Interdisciplinary Concentration

A total of twelve courses (48 units) are required for the Religious Studies major with an interdisciplinary concentration: the following two required courses (8 units), an additional six courses (24 units) of RELS electives, and four courses (16 units) from another department, discipline, or area of specialization.

• RELS 250 Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion (4 units), to be completed by the Spring of the Junior year, offered every Spring semester and
• RELS 490 Senior Seminar (4 units), to be taken in the Fall semester of the Senior year 

Given that Religious Studies is an intrinsically interdisciplinary field of study, some majors may wish to partner more robustly with another discipline to pursue the course of study they have designed. For instance, a student interested in the presence of religion in literature or a student interested in the sociological study of religion may need to draw more heavily on the faculty in and courses offered by the English or Sociology departments. Other students with a regional focus or a theoretical focus may need to draw on resources spread across departments. For example, a student interested in Asian religion may need to take courses from the Language, History, and Art History departments, while a student interested in gender and religion may need to take courses from the Critical Theory and Social Justice, Sociology, Philosophy, and History departments. In these cases, majors, in consultation with their advisors, may design a Religious Studies major with an interdisciplinary concentration.