Master of Arts in Religious Studies

Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the MA.

The department offers an MA program that serves two groups of Stanford students:

  • Undergraduates pursuing a coterminal master’s degree in Religious Studies

  • PhD candidates in Religious Studies who also wish to obtain a master’s degree while completing their doctoral requirements.

Application and Admissions

Currently, eligibility for admission to the master’s program is restricted to current Stanford undergraduates and graduate students. The department admits a limited number of students to the Coterminal Master’s Degree program. Preference is given to students who have majored or minored in Religious Studies or the combined Religious Studies/ Philosophy program. Students from other majors whose coursework focused on religion will also be considered.

Current Stanford Undergraduates

Meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies before submitting your application.

Religious Studies accepts coterm applications in winter quarter (due end of the second week of classes) for admission starting spring quarter. Only complete applications submitted by the deadline are reviewed. A complete application includes the following:

·       A completed online coterminal program application. See the Registrar’s site for additional information.

·       Two confidential letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a Stanford faculty member affiliated with the Religious Studies Department.

·       Statement of purpose, not to exceed two pages

·       Undergraduate transcript(s)

·       Preliminary program proposal

Financial Aid

 No financial aid is available from the department for the coterm degree, and coterm students are usually not eligible for teaching assistantships.