Degree Requirements for the M.Phil.

Program of study: to be planned in consultation with a faculty advisor in the student's field of specialization who is designated by the departmental director of graduate studies. Students working in more than a single field of study will 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 a single field is appropriate for the student wishing to undertake it.

Course credit 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 the Colloquium in Comparative Religion. Students should take the Colloquium during their 3rd or 4th years, when they can be expected to bring a maturing proficiency from their fields of specialization to a discussion of general problems in religious studies. Topics for the course vary from year to year.

Departmental Policy on Incomplete Coursework: the department expects that students will complete all courses for which the grade of incomplete is awarded during the following semester, the Spring semester if the course was taken in the Fall, or Summer if in the Spring. If a course is left uncompleted beyond this period, the student will be placed on probation. Please also note that if coursework is not completed within one year from the end of the term in question, the INC on the student's transcript will automatically revert to a grade of "F". No more than two incompletes are permitted at any one time.

Language requirements: a reading knowledge of French, German or another appropriate language of research (subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies) and a reading knowledge of at least one additional language, ancient or modern, other than English.

Examinations: written and oral, as indicated under the requirements for the M.A. degree above; and 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 coursework in the field, and of the relevant general bibliography for the field (as determined in consultation with the field advisor). The nature of the examination itself varies according to field, but always 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 6-8 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 is to represent an area of specialization within the field in which the candidate will go 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 which applies in a given field.

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

Advanced Standing: students entering with an M.A. degree in religion or related studies will receive two Residence Units of advanced standing, a determination that is made at the end of the student's first year in residence at Columbia. The granting of such advanced standing will shorten the expected time to completion of the M.Phil. degree, and corresponding tuition expenditures. All students, including those awarded advanced standing, are required, however to pass the Theories and Methods courses Religion G6901 and G6902 during their first year in residence. This accelerated timetable leaves students granted advanced standing only two years during which to complete all of their course requirements for the M.Phil. As a result some students, particularly those required to master demanding languages, may in fact require an additional year of full time study.

Timetable: All work for the MPhil degree must be completed within four years unless the student received advanced standing, in which case all degree requirements must be completed within three years.