MA in Religious Studies

The MA in Religious Studies is a 45-credit degree program especially designed for the non-Buddhist student who wishes to join the study of comparative religions with related contemplative practices and interreligious dialogue.

Departmental course offerings on the graduate level examine the phenomenon of religion as it affects individuals, as it operates in culture and as it addresses questions of life’s ultimate values.

While there is a wide array of courses in Buddhism in departmental offerings, courses in the other major world religions are represented, all with a balanced emphasis upon study and contemplative practice. The methods applied on both the undergraduate and graduate levels draw from the academic disciplines of history of religions and theology, and from a commitment to presenting traditions from perspectives sympathetic to the living religious communities themselves.

This approach honors the distinctive place of contemplative traditions and practices, especially those of Buddhism, within many of the world’s great religions.

Contemplative experience and training are found in many of the world's great spiritual traditions. Students who select the MA in Religious Studies examine the mystical and meditative dimensions of many traditions, integrating academic study and personal investigation.

Building on the foundation of clear methodology in Religious Studies, courses in this degree program explore these religions with the help of faculty members who are both academically trained and spiritually practiced in their respective traditions. In addition, students are trained in interreligious dialogue as an avenue to communicate across religious differences in an environment of global pluralism.