Since 2007, CRS awards a non-degree diploma in Religious Studies to MA and PhD students who successfully complete the program alongside the requirements from their primary CEU departments. As of November 2014, CEU's Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies has been registered with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) following accreditation procedure.
The Advanced Certificate on the Master's Level
Students pursuing an Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies (ACRS) as part of their MA studies, engage in the study of religious phenomena from a variety of cross-disciplinary perspectives. This specialist field provides a unique experience and an in-depth engagement with religious thought and traditions, focusing especially but not exclusively, on the three monotheistic religions, in a historically and conceptually grounded way. It facilitates a critical review and analysis of their societal, institutional, cultural, intellectual, and political contexts.
Students fulfilling the requirements will receive an Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies.
Requirements
In order to receive a CEU Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies, the following requirements need to be fulfilled:
1. Admission to a participating CEU Department or Unit (see the full list here).
2. 1YMA students must take two mandatory Religious Studies courses (4 credits in total) and obtain 6 further elective Religious Studies credits (from the approved annual list of Religious Studies courses).
2YMA students must take two mandatory Religious Studies courses (4 credits in total) over the two years of their studies and obtain 10 further elective Religious Studies credits over the course of both years (from the approved annual list of Religious Studies courses).
Up to 4 elective credits may be earned in source language courses offered under the auspices of the CEU Source Language Teaching Group.
3. ACRS students must write their thesis on a religion-related topic. The student’s first or second supervisor should be a faculty member associated with Religious Studies. Students must complete a religion-related applied policy project and/or thesis.
4. Participation in the Annual ACRS Thesis Writing Workshop is mandatory.
5. 1YMA students must pass the mandatory RELI5004 - Lecture Series: Center for Religious Studies, a zero-credit course running over fall, winter and spring terms. A pass requires attendance in five or more CRS public lectures or other events organized by the Center throughout the academic year.
2YMA students must pass two years of the annual mandatory RELI5004 - Lecture Series: Center for Religious Studies.
To view the Religious Studies' current course listings, please visit our course pages for Fall, Winter and Spring terms.
The Advanced Certificate on the Doctoral Level
Current PhD students who write their thesis on a religion-related topic are eligible for CRS junior membership status. If they have not yet received an Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies (ACRS) at the MA level, they are eligible to enroll in the ACRS program at the PhD level. The advanced certificate is accredited by the New York State Education Department.
Requirements
In order to receive the Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies together with the doctoral degree, the following requirements need to be fulfilled.
- Admission to a Doctoral program at a CEU department and successful completion of all the departmental program requirements.
- Successful defense of a PhD thesis on a religion-related topic. The student’s first or second supervisor should be a faculty member of the CEU Center for Religious Studies approved by the head of the Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies (CRS Director).
- Successful completion of the Foundations I (2 credits) and Foundations II (2 credits) courses* and of a further 4 elective course credits from the updated annual list of CEU courses approved for the Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies.
- Successful completion of the course RELI 5004 - Lecture Series: Center for Religious Studies during two years of the doctoral program. This course is a year-long zero-credit course that requires participation in at least five lectures, special seminars, and workshops organized by the Center for Religious Studies.
- Draft submission of one religion-related chapter of the PhD thesis to the department by the end of the third year of the doctoral program.
- Teaching Assistantship in one religion-related course at CEU.
*Exemption to this requirement may be granted by CRS Director on the basis of prior studies completed by the student. The basis of the exemption is the student’s ability to demonstrate the prior completion of courses with equivalent content at CEU or at another recognized higher education institution.
Benefits:
- Advanced Certificate accredited by the New York State Education Department
- Access to CRS Student Travel Grant Fund. Please find details on our website (https://religion.ceu.edu/studentresearchgrants).
- Opportunity to organize and participate in Religious Studies conferences, workshops, and lectures as well as extracurricular events such as excursions and tours, reading groups, and movie viewings.
- Access to supervision and recommendation from CEU Religious Studies faculty members
- Opportunities to find TA-ships with Religion-related courses at CEU
CRS & ACRS Faculty in Charge
Carsten L. Wilke
Professor, Department of Historical Studies
Director, Center for Religious Studies
Head, Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies
Coordination
Administratively, this program is coordinated by the Center for Religious Studies.
Prospective students can express their interest in this program by writing to the Center for Religious Studies Coordinator, Eda Güçlü at religion@ceu.edu.
Associated Faculty
The ACRS began as a cooperation between the Departments of History and Medieval Studies. ACRS has since expanded to include students from nine CEU partner departments as well as offering courses from additional units, such as Cultural Heritage and Jewish Studies.
To see a current list of participating faculty, please visit our Faculty page.
How to Start the Application Procedure
Students interested in pursuing Religious Studies at CEU have a choice of applying for a One-Year Masters Program, Two-Year Masters Program, or PhD from one of the degree-awarding departments participating in the program.
For information on applying to CEU as an MA or PhD Student, please visit the CEU Admissions webpage.
Questions and inquiries
For more information about this program, please contact the Center for Religious Studies at religion@ceu.edu.