--Department
of Religion Graduate Program |
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The M.A. Program in Religion |
Now in its 40th year, the Master of Arts in Religion offered by Wake Forest University
provides students an opportunity to forge a unique, creative,
and rigorous program of study. The degree can serve either as
a terminal degree or as preparation for a doctoral program.
It emphasizes the comparative and theoretical study of religion
in its various traditions and forms. Reflecting the teaching
and research interests of the current graduate faculty in the
department, the program fosters interdisciplinary approaches,
offering training in traditional and contemporary theories and
methods in conjunction with substantive investigations of diverse
religious traditions and topics. Students are encouraged to
make imaginative use of all available resources in the creation
of their own distinctive programs of study. Typically, this
would involve 1) a focus on a particular religious culture/region
or historical period, and 2) an approach or approaches to the
study of the subject area. Currently the department can support
the following areas of study for students: |
Religious
Cultures / Regions / Historical Periods: |
Buddhism
Hinduism
Islam
Japanese Religions
East Asian Religions
South Asian Religions
Christianity
Near Eastern Languages and Literature |
Early Christianity
Evangelical Christianity
Christian Mysticism
Ancient Near East
Greco-Roman World
North American Religions
African Religions
Race in North America |
Early Modern/Modern European
Christianity
Contemporary American Indian Culture & Religion
African American Religious Traditions |
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| Methodology
/ Approaches to the Study: |
Comparative Religion
Religion and Law
Historical Studies
Ritual Studies
Linguistic Studies
Archaeological Studies
Textual Studies
Cultural Studies
Ethnography |
Gender & Feminist Studies
Ethics
International Human Rights
Psychology and Religion
Religion and Politics
Anthropology
Philosophy
Sociology
Postcolonial Studies |
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The JD/MA Program in Religion |
JD/MA in Religion Program
The JD/MA in Religion program facilitates an interdisciplinary and comparative study of law and religion and encourages students whose academic or career interests require gaining competence in both disciplines.
Interested students can combine the three-year law curriculum and the two-year MA curriculum into a four-year program. Students will first complete a year of work in the Department of Religion. Years 2 and 3 will be completed in the School of Law. For the 4th year, students will enroll in each school for one semester, completing any remaining degree requirements and elective courses that are joint-degree appropriate.
Law School Requirements
When undertaken as part of the joint JD/MA in Religion program, the JD degree requires completion of 75 hours of law course work including the degree requirements prescribed by the law school for graduation.
Department of Religion Requirements
When undertaken as part of the JD/MA in Religion program, the MA degree requires completion of 24 hours of graduate courses in religion which must include REL 700.
Academic Advising
Students will be provided a faculty advisor from each school to help guide them through the program and its curriculum. To make the most of the degree program, students will meet with both advisors at least once during each semester.
In the list of courses offered with graduate credit, not every course is scheduled every
year, but usually two courses at the 700-level are offered in each semester. Substantive efforts are made to offer courses that are needed by students in either graduate course of study, and student input is welcome in determining the course schedule from semester to semester. The general MA in religion program began in 1967. Departmental graduate committee:
Ilesanmi (chair), Boyd, Horton.
600. Approaches to the Study of Religion. (3) A phenomenological study of different ways of defining religion, including views of representative philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, theologians, and historians of religion.
601. Myth. (3) Study of the interpretation of myth, with a focus on the meaning and values implicit in the myths of contemporary culture.
602. Mysticism. (3) Study of mysticism from a multi-religious perspective with emphasis on the psychological and sociological aspects of this phenomenon.
603. Religion and Science. (3) Examination of the ways in which religion and science have conflicted with, criticized, and complemented one another in the history of Western thought from Galileo to the present.
608. Sacred Scripture in the Traditions of Abraham. Comparative study of sacred texts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with particular attention to the issues authority, and function.
610. The Prophetic Literature. (3) Examination of the development and theological contents of the literary products of Israel’s prophetic movement.
611. The Psalms. (3) Study of the Psalter with particular emphasis on the setting of the Psalms in Irael’s worship.
612. The Critical Study of the Pentateuch. (3) Study of the five traditional books of Moses (the Torah) and various lines of analysis that modern Biblical critics have used to interpret their composition and role in the development of Israelite theological thought.
613. Near Eastern Archeology. (3) Survey of twentieth-century archeology in the Near East with attention to its importance for Biblical studies.
614. Ancient Israel and Her Neighbors. (1.5) Study of ancient Near Eastern archeology with emphasis on Israel’s relationships with surrounding peoples.
615, 616. Field Research in Biblical Archeology. (3, 3) Study of the religion and culture of the ancient Near East through the excavation and interpretation of an ancient site.
617. Wisdom Literature. (3) Examination of the development, literary characteristics, and theological contents of the works of ancient Israel’s sages.Back to Top
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Requirements for Entrance and Graduation |
All applicants should hold an undergraduate degree from an
accredited college or university. Ordinarily, applicants for
admission into the MA in religion program have majored in religion
or religious studies during their undergraduate coursework.
Admission is based on the degree of success in previous courses
in religion, the clarity of the applicant’s educational
goals, and the general potential for successfully engaging in
graduate level work within the program. Applicants will not
be admitted if it is likely that they cannot fulfill any of
the program requirements, including the foreign language requirement.
Any student admitted into the program without what the Graduate
Committee considers to be a well-rounded undergraduate course
of study in religion will be required to take remedial coursework
without graduate credit. Applicants should have, at a minimum,
a combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative sections
of the Graduate Record Examination. (Wake Forest University's GRE institution code is 5885. There is no separate deparmental code.)
The department ordinarily requires a reading knowledge of German
for graduation. A student and adviser may, however, petition
the Graduate Committee to substitute another language suitable
for the student’s research to fulfill this requirement.
Those who write a thesis in textual studies must also demonstrate
competence in the relevant ancient languages.
The master's degree requires 30 semester hours—3 semester
hours in the required research course REL 705 Research in Religion,
21 semester hours of other course work, and 6 semester hours
for the thesis. We strongly encourage graduate students to take
some of their work in other departments.
The Department of Religion partners with the Department
of Anthropology, offering students with a focus in Anthropology
a broader spectrum of courses and faculty mentors. Please visit
the Department of Anthropology’s website
for course information and faculty research areas. Contact Dr.
Jeanne Simonelli (email)
with questions.
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Financial Aid |
Wake Forest University provides scholarships amounting to half
tuition or full tuition, and a small number of fellowships.
In recent years the University has provided us a teaching assistantship
for Near Eastern Languages and Literature.
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Additional Information About Our Program |
For information pertaining to the Graduate Program in Religion
write or call:
Professor Simeon Ilesanmi (ilesanmi@wfu.edu)
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Religion
Box 7212 Reynolda Station
Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7212
(336) 759-5459 * (336) 759-4462 (fax)
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Click to view or download the 2008/2009
Bulletin of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences |
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Click to view or download the 2008/2009
M.A. Program in Religion Promotional Flyer |
Wake Forest University and the Department
of Religion welcomes all applications.
We do not discriminate in admission or financial aid
on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation,
or national origin.
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