MARS students are required to meet with the program director to discuss their planned course of study. The program director will act as academic advisor until the student chooses another faculty member, usually in preparation for the thesis. Required courses should be taken as soon as they are offered, prior to or concurrent with electives. Electives may be taken in any order. All MARS candidates must complete a total of 33 credit hours of graduate course work, maintaining a minimum QPR of 3.0, before enrolling for thesis credits. The 3-credit thesis brings the total master program to 36 credits.

Required Courses:

• RS 500: Research Methods
• RS 501: Philosophical Frameworks for Religion and Theology
• One Scripture course
• One Ethics or Theology course
• One elective course in non-Christian Religion/World Religions

MA Comprehensive Exam:
All MA candidates will be expected to take the MA Comprehensive Exam after each student has completed their fifth course. The exam will cover the four required areas for the MARS program:

• Scripture
• Ethics/Theology
• Non-Christian/ World Religion(s)
• Theories of (the study of) Religion

Students will not be required to have taken the ‘required’ courses prior to sitting for the exam; students will be advised of the MA Comp Reading List, and can prepare for the exam from the list.

Thesis:
All MA candidates will be expected to write a thesis as part of the requirements for the MA degree. The student will work closely with a mentor throughout the process of writing the thesis, but completion of the thesis should not exceed two years.