University Studies - BA, Religious Thought, Practices and Cultures Concentration
The University Studies concentration in Religious Thought, Practices, and Culture gives students a knowledge base for analyzing how religious beliefs and practices work in a global context. Students develop the mental flexibility to see the world from multiple points of view and also learn to recognize how religion shapes social organizations, political actions, and individual behavior. The study of religion requires critical distance, analytical skills, and the mental flexibility to see the world from multiple points of view.
The concentration in Religious Thought, Culture, and Practices sits at the intersection of multiple disciplines. Any minor, in or outside the College of Liberal Arts, is thus likely to contribute to a concentration in religion. For example: a minor in biology offers a research path into the neuroscience of religious experience; a minor in psychology contributes a secular view of how religious belief affects people’s behavior; a minor in anthropology shows the ways religion shapes cultural identity; a minor in history applies methods for analyzing how religious traditions evolve and change; a minor in mathematics could allow students to model changes in the global distribution of religious traditions; a minor in political science provides methods for analyzing the interplay between religion and politics.
A University Studies concentration is the ideal curricular model for allowing students to focus on the complexities of religious thought and practice in the modern world while supporting that focus with minors than enhance their knowledge base and lead toward careers.
No student enrolled in the University Studies concentration in Religious Thought, Practices and Cultures may pursue a double major or a double degree.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| ENGL 104 | Composition and Rhetoric | 3 |
| American history | 3 | |
| Foreign language 1 | 4 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Concentration directed elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| American history | 3 | |
| Communication | 3 | |
| Foreign language 1 | 4 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Concentration directed elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Foreign language 1 | 3 | |
| Government/Political science | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Concentration directed elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Foreign language 1 | 3 | |
| Government/Political science | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Concentration directed elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 2 | 3 | |
| Minor 2 | 3 | |
| Concentration directed elective 2 | 3 | |
| Literature directed elective | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Creative arts | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Literature directed elective | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| RELS 390 | Researching Religion | 3 |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Language, philosophy and culture | 3 | |
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Concentration directed elective 2 | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 3 | |
| Minor 3 | 1 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 13 | |
| Total Semester Credit Hours | 120 | |
| 1 | Complete 14 hours of a foreign language through the intermediate level. If you choose to enroll in a language you have studied previously without receiving college credit, you must first take a placement test. See academic advisor. |
| 2 | Select from ARCH 438; PHIL 411; RELS 200-499. |
| 3 | Students must complete 34 hours of general electives of which 30-34 hours should be used to satisfy the requirements for two university approved minors. Minors will range between 15 and 18 hours. It is recommended one minor only require 15 hours or a minor which utilizes courses within the university core curriculum. One minor must be chosen from outside of the College of Liberal Arts. Consult with advisor regarding how to declare desired minor. |
Graduation requirements include 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a core category, a college/department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. The required 6 hours may be met by courses satisfying other areas of a degree program. See your academic advisor for further information.