Religious Studies (BA)

College of Arts and Sciences

Program Website

Program Description

Our program offers an excellent opportunity to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the complex ways in which religious traditions inform human thought and behavior. The courses offered explore religion as an academic, as opposed to a confessional, pursuit. Religious traditions are explored in all of their complexity through comparative and thematic studies as well as in specific historical or cultural contexts.

The Religious Studies Program meets the needs of three classes of students: students planning to pursue advanced degrees in the academic study of religion or allied disciplines; students desiring a systematic study of religion as part of their liberal arts education; and students seeking courses on religion to fulfill distribution requirements.

A major in Religious Studies offers students the opportunity to explore the multifaceted relationship that humans have had with religion throughout history. The major is designed to allow students an academic environment in which to explore religion and religious traditions both in thematic and cultural contexts.

Academic Standards

Major Requirement Standards

  • All courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade, and students must receive a grade of B- or better to count toward the major.
  • No course may be used to satisfy two major requirements.

Major Declaration Information

  • The applicant for admission to the major in Religious Studies must have completed at least one Religious Studies (RELST) content course.

Upon entering the major in Religious Studies, a student is assigned a faculty advisor whose area of expertise most closely matches the proposed interest of the student. Not all faculty members who cross-list courses with Religious Studies can serve as advisors. Working closely with the Religious Studies advisor when selecting courses is an important component of this program, enabling students to fulfill the requirements for the major while creating an integrated and coherent course of study out of our large number of multidisciplinary course offerings.

Honors Program

General Information

Open to religious studies majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial part of their senior year to advanced, specialized, independent research and writing of a thesis. Successfully completing an honors thesis will require sustained interest, exceptional ability, diligence, and enthusiasm. While admission and completion of a thesis do not guarantee that students will be awarded honors in religious studies, most students find the experience as intellectually rewarding as it is rigorous.

Eligibility

3.3 cumulative average and 3.5 average inside the major with no grade in the major below B–. 

Application

Application to the honors program must be made by mid-March of the students' junior year.

  1. Identify a thesis topic
  2. Select a thesis Committee Chair
  3. Identify one to two other members of the thesis committee
  4. Submit a thesis proposal

Course requirements

Candidates must enroll in RELST 4995 Senior Honors Essay I in their first semester of the Honors Program and RELST 4996 Senior Honors Essay II in their second semester, for up to 8 credits over two consecutive semesters.

Thesis Committee

The student's honors thesis committee must include two to three faculty members. Once students have a thesis topic in mind, they should approach a faculty member to supervise their work on the honors thesis (Chair of committee). The student and the Chair will together identify one to two additional faculty members to serve on the thesis committee. It is the student's responsibility to contact (at least) one of these faculty members to request their participation on the committee before they submit their honors proposal. The thesis committee members should be:

  • The professor who has agreed to supervise the student's work (Chair of the committee)
  • The student's Religious Studies major advisor, if not the Chair of the committee (Required)
  • Another relevant RELST faculty member (Optional)

Timing

  • At end of the first semester submit to the committee chair for evaluation: 15-20 pages of the thesis along with an outline of the whole project

  • The thesis draft, normally between 60-100 pages in length, is due to the committee chair by March 15 of the second semester of the program.

  • Thesis defense in early to mid-May of the second semester.

Thesis Defense

After submitting the thesis draft, no later than March 15, students will receive feedback from committee members about required revisions; students will generally have two to four weeks to submit a final draft of the thesis. Be sure to set a clear date for submitting the final copy of your project to your committee.

In early to mid-May, a 'thesis defense' will be held with all committee members. The defense is a conversation between the honors candidate and all committee members, providing the candidate with the opportunity formally to present research in oral form and to address the substantive concerns of the committee. In deciding whether a student is awarded honors, the committee will consider a candidate's complete academic record, not merely the thesis. Accordingly, students should plan to bring a copy of their transcript to the thesis defense.

The committee will determine final evaluation of the thesis after the thesis defense. Grades given for RELST 4996 Senior Honors Essay II and RELST 4995 Senior Honors Essay I are based on the student's quality and effort. Your thesis committee determines whether your project deserves honors and, if so, will recommend you to the members of the advisory board of the program. Students may be awarded honors based on the board's evaluation of the scholarly achievement represented in the thesis.