Program Description

Scholars in a variety of disciplines can benefit from formal training in the study of religion. As religious ideas, institutions and practices appear throughout history and across the globe, many different kinds of academic inquiry touch upon them in some way. The Committee on the Study of Religion is pleased to accommodate students from other graduate programs whose work would profit from greater familiarity with the theories, methods and content of our field. A student enrolled in a PhD program in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University may achieve formal recognition for completing a secondary field in the Study of Religion. The requirements for the secondary field are as follows:

Requirements

1. Submit an application to the Committee on the Study of Religion.
2. Meet with an advisor from the Committee on the Study of Religion (assigned by the Doctoral Subcommittee) to approve a course plan.
3. Complete Religion 2001, the common seminar required of all first-year PhD students.
4. Complete a minimum of three additional semester-long courses (12 credits). Under normal circumstances, courses should:
   • Be taken outside the student’s home department
   •  Be taken for a letter grade (not sat/unsat)
   • Be passed with a grade of B+ or higher
   • Any exceptions to these criteria must be approved by the advisor and the DGS
5. Upon successful completion of the course requirements detailed above, the student should submit evidence thereof to the Chair of the Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. After approval by the Chair and DGS, the student and the registrar will be notified that the secondary field requirements have been completed.