Religious Studies, M.A., Nonprofit Management Concentration

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The M.A. of Religious Studies with a Concentration in Nonprofit Management is designed to prepare students for work in the nonprofit sector. Conceived in collaboration with colleagues in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, this program provides training in religious literacy and cultural competency while students acquire the professional skills necessary for managing nonprofit organizations. Students may earn the M.A. and Concentration without applying to the AYSPS 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 Nonprofit Management will be able to employ the theories and methods acquired in their study of religions and nonprofit management to design a final research project in which they:

Identify relationships between the study of religions and nonprofit management 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 Nonprofit Management degree requirement.

In order to receive the M.A. of Religious Studies with a Concentration in Nonprofit Management, 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)

Nonprofit Management Certificate Requirement

PMAP 8210 - The Nonprofit Sector 3 Credit Hours

Nonprofit Management Approved Electives

Two of the following courses:

PMAP 8213 - Financing and Resource Development for Nonprofit Organizations 3 Credit Hours
PMAP 8261 - Nonprofit Financial Management 3 Credit Hours
PMAP 8223 - Nonprofit Human Resources 3 Credit Hours

Required Elective

Choose one of the following approved courses:

RELS 6645 - Religion & Sex in Pop Culture 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6650 - Religion and Ethics 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6465 - Religion in the American South 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6270 - Women and Religion 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6281 - Racial Thought in Religion and Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
RELS 6890 - Religion On-site in Atlanta 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 Nonprofit Management.

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. The paper/project will be received and reviewed by the student’s Faculty Advisor for the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Social Enterprise 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.