Graduate

A Religion master’s degree or PhD from Temple University will open new doors for you in your career while teaching you how to examine the world through new lenses. Learn more about our Religion MA or PhD, our academic partnerships and exchanges, the admissions process, your academic concentration, your options for funding graduate school, the Religion Graduate Student Association and our tuition and fees.

Earn an MA or PhD in Religion

As part of a major secular public university, Temple University’s Department of Religion treats religion in a scholarly manner without bias or favoritism for one religious or philosophical tradition over another and without preference for any particular form of spirituality or any single methodological or theoretical approach. The academic study of religion is multidisciplinary and draws from these faculty-driven themes:

Critical Investigation of Religion and Human Differences: This area builds upon and acknowledges our legacy of interreligious, cross-religious dialogue and critical engagement—a legacy that began 50 years ago. We continue to work among and between religious traditions upholding a strong commitment to the intersections of religion with race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability.
Historical Texts and Traditions: This emphasis involves the careful study of texts as an important point of access into religious belief systems, traditions, rituals and practices in their historical (and current) contexts. Among the texts studied are the Hebrew Bible, New Testament and Early Christian texts, Rabbinic texts, Muslim religious and jurisprudential texts, and Chinese (Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist) religious and philosophical texts.
Religion and Society: What is religion’s influence on society? How do social forces influence religion? These questions have gripped intellectuals for centuries, and they remain central to the study of religion today. All scholars of religion must consider certain fundamental social questions. For example, what is the impact of religion on American politics? What is bovine veneration and why does Hinduism encourage it?

Students in our MA or PhD in Religion degree programs take a combination of foundations courses and specialized seminars. Foundations courses cover a broad range of religious traditions. Each course covers the basic thought, practices and history of one of the following: African religions, African American religions, Buddhism, Chinese religions, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam or Judaism. Other Foundations courses deal with methodologies in the study of religion, including historical-textual, philosophical and social scientific approaches. Advanced or specialized seminars deal with religion in context of ethnicity, place, race and time.

Temple’s Master of Arts in Religion degree focuses on the multidisciplinary academic study of religious traditions and texts. The MA program provides increased cultural and cross-cultural analytical skills.

Temple’s Religion PhD program focuses on the multidisciplinary academic study of global religious traditions and texts. Our faculty have a broad range of specializations, giving our program both breadth and cross-cultural diversity. Visit our faculty page for faculty members currently accepting students. **Please Note - The PhD program is not accepting applications for the 2024-2025 academic year. You can visit the Religion Graduate Bulletin to learn more about the PhD program.**

Degree Offerings

Academic Partnerships and Exchanges

We have strong relationships with other programs in the College of Liberal Arts in addition to outside secular and religious institutions. These include the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Lutheran Theological Seminary, the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Religious Studies and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia. A coordinated MA/PhD program in Islamic-Christian Relations is conducted with Hartford Theological Seminary and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies is offered in cooperation with Temple’s Women’s Studies Program.

Admissions Process

Please visit the Religion MA Admissions page to learn more about graduate program requirements, dates and deadlines and instructions on how to apply. We strongly encourage PhD applicants to reach out to faculty members currently accepting students prior to applying to the program.

Academic Concentration

As a student working toward your MA or PhD in Religion, you’ll be guided toward a concentration based on your interests and the available resources at the department. View our Graduate Faulty page to see faculty members that are currently accepting students.

Possible concentrations include:

Africa Diaspora
African American Religious Traditions
Biblical Studies
Buddhism
Gender and Religion
Islamic Studies
Jewish Studies
Religion and Social Science

Tuition and Fees

For more than 130 years, we have focused on providing a world-class education at an affordable price. Just compare Temple to other universities and see what we mean. Temple tuition rates vary by college or school (the College of Liberal Arts does NOT charge any additional fees on top of the university’s base rate), residency status, student level and more. Use the Temple Tuition Calculator to estimate your tuition rate.

Temple Graduate School Funding

Financial assistance may be awarded to master’s degree and PhD students based on academic merit. The Religion Department nominates the strongest candidates for University Fellowships and offers a limited number of Teaching Assistantships. We reserve University Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships for PhD students. Due to limited resources, the department is not able to provide funding to all students.

Learn More

University Financial Support

View the most up-to-date information on additional financial support offered by the university.

Learn More

Graduate Resources

Religion Graduate Student Association

The GSA gives support and a voice to graduate student concerns. Graduate students in the Religion Department are automatically members of the Graduate Student Association (GSA). Temple University’s Department of Religion holds a permanent seat on the National Committee for Graduate Students of the American Academy of Religion (AAR).

RELGSA Listserv: Students of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). RELGSA Listserv: The RELGSA (Religion Graduate Students Association) Mailing List is for the exclusive use of the graduate students in Temple University’s Department of Religion. This list is one of the main ways we communicate with each other, exchange information and discuss issues pertaining to our department and programs. Subscription to the list is open to all current graduate students. The current list administrator is Ivanessa Arostegui. If you have questions or wish to subscribe, send them to Ivanessa Arostegui. Before you participate in the Listserv, please review the guidelines.

Guidelines and Policies for the RELGSA List:

1. Subscription to the list is limited to current graduate students in the Temple University Department of Religion. All requests for subscription are made through the list administrator, who must confirm your enrollment in the department. You may request to be removed from this list at any time by contacting the administrator. Students who graduate or leave the department can stay on the list for up to three months following their departure.

2. This list is strictly confidential! Do not forward by email or hard copy messages posted to this list to anyone who is not on this list. Do not discuss issues from this list with anyone not subscribed to the list. Do not distribute the email addresses of list subscribers to anyone not on the list. Violations of the confidentiality policy will be met by a six-month suspension from the list on the first offense, and a permanent ban from the list for subsequent offenses.

3. No flames. Please keep discussion on this list civil and respectful. We recognize that we often address emotional issues and that discussion may, at times, become heated. However, “flaming” is not permitted. Flaming includes: personal attacks, name-calling, and vulgar language. If you believe someone is flaming another list subscriber, politely call it to their attention. If the situation continues, contact the list administrator. Violations of the flaming policy will be met first with a public warning; second with a three-month suspension from the list; and third with a permanent ban from the list.

4. Make sure your subject line reflects the content of the message. It is recommended that you begin your subject line with [GSA], so that people on multiple lists can identify from which list the post originated. A further descriptive phrase should reflect the content of the message.

5. Examples:
Subject: [GSA] AAR Call for Papers
Subject: [GSA] Meeting cancellation
Subject: [GSA] German tutor needed

6. The RELGSA list is intended for administrative purposes pertaining to our involvement and representation in the Department of Religion. Please keep other discussions to a minimum. It is fine to post things such as:

Requests for information, resources, or advice
Announcements of lectures, events, calls for papers, or jobs that you believe are relevant to the list as a whole
Minutes from department committee meetings, and responses to/questions about these
Strategizing about department policies and issues
Information about departmental and graduate student gatherings. Extended conversations about personal work may begin on the list, but should be continued privately between the interested parties. For example, there is a separate listserv for students interested in discussing issues in American Religious History. You are welcome to set up other topic-specific listservs through Temple’s Information Technology office.

7. Similarly, please refrain from posting articles, stories, jokes, petitions, political announcements, et cetera, unless the topic directly relatesto issues under discussion on the list. If you think others on the list may be interested in these materials, you may post a note telling them where to find them or stating your willingness to forward something to them privately. The following types of postings are strictly prohibited from the list:

Chain letters
Pyramid schemes
Bogus virus warnings
Any message which could contribute to illegal activity, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, stalking, harassing, or doing bodily harm to another person.Violations may be met with warningsor suspension from subscription to the list.

8. Read posts carefully before responding. Because we conduct complex discussion on issues of importance, mis-readings can have profound consequences. It is also a good idea to read all relevant messages before you respond, so that you do not repeat a point already made.

9. Use caution when replying to a message. Remember that when you hit the Reply key, your reply immediately goes to everyone subscribed to the list, and not just the sender. It can be embarrassing for both sender and intended recipient to have private mail posted to everyone!

Department Contacts

Religion