Religious Studies Graduate Degree Program

Description
The Department of Religious Studies engages the critical issues relating to the subject of religion in its many facets (historical, textual, cultural, sociological, experiential, and philosophical) through the specific and comparative study of the religious dimensions of world cultures and traditions. Its program offers concentrations in a variety of religious traditions: Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Native American and indigenous. Faculty teach, research and publish in the study of sacred textual traditions, religion in public life, sacred space and pilgrimage, healing systems, race/ethnicity and pluralism, religious movements, religious violence, and the implications that nationalism, globalization, science and the new media hold for the development of religion in the modern era. Cross-cultural research and interdisciplinary approaches -- involving disciplines such as history, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, gender studies, art history, comparative literature, and political science -- are especially encouraged by the Department and supported by faculty affiliates across the university.

General Information
Website http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/
Address Department of Religious Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
Humanities and Social Sciences Building, Room 3001E
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3130
(USA)
Phone (805) 893-2744
Email gd-relst@religion.ucsb.edu
Degrees Offered MA, MA/PhD, PhD
Requirements
  • Online application: https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/eapp
  • Statement of Purpose with completed coversheets (2 copies)
  • Statement of Personal Achievements/Contributions (2 copies)
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) (2 copies)
  • Three Letters of Recommendation (Submitted online. Note: if submitted via postal mail, please attach required coversheets)
  • Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended (2 copies)
  • GRE General test scores
  • TOEFL scores 550 Paper-Based Test (PBT), 80 Internet-Based Test (IBT) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Overall Band score of 7 or higher (if applicable)
  • *A Writing Sample is strongly recommended
Pre-Application No Pre-Application necessary
Deadlines Fall Only - December 1, 2009
Optional Emphases Ancient Mediterranean Studies; European Medieval Studies; Feminist Studies; Global Studies; Translation Studies (All Ph.D. only)