The Major in Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania offers a major that is flexible and can be tailored to your interest and to work in tandem with other majors and minors, If you are interested in majoring in Religious Studies, begin by contacting the Undergrad chair to learn more about the faculty and courses and to work out a plan for the major. The current Undergrad Chair, Professor Steven Weitzman, can be reached at wsteve@upenn.edu.

A Religious Studies Major requires twelve courses drawn from the Religious Studies department or from courses in other departments approved by the Undergrad Chair for credit toward the major.

Many departments and programs offer courses that may be relevant for the Religious Studies major including Ancient History, Art History, Classical Studies, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, South Asia Studies, Jewish Studies, History and Sociology of Science and Medicine, and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, among others. Study abroad courses are encouraged but not required. The Undergrad Chair will help you develop a plan tied to your own interests.

There are many pathways through the major, but here are some guidelines that all students should follow:

1. A major should involve coursework in at least two different religious traditions to allow for a broader comparative perspective on religion.

2. Three courses should be at the beginner level (courses numbered 0000-1999). These tend to be broad introductions to religious traditions like Islam, Buddhism or Christianity, thematic courses, Franklin Seminars and other courses meant for students who are new to the study of religion.

3. Three courses should be at the intermediate level or higher (courses numbers 2000 or higher). These are more focused courses and tend to be smaller.

4. In addition to the intermediate courses, one additional course should be a seminar led by a Religious Studies faculty member (courses numbered 2000 or higher and identified as seminars). Such courses are discussion-based and usually lead to a research paper or project.

5. To complete the major, a student must enroll in a course entitled “The Culminating Experience” (RELS 4999) an independent studies course taken with a faculty member in the department. This is an experience where you read, study and converse together with the professor, culminating in a project—a research paper, a presentation, a documentary or some kind of creative work that builds on what you have learned in this course and in your Religious Studies education generally. Students typically fulfill the “Culminating Experience” requirement in their final year and will be asked to make a brief presentation of their projects at a year-end awards ceremony.

Language and Study Abroad. The department recognizes how important language and cultural immersion are to the understanding of religion. With the approval of the Undergrad Chair, you may count up to two language courses toward the major provided that you can show how they are relevant to the study of religion. In general, the department will not count languages courses like German, French or Spanish. The idea is to focus students on the study of language study specifically relevant for the study of religion (Quranic Arabic, biblical Hebrew, Sanskrit, etc.). The department encourages study abroad, and such courses may be counted toward the major provided they are focused on the study of religion and have the approval of the Undergrad Chair.