Religion

                         Graduate Faculty
Chair: D. G. Hackett. Graduate Coordinator: M. A. Vasquez. Complete faculty listing by department: Follow this link

The Department of Religion offers the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in three specialty fields:

Religion in the Americas
Religions of Asia
Religion and nature.

Minimum requirements for these degrees are given in the General Information section of this catalog.

The first two specialty fields provide advanced education in the academic study of religion focusing on the religions and religious experiences of indigenous peoples. The third specialty field addresses the religious and ethical dimensions of human attitudes and practices regarding the natural world. Specific and current requirements are given at http://religion.ufl.edu under "Graduate Program." In special instances, and with the agreement of the supervisory committee and two sponsoring faculty members, master's degree students may choose an area outside the three specialty fields.

In addition to materials requested by the Graduate School for admission, applicants must send directly to the Religion Department the following evidence of aptitude and interest:

Three references from persons competent to evaluate the applicant's potential for graduate work
An essay of 3 to 5 double-spaced, typewritten pages identifying the applicant's goals and particular interests pertinent to the three available specialty fields (this essay is extremely important and applicants should attend to it carefully)
A writing sample.

Beyond these requirements, applicants need to show clear evidence of solid preparation before admission. This usually includes formal study of the primary language in the specialty field. Acceptable scores on the GRE General Test are required. In addition to evidence of preparation and academic promise, the Department gives careful consideration to the fit between an applicant's central scholarly interests and the resources the Department and University have to offer.

Master of Arts: The M.A. degree provides a broad background in the study of religious traditions, theoretical orientations in the discipline, and an initial concentration in one of the three specialty fields. Course work culminates in a thesis and oral examination on the thesis and course work.

Total credits: Thirty credit hours are required. These include Method and Theory I and II, the core course(s) of the major field (or equivalent for those not in one of the three specialty fields), and 6 hours of thesis research credits. The additional hours shall consist of further courses in the specialty field, other graduate seminars, and up to 6 hours of research language study.

Language study: All M.A. students are required to demonstrate competency in a scholarly language other than English before beginning the thesis. Most languages are acceptable, though students should consult the individual field requirements. The chosen language must be approved by the student’s mentor and the graduate coordinator.

Thesis: Each student, guided by a supervisory committee, will prepare a Master of Arts thesis, acceptable to the Department of Religion and the Graduate School, and undergo an oral examination.

Promotion to doctoral status: The Department anticipates admitting only the best qualified M.A. students to the doctoral program. Resident graduate students who wish to apply for doctoral status (i.e., permission to fulfill requirements leading to doctoral qualifying examinations) must apply during the semester before they wish that status to be changed. A review and decision will be made by the field faculty and the graduate committee.

Doctor of Philosophy: The Ph.D. program trains future scholars to conduct original research and teach in colleges, universities, and other educational, governmental, and nongovernmental institutions. A student usually enters with a religion master’s degree either from this or another institution. Those admitted with master's degrees in disciplines other than religion may petition to bypass the religion master's degree with additional religion course work. All students are admitted into one of the three specialty fields and must fulfill the requirements of that field, as outlined. In addition, all students are encouraged to take courses in other departments to support work in their specialty field.

Course requirements: The University of Florida requires 90 hours of course work for the Ph.D. These may include up to 30 hours from a completed M.A. degree. The number of hours credited toward the Ph.D. is at the discretion of department faculty. A minimum of 45 hours is devoted to course work at the doctoral level. The specific distribution of course work depends on the specialization but will include intensive work in the major area of specialization, 6 hours of method and theory (If not taken at the M.A. level) and 15 hours devoted to dissertation writing and research.

Language requirements: All doctoral students must demonstrate proficiency in at least one and in many cases two languages other than English. The chosen language(s) as well as how and when the student's competence will be judged must be approved by the student's supervisory committee chair. Frequently language competence is documented by 1) taking an appropriate course or courses in the language with a grade of "B" or better, or 2) passing a translation exam (usually administered by a department member or a language department at the University). Basic course work for scholarly languages will not count toward the required 90 credit hours. However, students studying a scholarly language connected to their research needs (above and beyond basic competence) can receive 6 (or more) credit hours for such advanced courses toward the required 90 total credit hours, with approval of the student's supervisory committee chair.

Qualifying examinations: Qualifying examinations form a bridge between course work and dissertation research. Normally students will take qualifying examinations during their third year in residence. The precise areas of questioning and the reading list are decided by the supervisory committee in consultation with the student, well in advance of the examinations, but no later than the beginning of the term in which the student intends to take the qualifying examinations.

Dissertation proposal: Each doctoral candidate submits a formal dissertation proposal to the candidate's supervisory committee chair at least 3 weeks before the end of the semester after the qualifying examination.

Admission to candidacy: On successfully completing the qualifying examination and the dissertation proposal, and all other course and language requirements, and with the approval of the supervisory committee, students make formal application to the Department and Graduate School for admission to Ph.D. candidacy.

Dissertation and its defense: The final years of the program are devoted to dissertation research and writing. The student is expected to present the completed dissertation and defend it at a public oral defense conducted by the supervisory committee.

Mentoring: Each student is assigned a faculty mentor on admission to the program, based on expressions of faculty interest and the student’s intended area of concentration. The mentor and graduate coordinator answer questions and provide support for the student in choosing courses and planning a program. By the end of the second semester, all master's degree students must designate their supervisory committee chair and one additional department committee member.  By the end of the second semester, all doctoral students must designate their committee chair.  By no later than the end of the fourth semester of study, all doctoral students must designate a four-member supervisory committee including the chair and one member from outside the department. For details about the programs listed above, visit http://www.religion.ufl.edu.

REL 5143: Religion and Social Change (3) Religion's role in social movements and other forms of cultural, economic, and political transformation.
REL 5195: Topics in Religion and Society (3; max: 6) Examines the interaction between religious bodies and the structures of the societies in which they function, with particular attention to the United States.
REL 5297: Topics in Biblical Studies (3; max: 9) Examines methods of interpreting particular texts or themes chosen from Hebrew scriptures or the Christian New Testament.
REL 5338: Topics in Asian Religions (3; max: 9) Examines religious traditions that are indigenous to India, China, or Japan.
REL 5348: Buddhism across Boundaries (3) Cross-cultural history of Buddhism from the perspective of selected primary and secondary sources.
REL 5365: Studies in Islam (3; max: 9) Historical study of development of selected doctrines, institutions, and practices, using primary and interpretive material.
REL 5396: Religion and Animals (3) Examines the place of animals in the cosmologies and ethical systems of the world's diverse religions.
REL 5495: Topics in Religious Thought (3; max: 9) Investigation of particular themes in a religious tradition or the comparative approach to intellectual dimensions of religious communities.
REL 5549: Studies in Christianity (3; max: 9) Historical study of the development of selected Christian practices, doctrines, and institutions, using primary sources and interpretative material.
REL 5696: Topics in Jewish Thought (3; max: 9) Themes, issues, and personalities in the Jewish tradition, from the biblical period through modern times.
REL 5906: Individual Work (1-5; max: 12) Study of chosen materials under the individual direction of a member of the Graduate Faculty. Plan of study and method of evaluation must be pre-approved by the supervisory committee.
REL 5937: Topics in Religious Studies (3; max: 9) Issues and methods in the study of religion. Generally more than one religious tradition is studied.
REL 6035: Method and Theory I (3) Prereq: graduate standing. Required of all religion graduate students. Examines classical formulations of approaches to studying religion and to developing religious studies as an academic discipline.
REL 6036: Method and Theory II (3) Prereq: REL 6035 and graduate standing. Required of all religion graduate students. Study of religion in light of recent challenges in the humanities and social sciences. Special attention to the concept of religion and its origins in Christian culture of Western Europe; and to the engagement of religion in colonial culture.
REL 6095: Utopias and Dystopias (3) Ideal societies and their roles in religious movements, ideologies, and communities.
REL 6107: Core Seminar in Religion and Nature(3) Religious dimensions of relationships between what humans call "nature" and "culture."
REL 6125: Religion and Politics in the Americas(3) Relationship between socio-political change and religion in the Americas from the pre-colonial period to the present.
REL 6129: Hindu Traditions in America(3) Exploration of cultural, religious, and social issues.
REL 6137: Religion in North America (3; max: 6) Examines religious bodies in the United States, from historical, sociological, and theological perspectives.
REL 6138: New Religious Movements (3) New, emerging, or alternative religious groups likely to receive the pejorative label of cult; types of leadership, organization, ritual, and ideology of such groups.
REL 6139: Religion in the Americas(3) Origins and interactions of religions in the Americas.
REL 6167: Radical Environmentalism (3) Critically examines the emergence and social impact of radical environmental groups.
REL 6181: Ethics and the Natural Sciences (3) Perspectives on the intersection of ethics and natural sciences, focusing on bioethics and health care, evolution, ecology, and ethology.
REL 6183: Religion and Environmental Ethics(3) Explorations in classic and contemporary theories and applications of environmental ethics, with special attention to religion.
REL 6186: Nature in Western Traditions(3) Introduction to major issues and approaches in relations between humans and nature in western religious traditions.
REL 6187: Nature in Asian Religions (3) Explores themes such as interconnectedness and interdependence, nonexclusivity, and biocentrism in ethical systems of religious traditions of Asia.
REL 6196: Globalizing the Sacred (3) Examines the ways that religion shapes the current multifaceted episode of globalization.
REL 6319: Interpreting Asian Religions (3) Critical assessment of the world-religions model for interpreting Asian religions.
REL 6339: Women in the Hindu Tradition (3) Classical Hindu typologies of womanhood compared to alternative modern and contemporary models.
REL 6346: Buddhist Traditions(3) Comprehensive survey of main traditions.
REL 6347: American Buddhism(3) Exploration of relationship between Buddhism and American culture.
REL 6368: Islam in Asia (3) Survey of the spread, development, and diversification of Muslim societies across Asia.
REL 6372: Religion and Nature in South Asia (3) Examines how the different religious traditions of South Asia understand the natural world and how these traditions respond to contemporary environmental issues.
REL 6384: Religion and Nature in Latin America (3 ) Attitudes and practices regarding nature in Latin American religions, including Christian, indigenous, African-based, and "new" religions.
REL 6385: Native Religions in the Americas(3) Indigenous religious communities and traditions in North, Central, and South America.
REL 6386: Religion and the Latin American Diaspora(3) Exploration of how transnationalism interacts with religion to produce new forms of identity and community life among Latinos.
REL 6387: Religions in Latin America(3) Important historical developments and contemporary expressions of religions in Latin America.
REL 6397: Hindu Sacred Texts and Their Ritual Context (3) Focuses on the notion of aural revelation, and exploration of social and ritual context of sacred text. Traditions of recitation, music, verbal, and performative commentaries associated with transmission of holy words.
REL 6910: Supervised Research (1-5; max: 5) S/U.
REL 6940: Supervised Teaching (1-5; max: 5) S/U.
REL 6957: Overseas Studies in Religion(1-3; max: 9) S/U.
REL 6971: Research for Master's Thesis (1-15) Required of all candidates for the M.A. degree. S/U.
REL 7979: Advanced Research (1-15) Prereq: consent of graduate coordinator. Research for doctoral students before admission to candidacy. Designed for students with a master's degree in the field of study or for students who have been admitted to a doctoral program. Not appropriate for students who have been admitted to candidacy. S/U.
REL 7980: Research for Doctoral Dissertation(1-15) S/U.
SRK 6905: Individual Study in Sanskrit (1-4; max: 9) Prereq: consent of instructor. Graduate reading in Sanskrit language and literature.