200 and above); seven courses of this work must be Department of Religious Studies courses. Directed reading at the 300 level may be counted for a maximum of ten units.

A candidate whose undergraduate training in religious studies is deemed inadequate must complete nine courses of graduate work in the department.

The department does not recognize for credit toward the MA degree any work that has not received a grade of A or B.

After admission to the coterminal program, students should register at the 300 level for any courses cross-listed at both the 200 and 300 levels.

The student’s plan of courses is subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). No field of specialization is expected, but students may focus on work in particular areas. Advanced and graduate courses in other departments may be taken with the approval of the advisor and the DGS. No thesis is required; a thesis, if elected, may count for as many as ten units.

The department allows coterms to count Religious Studies courses numbered 200 and above taken as early as their first quarter of sophomore year toward their coterminal master’s degree. Course transfers require department approval and cannot be processed after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred. All university coterm policies apply.

The student must take RELIGST290 “Majors’ Seminar: Theories of Religion.” Students who took this course as part of the BA need not retake it but cannot count it toward their coterm degree unit requirements.