Program Details
Our innovative program is recognized for its distinct areas of specialization, multidisciplinary theories and methods, and public intelligibility.
Areas of Specialization
Due to the diversity of faculty from both universities, we have experts in a variety of areas:
- Religious and Spiritual Diversity of the Americas
- Visual, Material, and Textual Studies
- Religion, Non-Religion, and Secularity
- Global Justice, Peace, and Conflict
- Contemporary Muslim Studies
Multidisciplinary Theories and Methods
The program is multidisciplinary in two ways: in its admission of students from a variety of related disciplines, and in the faculty, courses and research that students encounter.
Faculty expertise extends beyond religious studies to related disciplines, including anthropology, history, philosophy, psychology, political science, and sociology. Additionally, the program utilizes adjunct faculty from related departments at both universities. The program, designed for students with either religious studies or other, closely related backgrounds, employ both fieldwork and textually oriented methods.
Public Intelligibility
The PhD is designed to meet the needs of individuals who have various professional or vocational objectives. In addition to training those who intend to be scholars in religious studies or related disciplines, the program is designed to attract administrators, artists and media professionals, counsellors, journalists, religious officials, social workers and teachers. Therefore, the program stresses the need for public intelligibility in communicating religious studies scholarship.
Beyond emphasizing writing skills, the program cultivated and evaluates speaking as well as other public performance skills. The program fosters in students both a focus and a flexibility that will serve them well in a job market that requires adaptability, creativity and the ability to be articulate in public situations.
Program Requirements
The minimum degree requirements for the Laurier-Waterloo PhD in Religion, Culture, and Society are as follows.
Residence
The PhD is designed to take four years for completion. Students must enrol in the program full-time, be available for classes and regular on-campus consultation for at least the first two calendar years, and complete a minimum of six terms beyond the Master of Arts (MA).
Students are expected to proceed through the program in a timely fashion. Normally, students must complete the coursework and finish their proposal in the first year; comprehensive exams in the second year; and the dissertation project in the third and fourth years. The responsibilities of the supervisor and the supervisory committee notwithstanding, the candidate is responsible for ensuring that program requirements and deadlines are met in a timely fashion.
Courses
The degree requires a minimum of four courses beyond the MA. Students are required to take RE740 and RE750, both doctoral-level research seminars, as well as two electives. Depending on a student’s goals and admission assessment, additional coursework may be required. Doctoral students must achieve at least a B in each course.
Languages
Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of a second language relevant to the field and/or the dissertation. If the topic of the dissertation makes knowledge of a third language essential, the candidate must demonstrate competence in this language as well. Students are not permitted to begin their dissertation until all language requirements are met.
Proposal
Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of a second language relevant to the field and/or the dissertation. If the topic of the dissertation makes knowledge of a third language essential, the candidate must demonstrate competence in this language as well. Students are not permitted to begin their dissertation until all language requirements are met.
Comprehensive Examinations
There are two examinations, each based on a bibliography constructed by the student’s Supervisory Committee in consultation with the student. The purpose of the general exam is to ensure the breadth and depth of a student’s knowledge in relevant disciplines and in specific fields within the academic study of religion, culture, and society. The purpose of the field exam is to focus an area of specialization containing the dissertation project. Both exams are conducted by the student's Supervisory Committee.
A candidate has only two opportunities to complete each of the examinations successfully. These examinations should take place in the candidate's second year in the doctoral program.
To be permitted to take the examinations at a later time, a candidate must petition the director for an extension. Extensions are normally granted only once and then, only for one term.
Dissertation Project
The dissertation project consists of three required, closely related parts: the dissertation, the public presentation, and the dissertation defence. Students must pass all three. Evaluations, carried out by the Supervisory Committee, take into consideration the mastery of both style and content.
The doctoral dissertation is a piece of research (approximately 50,000-90,000 words in length) aimed at making an original contribution to the study of religion, culture, and society. The dissertation must be crafted for publication as a book, although actual publication is not a degree requirement. This way of fulfilling the dissertation requirement is a distinctive feature of the program, and guidelines are available from the director. The dissertation is prepared in consultation with the Supervisory Committee, which includes the candidate's supervisor acting as chair, along with two other faculty members connected to the joint program.
The public presentation is a second distinctive feature of the Laurier-Waterloo PhD in Religion, Culture, and Society. The presentation must be accessible to the public, open to questioning and debate, and subject to faculty evaluation. This presentation may take various formats and must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to make the results of research publicly intelligible and engaging for a diverse, educated but non-specialist audience. The public presentation is held in a venue and at a time different from that of the dissertation defence. Holding it in an off-campus location is preferable. Evaluation is on a pass/fail basis, and a pass is required to complete the degree. A candidate who fails may attempt the presentation only one additional time.
The dissertation defence, which is distinct from the public presentation, is an oral review and evaluation of the dissertation. Prior to the defence, an Examining Committee is established. It includes the Supervisory Committee plus an Internal Examiner from another department at either university. A Chair (from the university in which the student is registered) and an External Examiner (from another university) are appointed by the appropriate Dean of Graduate Studies. The Supervisory Committee recommends External Examiners to the Dean of Graduate Studies. The decision of the Examining Committee is based on the dissertation and the candidate's ability to defend it orally. A candidate who fails may attempt the presentation only one additional time