- Professor and Interim Head of the Department
- D.N. Bell
The degree of Master of Arts (M.A.) is offered in Religious Studies and may be taken by full-time or part-time study.
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Admission requirements are set forth in the Regulations Governing the Degree of Master of Arts. An applicant should have completed a minimum of 45 credit hours in Religious Studies courses at the undergraduate level with at least the grade of B in each. An applicant's overall undergraduate program must represent, to the satisfaction of the Department, a solid groundwork for graduate studies.
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A candidate who does not hold an Honours Degree or its equivalent shall be required to complete such additional undergraduate courses as the Department may deem necessary. These courses may be required as prerequisites to admission to the program, or as an additional constituent part of the program, at the discretion of the Department.
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Upon acceptance into the program, each candidate will be assigned a Supervisor, whose duty it shall be to assist the candidate.
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Normally, the Master of Arts program should take two years to complete, the first of which is to be spent primarily on course work and preparation of a thesis proposal. A student accepted on a part-time basis would normally be expected to take three to five years to complete the program.
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Students shall normally complete a thesis and a minimum of 12 credit hours in course work.
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Students may write a thesis in one of the following areas: Hinduism, classical Confucianism, philosophical Daoism, Chinese and North American Buddhism, Buddhism and psychology, Judaism, Christianity, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, religious history of Canada, religious history of Newfoundland and Labrador, medieval religious thought, religion and culture (including pop culture), New Age religious movements, ethics and social justice, philosophy of religion.
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Before a student begins writing his or her thesis, he/she should submit a thesis proposal to the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department for approval.
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Students will be required to satisfy the Department as to proficiency in any language or technical facility deemed necessary by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department for successful completion of the thesis.
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For the course work students must complete three required courses and at least one other from the course list. The three required courses are: RS 6100 Interpretations of Religion; RS 6120 Studies in Religious Texts; and RS 6130 Studies in Religious Movements and Institutions.
- Courses
- 6100 Interpretations of Religion (Note: Credit may not be obtained for both Religious Studies 6100 and the former Religious Studies 6000)
- 6120 Studies in Religious Texts
- 6130 Studies in Religious Movements and Institutions
- 6220 Selected Topics in New Testament
- 6230 Selected Topics in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
- 6330 Selected Topics in Judaism
- 6340 Selected Topics in East Asian Religious Traditions
- 6720 Selected Topics in the History of Christianity
- 6730 Selected Topics in the Religious History of Canada
- 6740 Selected Topics in the Religious History of Newfoundland and Labrador
- 6750 Selected Topics in Medieval Religious Thought
- 6820 Selected Topics in Christian Ethics
- 6830 Selected Topics in Religion and Culture
- 6840 Selected Topics in the Philosophy of Religion
- 6850 Selected Topics in New Age Religious Movements
- 6900-10 Special Topics in the Study of Religion