Best Accredited Universities for Doctoral Phd program in Philosophy and Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies at Yale University has trained several generations of intellectual leaders working inside and outside the academy. The Graduate Program in the Department of Religious Studies is organized into eleven Fields of Study. Each Field of Study has its own requirements for admission and its own curriculum. Applicants must specify when they submit their online application the field to which they are applying. Students who believe their areas of research interest fall between two existing Fields of Study should e-mail the relevant faculty in advance of their application to consult about how to submit their application.

The only common requirement among all of the fields of study is RLST 510, Method and Theory. This course may be taken at any time during a student’s time at Yale, however faculty highly recommend that students take it in their first year of course work. The purpose of the course is to encourage rigorous conversation about religion among students with a diverse set of disciplinary and documentary interests.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has prepared a guide to the advising process that they recommend admitted students review. The Graduate Program in the Department of Religious Studies involves faculty from across Yale University, with special ties to the faculty in Yale Divinity School (YDS). However, the Graduate Program application is distinct from application to YDS.

Religious Studies typically admits three or four doctoral students each year, and at any one time has twenty-five students in the program.

Click here to the graduate handbook page.

The Graduate Program in Religion offers degrees in the following fields: American Religion Asian Religions Christian Theological Studies Early Christianity Hebrew Bible Old Testament History of Judaism Islamic Studies New Testament Religion, Aesthetics, Society and World Christianity. Inquiries related to specific fields should be directed to that individual. Applicants should make clear the specific area in which they wish to concentrate (for example, Medieval Islam, early Judaism, contemporary Christian ethics).

This structure allows students not only to strengthen their dissertation area, but also prepares them to be teachers and scholars. Because the program draws on the Religious Studies, the Divinity School, and other departments and professional schools in the University, it offers one of the most rigorous and wide-ranging Ph.D. in the country. An excellent job placement record has helped graduates obtain positions not only in teaching, but also in ministry, in publishing, and in educational administration.

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details each Graduate School requirement.

English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required for applicants whose first language is not Englishtest waiver may apply for some applicants.

You will be evaluated in terms of how your intellectual interests match our strengths. So indicating what areas of study you want to work in, what intellectual skills you wish to acquire through coursework and research will be very relevant.

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance.

The Department is thrilled to announce that alumna Dr.

The Department is delighted to announce that several doctoral students in our program have recently received awards and fellowships!

With particular strengths in the study of Christianity, Judaism, American religions, Islam, secularism, Buddhism, and other Asian religions, the Religious Studies emphasizes descriptive, historical, and theoretical approaches to the study of religion.

In Religious Affects, Donovan Schaefer challenges the notion that religion is inextricably linked to language and belief, proposing instead that it is primarily driven by affects.

CLST 10.13 New Testament Studies the collection of Christian texts now called the New Testament for the insights they provide into the complex cultural interactions in the first-century Mediterranean world. Three primary texts, the Gospel of Mark, Paul letter to the Colossians, and Paul letter to James, will be examined in light of their original Jewish context and their embeddedness in Greek thought and Roman socio-political structures. This small-enrollment class is taught conjointly with GRK 29, but with assignments and assessment appropriate for students reading entirely in English.

CLST 10.16 Ancient Medicine This course will explore the Greek and Roman origins of medicine in the West. We will analyze how disease came to be understood as a natural phenomenon, and we will examine the different procedures, philosophies, and social roles of doctors in the ancient world.

The Ph. D. program is designed to provide strong support for students’ research. After devoting two years to coursework, students begin their research by conducting literature reviews under the supervision of faculty members, and by enrolling in a seminar intended to promote work aimed at publication.

Graduate students in the Philosophy program may focus their studies on the following areas: epistemology and metaphysics (including philosophy of mind); ethics (including applied ethics, metaethics, and normative ethics); history of philosophy (including the ancient, modern, or 19th and 20th centuries); philosophical logic; philosophy of language; philosophy in literature; philosophy of law; philosophy of mathematics; philosophy of physics; and political philosophy.

African Studies Colloquium Series: Oludamini Ogunnaike, Religious Studies (UVA).

He teaches courses on Islam, Islamic Philosophy, Spirituality, and Art, as well as African and African Diasporic Religions.

He holds a PhD in African Studies and the Study of Religion from Harvard University, and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.

All students in programs that allow for the C.Phil. option and who are advanced to candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy degree are eligible for the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree. To be eligible for this designation, the student must possess the intellectual capacity to complete the requirements for the Ph.D. The Candidate in Philosophy degree is intended as a formal indication that the student has completed the requirements for advancement to candidacy it is not intended as a terminal degree. The advantage of this intermediate degree is that students who have fulfilled their residence requirements and have advanced to candidacy will have tangible evidence of this accomplishment if they wish to complete their dissertation while holding a full-time teaching or research position.

Any program may offer the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree if it is listed in the program degree requirements. However, this degree should only be used in very rare individual cases, such as a posthumous award.

New applications for the PhD in Religious Studies are not being accepted at this time. Students interested in graduate study in this field may wish to consider the PhD program in Religion described here.

The purpose of the PhD in Religious Studies program is to train scholars of religion who will distinguish themselves through research, teaching, and service to universities, colleges, seminaries, and the world at large.

Track 1: Texts and TraditionsTrack 2: Religious ThoughtTrack 3: Religion and SocietyTrack 4: Religion and Science.

The guidelines for each track are meant to ensure that students are well-prepared to produce high-quality academic work in their chosen areas of specialization while also remaining fully engaged in the broader trends in the study of religion most relevant to their work.

Students entering the PhD program will have majored in religious studies (or a related discipline) or otherwise show transcript evidence of advanced coursework in a single religious tradition and introductory coursework in multiple religious traditions.

Produce an original and substantial contribution to knowledge in the field of religious studies, utilizing appropriate skills of research.

In addition to any prerequisites required upon admission, sixteen 4-credit courses (64 credits) are required as a minimum for the PhD. This includes at least two 4-credit courses in Approaches to Religious Studies:.

All students pursuing a PhD degree in Religious Studies are required to demonstrate graduate-level reading proficiency in two modern foreign languages during the first two years of graduate study, one of which will usually be French or German. The second language, if not French or German, should be a modern foreign language clearly related to the dissertation research. Language proficiency can be demonstrated either through a language examination or successful completion of a noncredit graduate-level foreign language reading course offered by Boston University.

PhD candidates, after successful completion of all coursework and language requirements but before proceeding to the dissertation, are required to pass three to five separate qualifying examinations. At least one of these examinations should have an oral component. At least two of these examinations must have a written component. Exams should be completed within the third year of study (normally within one year after completing coursework).

Candidates shall demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship. Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their fields and demonstrate a mastery of their fields of specialization in relation to their dissertation. All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS General Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree, and the GDRS student handbook for program-specific advice and procedures.

Note that this information may change at any time. Read the full terms of use.

Housed in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, American Studies at GW is one of the nation most rigorous and innovative programs.

Students in the PhD program construct a comprehensive plan of study in three related fields tailored to their interests. These interdisciplinary fields highlight major problems in American studies and in related disciplines, such as art history, English, history, and political science. Students develop research agendas early in their studies through participation in seminars and workshops, often drawing on the rich resources of DC-based archives and research institutes. The department strongly supports the acquisition of foreign language skills.

Applicants are required to have an adequate background in the humanities and or social sciences as they field of American studies.

Transcripts are required from all colleges and universities attended, whether or not credit was earned, the program was completed, or the credit appears as transfer credit on another transcript. Official transcripts are required only of applicants who are offered admission.

An essay of no than 500 750 words, in which you state your purpose in undertaking graduate study in your chosen field and in American Studies at GW in particular, including your academic objectives, research interests, and career plans.

The sample should reflect your abilities to articulate complex ideas and to utilize evidence in support of your arguments. The writing sample should also provide an example of your research skills, as well as your engagement with scholarship in American studies or related fields.

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.

The requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Program.

Degree candidates must pass a general examination in three areas, to be taken over the course of one month, by the end of the third year from matriculation.