Requirements

REQUIRED COURSES The minimum requirements to complete the DE in the Study of Religion are four courses.

Students are required to take two of the three foundational courses of the Graduate Program in the Study of Religion. Although this is not required, students are recommended to complete the series.
REL 200A: Historical Roots of the Study of Religion (4 units)
REL 200B: Foundational Theories of Religion (4 units)
REL 200C: Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Religion (4 units) It is recommended (but not required) that students take REL 200A first as a foundation for further study.

ELECTIVE COURSES Students are required to complete two additional REL courses, where one of the courses may be the third course from 200 series (REL 200A, 200B, 200C). Alternatively, students may take approved courses focusing on religion from their home department or from one of the departments affiliated with the DE. For approval of an elective from outside of the Graduate Group in the Study of Religion, please students must submit the relevant syllabus and the reading list to the staff contact for the DE. With it, also append a brief statement (150-200 words) clarifying its relation to the study of religion. A course must engage in substantial ways with religion as a category of analysis. In case of ambiguity with regard to course content, the Chair of the DE may request a sample of written work from the course. The Chair will review the documents to ensure that they focus on issues related to the study of religion and will notify students about their request on a case-by-case basis.

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS
All four of the required courses for the DE (two courses from the REL 200 series and 2 electives) must be completed before the Qualifying Examination. Students in the program are also expected to incorporate religion as a central category of analysis in their qualifying examination lists and dissertation topics. The Executive Committee will recommend one DE faculty member to serve on the Qualifying Examination committee. The DE chair will review student coursework to ensure satisfactory completion of requirements and will record the name of the faculty member serving on the student’s committee before signing the Qualifying Examination Application form. The Ph.D. program Graduate Adviser will also sign the application form. The Qualifying Examination itself will assess the student’s level of knowledge within the area of the DE, as well as in the Ph.D. program. Satisfactory performance on the Qualifying Exam for the Ph.D. will be judged independently from performance on the DE. Thus, an allowable outcome of the Qualifying Examination is that the student’s performance may be “passing” for the Ph.D. but “not passing” for the DE. In the event that a student passes the PhD qualifying exam, but receives a “not pass” for the DE, the Executive Committee of the DE will define a plan for remediation. The plan may include, but is not limited to re-examination by the DE Executive Committee, coursework, teaching, or preparation of a paper. If the student is re-examined, the outcome is limited to “pass” or “fail”. If the student receives a “fail”, the student is disqualified from the DE. Once the student has successfully completed both the Ph.D. and the DE, the DE Chair will sign the student’s Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy form and, in coordination with the student’s Graduate Advisor, ensure the form’s submission to Graduate Studies as soon as possible.

DISSERTATION REQUIREMENTS The dissertation topic shall incorporate study within the DE. The student’s Dissertation Committee shall be selected in accordance with the regulations of the PhD program, but must include at least one member of the DE. The major professor may be a member of the DE. If this is not the case, in consultation with the student and the appropriate affiliated PhD program, the Executive Committee will recommend a DE member to the Dissertation Committee.

By-Laws-https://programs.gs.ucdavis.edu/api/doc/3438