Graduate Studies in Religious Studies -- The University of Iowa

314 Gilmore Hall • Iowa City, IA 52242 • 319-335-2164

Interested in Graduate Study?

A graduate degree in religious studies often leads to an academic career, teaching at the college or university level, or to a career within a religious, nonprofit, or governmental organization. Of the 24 graduate students who received doctorates from the Department of Religious Studies from 1992 to 2002, 20 now work as college and university professors, 3 are church professionals, and 1 is an officer of a nonprofit organization.

The Department of Religious Studies offers two graduate degrees, an M.A. and a Ph.D.

The basic areas of study are:

The M.A. degree is designed for students who wish to advance and deepen their understanding of religion. The degree may be taken with or without thesis. An M.A. requires 30 semester hours of graduate work in religion, 24 of which must be taken at Iowa. Requirements for languages and other research tools vary according to the focus of study. Students must pass an M.A. examination that tests their competence in course work completed. The M.A. degree is highly flexible according to student interests; M.A. students are supervised by the three-person faculty committee.

In the M.A. thesis, students show and refine their skills in research and writing. The thesis may count for six of the 30 semester hours .

The Ph.D. degree trains scholars in the three areas of religious studies offered by the department and provides rich experiences in the classroom for future teachers. The Ph.D. requires 72 semester hours of course work, 24 of which may be transferred from an accredited graduate school.

All graduate students take four required courses that place the world religions within broad intellectual and cultural contexts, provide basic training in methodology and develop valuable research skills. The four required courses are: Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion (32:205), Asian Religious Traditions (32:202), Western Religious Traditions (32:203), and Teaching Religious Studies (32:201) (optional for M.A. students).

For More Information:

See Admission and Financial Aid

Graduate College Admission
Review the University of Iowa Graduate College and Office of Admissions web sites.

Financial Aid
Review the University's Student Financial Aid site.
For information about the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies click here.

Graduate Student Organization
Review the RGSO web site.

General inquiries about the Department of Religious Studies:
319-335-2164 [telephone]
319-335-3716 [fax]
religion@uiowa.edu

More specific inquiries about graduate study:
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Religious Studies
Professor Janine Sawada

Page updated 3/06