Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies

On 1/22/10, the Trustee's approved a BA Major in Religious Studies.

Careers for Religious Studies Majors

BA Checklist

Undergraduate Degree Requirements:

A Major in Religious Studies requires 33 credits (11 courses).

Two required courses (6 credits):

1) Reli 1000, Introduction to Religion

2) Reli 4000, Theories in Religion
A capstone seminar focusing on scholarly explanations of religion. The Climax activity will be a major term paper. This will be a Writing-C course in USP.

Primary concentration (9 credits):

Students should acquire a focused concentration by taking three courses (1) on a single religion, or (2) on the religions of particular region or culture. Courses may be from a limited time period or spread across history. Students may choose from established concentrations or create their own concentration in consultation with their advisor. (Six credits must be upper level.)

Secondary Concentration (6 credits):

Students should take two courses in a religion, region, or culture differing significantly from that of the concentration. (Three credits must be upper level.)

Electives (12 credits):

Four courses in Religious Studies (RELI) chosen in accordance with the student's interests. (Six credits must be upper level.)

Honors:

If a student wishes to pursue an Honors designation in Religious Studies, two additional requirements must be fulfilled.

1) A three-credit Thesis Seminar or Internship, during which a research paper is written, or other suitable research project is carried out. (Usually taken during the Senior year.)

2) Demonstration of competency in a foreign language equivalent to a fourth-semester college-level course.

Notes:

1) If students majoring in Religious Studies can use its courses to satisfy requirements in another major or minor, this is permitted.

2) Courses for the major should be drawn from those with a RELI prefix, or from a list of approved courses taught by other departments or programs (see Appendix 1 for the current list.) In each of the concentrations, only one course may be from outside RELI offerings. Occasionally, courses on religion are taught by outside departments as one-time opportunities. Students may propose these for inclusion in the major.

Important Links

A&S Core Requirements

University Studies

A&S Degree Programs

Non-Western Requirements