Goals and Requirements for Majors and Minors

Goals for Majors and Minors

In successfully completing a major in Religious Studies, a student will be able to:

• recognize, identify, and understand prominent ways in which people have been and are religious;
• clarify how the academic study of religion fits into a curriculum designed to explore the liberal arts and sciences;
• experience the methodological diversity that the study of religion embraces;
• draw on disciplines of the liberal arts and sciences to deepen understanding of religious experience and systems of thought;
• encourage a global approach to the study of religion; and
• write clearly and persuasively.

Requirements for Majors and Minors

The religious studies major is available as a bachelor of arts degree only.

For a major: 10 courses, including 110, 120 or 130, 220 or 230, 115 or 330 and 485. For a major with a Concentration in Biblical Studies: 10 courses including 110, 120, 130, 200, 202, 220 or 230, 115 or 330, 485, plus study in Israel under department supervision.

For a minor: five courses including 110. The other courses are to be chosen in consultation with a member of the Religious Studies faculty.