Other Information Information About this Department List of Faculty Dissertation Sponsors Degree Requirements Apply Online Visit the Department's Website Course List

Degree Requirements

The requirements listed below are special to this department and must be read in conjunction with the general requirements of the Graduate School.

Students who enter the program with fewer than two Residence Units of advanced standing are required to earn the M.A. degree as a prerequisite for the M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees.

For the Free-Standing M.A. Program in Religion

Program of study: To be arranged individually with a faculty advisor who is designated by the Director of Graduate Studies. Courses must be selected so as to provide for intellectual growth in the program’s three core areas: theories and methods needed for the study of religion, broad familiarity with the world’s major religious traditions, and increasing depth in one’s area of specialization.

Language requirements: A reading knowledge of one foreign language appropriate for research, other than English and one’s mother tongue, if other than English. Proficiency is measured by examination or one year’s course work beyond the elementary level in a language relevant to the student’s field of research, to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Course requirements: Two Residence Units for a total of 30 credit points, of which at least 24 must be taken for a letter grade of B or better.

Students must achieve a grade of B or better in RELI G6901 or G6902, which may require written papers and examinations. They must also complete survey courses in at least two of the six major world religious traditions (not counting their area of specialization), either by showing evidence of having previously completed (at a B or better level) a college survey course in a tradition or by taking a Columbia undergraduate survey course and writing a graduate-level research paper. Students doing the free-standing M.A. in three semesters must complete an additional survey in the third semester.

Examination requirement: All students must pass an oral examination administered by a two-member faculty committee and based on two research papers written for courses with different instructors.

Timetable: Full-time students are expected to complete the free-standing M.A. program within two or three semesters.

Part-time M.A. study: The requirements for the part-time M.A. are the same as for the full-time M.A., with the exception of the time limit, which is extended to eight semesters.

For the Dual M.S./M.A. Program in Journalism/Religion

The degree requirements for the Religion portion of the M.S./M.A. program in Journalism and Religion are identical to those of the free-standing M.A. program. Please consult the Journalism/Religion requirements for details of the degree.

Ph.D. Program

For the M.A. Degree

Requirements for the M.A. degree for students admitted to the Ph.D. program are identical to those in the free-standing M.A. program, with the following exceptions:

Course requirements: Students must achieve a grade of B or better in RELI G6901 and RELI G6902, which may require written papers and examinations. They must also complete survey courses in at least three of the six major world religious traditions (not counting their area of specialization), either by showing evidence of having previously completed (at a B or better level) a college survey course in a tradition or by taking a Columbia undergraduate survey course and writing a graduate-level research paper. Students must complete two more surveys by the end of the second year in residence.

For the M.Phil. Degree

Program of study: To be planned in consultation with a faculty advisor in the student’s field of specialization who is designated by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students working in more than one field of study plan their program in consultation with faculty advisors in the appropriate fields. The faculty concerned must in such cases concur that a program involving more than one field is appropriate for the student wishing to undertake it.

Course requirements: Four Residence Units beyond the M.A. In consultation with a faculty advisor, students should complete course work relevant to their program of study. Courses must include a graduate seminar or colloquium in Comparative Religion in each of the second and third years of study. Courses may be taken in other departments at Columbia or at universities that take part in the Exchange Scholar Program. All courses are subject to approval by the DGS.

Departmental policy on incomplete course work: The department expects that students complete all courses for which the grade of Incomplete is awarded during the following semester: that is, in the spring semester if the course was taken in the fall, and in the summer if the course was taken in the spring. If a course is left uncompleted beyond this period, the student is placed on probation. No more than two Incompletes are permitted at any one time. Note: this departmental rule on Incompletes supersedes the GSAS rule on grades of Incomplete.

Language requirements: A reading knowledge of French, German, or other appropriate language of research and a reading knowledge of at least one additional language, ancient or modern, other than English.

Teaching requirement: Participation in the instructional activities of the department for three years. As a rule, in the second, third and fourth years of study, students gain exposure to teaching as assistants to professors or as section leaders in undergraduate courses. Students who are interested in broadening their teaching apprenticeships are eligible to teach in the Core Program once they have received the M.Phil. Students may only apply to be a preceptor if they have or expect to have the M.Phil. by the May prior to being appointed as a preceptor, and if they are not past their sixth year of registration during the first year of the preceptorship. Students may not hold instructional appointments after year seven.

Examinations: In addition to course and oral examinations required for the M.A., students must pass two sets of  comprehensive field examinations, oral and/or written, in the candidate’s field of study, which vary according to the field. These examinations are to be completed no later than the end of the fourth year, or, for students with advanced standing (see below), the end of the third.

The first field examination focuses on the candidate’s knowledge and research skills in his or her field, and presupposes mastery of both earlier course work in the field and of the relevant general bibliography for the field (as determined in consultation with the field advisor). The examination includes both a written and an oral component. The written component may be fulfilled, according to the requirements of the field, either by passing a written examination, to be assessed by a minimum of two examiners, involving six to eight hours of writing time, or by the approval by the advisor and an additional member of the faculty of one or two essays (generally 50–60 pages in total, regardless of the number of essays) on topics approved or assigned by the advisor. The oral examination is to be completed during the same semester as the written, and within no more than one month of it.

The second field examination addresses an area of specialization within the field in which the candidate goes on to develop his or her dissertation research. It is fulfilled by the approval, of the advisor and a second faculty reader, of a single research paper of 40–50 pages on a topic determined by the candidate in consultation with the advisor, followed by an oral discussion relating to the paper, or by a written examination followed in the same week by an oral examination on that work.

Consult the Guidelines for Field Examinations for the model that applies in a given field.

When a candidate is working jointly in two fields, the precise format for the field examinations is established by the two field advisors together, adhering to the general pattern described above.

Advanced Standing: Students entering with an M.A. degree in religion or related fields receive two Residence Units of advanced standing.  Students granted advanced standing must complete RELI G6901 and G6902 with a grade of B or better in their first year and all of their course requirements for the M.Phil. within three years, unless the DGS grants an additional year of full-time study so that the student may master a demanding language while completing other coursework.

For the Ph.D. Degree

Requirements: (1) the completion of the M.Phil. degree; (2) an oral examination on a research proposal for a dissertation; and (3) the writing, defense and deposit of a dissertation in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Registration at Union Theological Seminary

The Registrar at Union Theological Seminary must initial any Seminary courses on a Registration Form (available at the Columbia Registrar’s Office, 205 Kent) before the student may register for them at Columbia.

Financial Aid