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Masters of Arts & Ph.D.

Priority deadline for Fall 2004 application packet is 15 February 2004.   On-Line Application

The Claremont Women's Studies in Religion program has carved out a unique niche by offering a program in Women's Studies in Religion that includes the feminist work of theologians and the feminist work of historians of religion. By being the first school to introduce the MA, Claremont has established leadership in the field and the combined productivity of its faculty and its graduates have gained it an excellent reputation.

The Ph.D. program in Women's Studies in Religion is designed for students interested in both feminist theology and the study of religion. Students are required to do course work in feminist theory, religion and women's studies in religion. The rich offering of courses integrate feminist theory into the study of religion in areas such as Gender, Violence and Religion, Feminine images of the Divine, Women and Islam, and Matristics.

Students are required to take 24 units of their course work in Women's Studies and 24 units in a concentration within the field of religion. The available concentrations will be those areas in which the Claremont schools offer Ph.D. programs such as Biblical studies, Theology, Ethics and Culture, History of Christianity, Philosophy of Religion and/or Theology. Students entering the doctoral program will work closely with an advisor from their chosen are of concentration.

The women's studies in religion M.A. program provides a close examination of women's roles in social and religious institutions, and of society's use of "Woman" as a symbol. The program combines solid exposure to traditional modes of scholarship in the field of religion with openness to new paths of inquiry within the humanities and the social sciences. The program is designed to be responsive to the shifting paradigms of intellectual inquiry evident in the blurring of traditional disciplinary boundaries and the dissolving of the demarcation between the humanities and the social sciences.

The program supplements its area of primary strength- Christian studies--with resources in Jewish studies and Indian and East Asian religions. The degree requires 36 units of course work, which must include REL 304 (Introduction to Women's Studies in Religion), and REL 363 (Major Interpreters in the Study of Religion). The 28 additional units of course work are divided among courses in women's studies in religion, courses in methods of studying religion and/or women, and courses in religion or related fields. Up to 6 graduate units may be transferred into this program from another institution. Four units of master's course work must meet the interdisciplinary humanities requirement. Participation in monthly advisee group meetings is required in order to discuss integration of course work in terms of the student's educational goals. A thesis on a suitable topic is to be submitted and approved. Each student will select a three member thesis committee before completion of the first twelve months of study. The principal advisor will most closely direct the thesis, which will be defended before the entire committee. All students are required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of German or French.

The women's studies in religion program sponsors numerous guest speakers and events each year. Recent visitors include Karen McCarthy Brown, Maria Pilar Aquino, Elizabeth Clark, Mary Daly, Naomi Goldenberg, Ursula King, Sylvia Marcos, Margaret Miles, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Virginia Burrus, and Carol Christ. The strong commitment of Claremont Graduate University to women's studies in religion is exemplified by the establishment of the Margo L. Goldsmith Chair in Women's Studies in Religion. In making the generous gift that endowed this chair, Goldsmith intended "to provide financial security in perpetuity for a program committed to collegial interdisciplinary studies, which will provide a context for the development of women scholars and educators in religion where perspectives relating to the role, status, image, and ethical concerns of women can be clearly articulated and nurtured."