You can apply for admittance in one of the following areas of specialization:

  • Buddhist Studies-Students specializing in Buddhist Studies engage in an interdisciplinary program of study, exploring the varieties and transformations of the Buddhist tradition in Asia.
  • Islamic Studies-Students specializing in Islamic Studies focus on Islam’s pre-modern traditions and history and/or modern and contemporary Muslim thought and practice, in Arab, South Asian, and European/North American contexts. Crosscutting themes include gender, sectarianism, religious encounter/other, and the boundaries of religious identity.
  • Jewish Studies-Students specializing in Jewish studies may focus on Judaism in its many social, historical and religious contexts, including the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds, pre-modern and modern Jewish thought and society.
  • Religions in American Culture-Students specializing in Religions in American Culture at Boston University study historical and contemporary religious traditions, as well as their practitioners’ interactions with one another and with the broad cultural, social, and political settings of the modern world.
  • Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean World-Students specializing in Ancient Mediterranean Religions at Boston University study Christianity, Judaism and other religions of the Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds, as well as their interactions in the broad cultural settings of late antiquity.
  • Religion in Philosophy, Politics, and Society-Students specializing in the study of religion in philosophy, politics, and society will train in relevant areas of philosophical, social, and political theories of religion and, in their dissertation, apply the critical methods of philosophical analysis or the social-scientific study of a particular case.