RELST-MA - Religious Studies (MA)
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Program Overview
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.
Admissions Information
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.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the MA.
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.
- 2039721