Religious Studies, M.A., Religion and Aging Concentration

The M.A. of Religious Studies with a Concentration in Religion and Aging is designed to prepare students for work in professions related to health and human resources. A collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences Gerontology Institute, this program provides training in religious literacy and cultural competency while students acquire the professional skills necessary for work related to human development. Students may earn the M.A. and Concentration without applying to the Gerontology Institute’s certificate program, but students wishing to earn both the M.A. and certificate should apply to each separately either at the time of application to the M.A. program or after enrolling. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in Religious Studies advises students in the concentrations and deviations to the course plans outlined below should be directed to the DGS.

Students who successfully complete the M.A. of Religious Studies with a Concentration in Religion and Aging will be able to employ the theories and methods acquired in their study of religions and aging to craft a final research project in which they:

Identify relationships between the study of religions and aging significant to their own research interests and career objectives; and
Articulate those relationships in a graduate-level research project that fulfills the M.A. with a Concentration in Religion and Aging degree requirement.

In order to receive the M.A. of Religious Studies with a Concentration in Religion and Aging, a student must complete:

Non-Thesis Course Work (36 Hours)

Minimum of thirty-six hours of non-thesis course work.

Distribution Requirements

Theory and Methods Requirement

RELS 8200 - Pro-seminar in Advanced Theory and Method 3 Credit Hours

Religion and Public Life Requirement (15 Hours)

Five courses in the Study of Religion OR Religion, Race, and Change OR Religion, Gender, and Sexuality, OR Religion, Health and Humanity. Courses must be distributed among at least three areas of study.

One Additional 8000- or 6000-Level Course in Religious Studies (3 Hours)

Gerontology Certificate Requirements

Two of the following courses:

GERO 7110 - Aging Policy and Services 3 Credit Hours
GERO 7200 - Health and the Older Adult 3 Credit Hours
GERO 7260 - Aging Practice, Policy, and Research 3 Credit Hours
GERO 8116 - Sociology of Aging 3 Credit Hours
GERO 8320 - Psychology of Aging 3 Credit Hours

Gerontology Approved Electives

One of the following courses:

GERO 6475 - Communication and Aging 3 Credit Hours
GERO 8000 - Seminar in Gerontology 3 Credit Hours
GERO 8124 - Diversity and Aging 3 Credit Hours
GERO 8200 - Aging Program Administration 3 Credit Hours
GERO 8330 - Mental Health and Aging 3 Credit Hours
Or an alternate 7000 or 8000-level course approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in Religious Studies

Required Elective

Choose one of the following approved courses:

RELS 6240 - Death and the Afterlife 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6225 - Psychology and Religion 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6080 - Religious Dimensions in Human Experience 3 Credit Hours
Or an alternate 6000- or 8000- level course approved by the Director of Graduate Studies

One Semester Internship

In the internship placement agreement, the student and advisors must articulate the placement’s relevance to the Concentration in Religion and Aging.

RELS 6789 - Applied Religious Studies: Internships, Projects, & Papers 3 Credit Hours

Graduate Level Research & Writing

Submit one paper/project representative of high-quality graduate level research and writing. This paper will be received and reviewed by a faculty member in Gerontology, as well as a faculty member in the Department of Religious Studies. Faculty will assess the learning outcomes outlined above when they review the final projects. The final project review is a formal process involving faculty advisors from both units and final approval by the Religious Studies Curriculum Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. The faculty advisors review the paper and record substantive feedback regarding the quality of its representation of the student’s graduate level work in the M.A. and Concentration for the Curriculum Committee. The Committee’s members review the comments and paper, and they make a final recommendation to the Director of Graduate Studies. If the Committee approves the project, the Director of Graduate Studies signs the cover sheet that the student submits to Graduate Services.