Degree Requirements

The MARS degree requires successful completion of 30 credit hours of coursework with at least 18 credit hours in 500-level. Each student is required to take RS 500 ("The Academic Study of Religion") within the first nine hours of MARS coursework.

Further, one course must be taken from each of the program's four areas of concentration (Biblical Studies, Theology and Spirituality, Comparative Religions, and Religion and Culture/Ethics); and the student must choose one of those four areas of concentration as the focus of his/her remaining coursework.

Students may choose between two options for degree candidacy: Plan A and Plan B.

Plan A requires 24 credit hours of regular course work, six credit hours of thesis research (RS 599), and the successful completion and defense of a master's thesis. This plan is recommended for students entering with a strong background in Religious Studies, excellent research and writing skills, well defined research interests, and/or who may plan to go on to a Ph.D. program.

Plan B requires 30 credits hours of regular course work, plus the successful completion of comprehensive exams based upon the four areas of program concentration and the student's individualized focus of concentration.