Best Philosophy and Religious Studies graduate certificate programs - Updated 2021

The graduate certificate in classical philosophy provides training, special skills, and knowledge equipping students for scholarly work and teaching that involve classical philosophy. It is designed to recognize students who have gone beyond their own departmental requirements for a Ph.D. and done significant work in classical philosophy, but who are not enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in Classical Philosophy. The certificate offers students in departments other than classics and philosophy the opportunity of taking seminars in those departments as a substantial part of their regular course of study. They will thus be able to improve their knowledge of the classical languages, extend their acquaintance with classical literature, history, and culture, and do intensive work on classical philosophical texts. In addition, students enrolled in the Certificate Program are expected to attend the Classical Philosophy Reading Group (which meets once a week during term time), and will be invited to attend the Program’s workshops and colloquia.

Religious Studies and Education Certificate program is jointly sponsored by Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Extension School, this certificate provides educators a multidisciplinary foundation for approaching the study of religion in public school classrooms or in other educational settings focused on learning about religion.

The Graduate Certificate in Philosophy, Arts, and Literature is an interdisciplinary certificate that seeks to connect the study of specific works of art and specific art forms to questions concerning creativity, the nature of specific art forms, the relationship between knowledge and art, and between ethics and aesthetics. The Certificate aims to make student conversant with philosophical reflections on literature and the arts. The Certificate seeks to foster an understanding of the historical nature of different art forms, and of aesthetics and philosophy, and to encourage exploration of philosophy, arts, and literature from different historical periods.

The graduate certificate program in Global Politics and Religion is an interdisciplinary initiative co-sponsored by the Political Science and the Religious Studies that responds to interest in this emergent field of study.

Vanderbilt University offers certificate programs in several different programs of interest. All degree-seeking students at the Graduate Religion are eligible to for certificate programs during the spring semester of their first year of study, or at any point prior to graduation, provided that the required courses have been completed. To receive a certificate, one must take 15 credit hours of courses in the designated area. The student must submit a Notification of Intent to Enroll in a Graduate Certificate Program form with the appropriate signatures to the Graduate School.

The Department offers a University certificate in Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism (GEM). The GEM Certificate provides graduate students with a historical and theoretical orientation that takes into consideration marginalized and repressed religious currents, which they then can apply to their chosen concentrations (i.e., African-American religions; African religions; Bible and Beyond; Buddhism; Christianity; Hinduism; Islam; Judaism; American Religion; New Age and New Religious Movements; etc.).

The certificate gives students an opportunity to explore the role of faith and values across topic areas including international relations, comparative politics, history, and cultures. In our interreligious and intercultural world, developing a nuanced understanding of these topics is of critical importance and value in the academy and across the professions.

The USC School of Religion will offer a Graduate Certificate in Religious Studies (GCRS) to graduate students in any school of USC. The GCRS program will allow students across diverse fields in the humanities, social sciences, and professional schools to take advantage of the broad knowledge and expertise of Dornsife’s Religion faculty.ious Studies (GCRS) to graduate students in any school of USC. Students interested in pursuing the GCRS should meet with the Director of Graduate Studies to program and plan a course of study. Students admitted into the GCRS program will be required to complete REL 500 (Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion) OR REL 502, Themes in the Study of Religion. They must also take 12 units of elective courses from the pre-approved list below.

Your teaching philosophy represents your philosophical orientation to teaching and learning. It states your beliefs on how learning takes place and expresses the principles you use to guide your teaching in order to bring that learning to fruition. Developing a teaching philosophy is a reflective process. By identifying your personal philosophy of teaching, and continuously examining it, you grow as a teacher, and become cognizant of how your teaching impacts your students.

The graduate certificate in religious studies emphasizes questions of method and theory. The certificate expands on academic questions in religion and enhances your skills for teaching research, and policy positions that involve the study of religion.