COURSE CURRICULUM

The Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies requires students to complete all university, college, and departmental requirements, including general education courses, an approved minor, and enough credits to reach a minimum of 120 semester hours, while the major itself consists of 30 credit hours designed to provide both foundational knowledge and flexible academic exploration; required courses include an introduction to religious studies, a course on world religions, and a senior capstone seminar, which is typically taken in the final year and focuses on integrating knowledge through advanced discussion and analysis, while the remaining 21 credit hours are fulfilled through electives, allowing students to tailor their studies according to personal interests such as philosophy, culture, history, or global religions; students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in the major and complete at least 12 upper-level credits on campus, ensuring academic depth and institutional engagement, and although there are no mandatory ancillary courses, students planning for graduate study are encouraged to take languages like French or German to support advanced research; the program also allows flexibility by permitting up to 12 credit hours from relevant courses outside the department to count toward the major with approval, though no more than six hours of online courses can be applied; additional opportunities include unique courses like those exploring religion in popular culture, as well as an honors program where high-achieving students complete a thesis and oral defense under faculty supervision, and an Accelerated Master’s Program that enables students to begin graduate-level coursework during their undergraduate studies; overall, the degree emphasizes critical thinking, cultural understanding, and interdisciplinary learning, preparing students for diverse careers or further academic pursuits.