Prospective Graduate Student FAQs

Yes! Interested students should contact Brittany Galuskin at [email protected] for fee waiver information.

Contact the Director of Graduate Studies to schedule an appointment to discuss the program or to inquire about sitting in on a graduate course.

The application deadline is March 15th.

As part of the completed online application form, we require:

• 3 letters of recommendation.
• TOEFL scores for international students (Institution Code: 5251).
• 1 transcript from each institution attended uploaded.
• A 1000 word statement of purpose.
• A 2000 word writing sample.
• Take a moment to review the College’s Application Checklist.

Please note that the Department of Religious Studies no longer requires the GRE as part of the MA application process.

• The intellectual aim of the applicant’s personal statement.
• The fit between an applicant’s personal statement and the department.
• The quality and academic integrity of the applicant’s writing sample.
• Strength of an applicant's recommendations.
• Undergraduate grade point averages.

Official notification for admission to the program occurs in mid-March for the February deadline and late April for the March deadline. Every effort is made, however, to notify applicants of their acceptance as soon as possible. Applicants will receive preliminary notification from the Graduate Director and official admissions information from the University separately.

No. The Admissions Committee makes financial aid decisions at the time of admission, and all applicants are considered for merit based funding.

The Religious Studies Department offers, on a competitive basis, several types of assistantships. All types of assistantships include a full waiver of tuition. All students granted an assistantship, whether residents or nonresidents, pay only student fees (approximately $1100/semester).

In addition, assistants receive a stipend of $2,500 or more per semester. Assuming satisfactory performance, students admitted with assistantships can usually expect to receive four semesters of stipend support. Support past this time is possible but should not be expected.

All types of assistants must register for at least 18 hours of graduate level credit each semester. These 18 hours should include at least 3 hours of RELS 8960 the Research Assistantship course. Students who receive an assistantship for the summer term must register for 12 hours during the summer semester. While the specific tasks asked of assistants vary somewhat from year to year, what follows should provide some sense of what an assistant might expect to do:

• Some assistants aid professors in finding research materials, proofreading, indexing books, and writing summaries of literature on specific topics.
• Some assistants provide professors with instructional support by grading, collating materials, proctoring exams, and occasionally attending undergraduate classes.
• Some assistants (Graduate Teaching Assistants) are the primary instructors of classes of RELS 2001, Introduction to World Religions.

Your recommenders should be professionals who can speak to your academic promise and intellectual abilities. Most applicants request letters from (former) professors, but applicants who have been away from school for a while may ask coworkers or managers to write letters.

Yes. Your 2000 word writing sample should demonstrate your ability to do graduate level research and writing.

Your statement of purpose should be no more than 1000 words.

If your questions concern the application process or administrative matters, please contact Graduate Services: 404-413-5040.
If your questions concern one of the MA programs, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies.