Should Your Name Be On Our Mail Boxes?

Main Office Mail Boxes

It’s the time of year when students are considering applying to graduate school, and we hope that those thinking about earning an M.A. in the study of religion consider the University of Alabama.

Our graduate program began four years ago and we’ve so far graduated seven students and they’re all putting their degrees to good use — from doing archival and museum work to studying architecture or earning a Ph.D. in the study of religion elsewhere in the U.S. And, with 9 incoming M.A. students who began their degree this past August, we’ve expanded the main office’s mail boxes, so there’s plenty of room for your name to be added.

The program, which consists of 4 semesters (with 3 courses per semester) is rather novel in the US, immersing first semester students in the sorts of social theory (via REL 501) and digital tools (in REL 502) that will help them to reach broader publics while carrying out critical and innovative work in the field; throughout their following semesters’ seminars and independent study courses, which include further opportunities to delve more deeply into the digital humanities, students work closely with faculty to design a plan of study that suits their interests while being tailored to their future goals. Faculty research specialties include a wide variety of topics that are sure to help refine almost any M.A. student’s interests and expertise — especially when they take into consideration the role that other specialties on campus can play in enhancing their degree (such as language study in the Department of Modern Languages). With an additional Museum Studies certificate available as well as internship opportunities (e.g., experience in editing and publishing), enterprising students quickly put their skills to use in a variety of ways.

The Department works hard to secure as much financial assistance for its graduate students as possible, varying from nominating students for competitive campus-wide fellowships and awards (which have so far been granted annually to a variety of our incoming students) to assigning many students a full or partial Teaching Assistantship for the year, which immediately involves our graduate students in undergraduate education by having them assist faculty in lower-level Core courses. Second year students also have the chance to earn income and gain experience by teaching an online course of their own (under faculty supervision). Funding is competitive and decided on a year-to-year basis.

Interested in joining us?

Learn more by clicking Graduate on our site’s main menu or start out on our Prospective Students page. Contact Prof. Steven Ramey, REL’s Graduate Director, for more information.

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