Our M.A. Programs in International Studies
M.A. – Comparative Religion
2026-27 ACADEMIC YEAR ADMISSIONS SUSPENDED
Thank you for your interest in our M.A. program in Comparative Religion; the Jackson School of International Studies has decided to suspend admissions to the program for the 2026-27 academic year.
We look forward to receiving new applications in Autumn 2026 for the 2027-2028 academic year.
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The M.A. program in Comparative Religion at the University of Washington is one of several interdisciplinary programs in the Jackson School of International Studies which leads to a Master of Arts in International Studies. Developed out of the study of a wide spectrum of cultural traditions in the area studies programs of the Jackson School, the program’s focus is highly international and trans-cultural in nature.
The faculty of the Comparative Religion Program, which includes appointments in the Jackson School as well as several other units of the University, covers a wide variety of religious traditions and theoretical approaches in the study of religion. The University’s Language and Literature/Civilization programs, particularly in areas represented by the regional programs within the Jackson School, offer unusually deep resources for students and faculty interested in the comparative study of religion.
This Master’s program provides a particularly strong foundation for those students headed toward Ph.D. programs in religion. For those interested in Ph.D. work in religion only at the University of Washington, doctoral-level study is available through the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Near and Middles Eastern Studies, Asian Languages and Literature, and in other related departments such as Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, Political Science, History and Sociology. For details, interested students should contact those units directly.
– James Wellman, Chair
HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be submitted by January 31 for admittance to the autumn quarter cohort. We only accept students into the M.A. program during autumn quarter.
You can find information about the application requirements and process on our website.
2025-2026 HANDBOOK
Our handbook serves as a compilation of UW and Jackson School resources for students and a reference guide containing the school’s academic requirements, deadlines, policies, and procedures. You are responsible for knowing and adhering to the contents of this handbook. Any questions about this handbook can be directed to the appropriate adviser as listed in the general advising section.
We encourage you to seek out and take full advantage of the opportunities all over the UW campus as well.
Information about advising, M.A. degree requirements, curriculum requirements, language requirement, capstone research paper(s), and a timeline to finish the degree in 1 or 2 years is included below.
- General Advising
- M.A. Degree Requirements
- Course of Study
- Capstone Research Paper(s) and Oral Exam
- Prerequisites and Language Proficiency
- Model Timelines for Completing the Degree
In addition, you will find more information about policies, procedures and other resources related to the program on the following webpages:
- Concurrent Degrees
- Graduate Certificates
- Tuition & Funding
- UW Academic Policies
- Graduation Processes
- Other Resources
GENERAL ADVISING
The Jackson School staff and faculty offer a variety of support and guidance to prospective and current students.
Professor Noam Pianko is the Interim Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) for our M.A. in Comparative Religion. As the GPC, Dr. Pianko serves as the academic adviser for the program. Please meet with him at least once per year to review your course of study and request any necessary approvals required. After you have formed your supervisory committee in your second year, your committee chair also advises you. Please see the section titled supervisory committee for more information on your committee’s role, duties, and your responsibility to it.
Jesús Hidalgo is the Graduate Program Adviser (GPA) for for all our graduate programs. He will advise you regarding degree requirements, academic planning, policies and procedures, and graduation. Please meet with him at least once per year to ensure you are on track to graduate. >
The adviser-student relationship implies mutual responsibility. Faculty and staff advisers have office hours over Zoom and in person, where you can drop by to talk, and they may also be available by appointment at other times. Students are responsible for seeking out faculty and staff either during office hours or by making appointments. Please be proactive about your advising and ask early for the assistance that you need.
If you find yourself struggling academically, meet with the GPC or GPA to discuss your options.
Other advisers
- Arts and Humanities Team (Comparative Religion Librarians): Suzzallo Library. Comparative Religion collections; Research
- TBD (Comparative Religion Program Coordinator). Language Programs, Fellowships Opportunities
- TBD (Assistant Director of Student Services): jsisjobs@uw.edu or jsisalum@uw.edu; THO 111A. Career Services; JSIS 497 Internship Course; Alumni Relations
- Office of Academic Services: jsisoas@uw.edu for Course Registration & General Inquiries; & Additional Advising contact: jsisadv@uw.edu (THO 111)
M.A. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Students receive the M.A. degree when they have fulfilled the following requirements:
- Complete curriculum requirements, including thirty-nine (39) credits of graduate level work (400-level classes and above, of which eighteen credits must be 500-level and above), not including language classes;
- Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above;
- Achieve second-year level of proficiency in research language;
- Complete your major and minor concentrations;
- Complete either one long paper or two article-length papers under faculty supervision;
- Pass the oral exam; and
- Comply with the rules and regulations of the UW Graduate School.
All degree requirements must be met within six years of the start of your program. This time limit includes leaves ofabsence. Under extraordinary circumstances this limit may be extended with the agreement of your GPC and GPA.
COURSE OF STUDY
A summary of the curriculum is provided below.
- RELIG 501 The Study of Religion (5 credits) Examines scholarly approaches used in the study of religion.
Required elective: With the written approval of the GPC, you must select a course that deals with the history of a region in which two or more religious traditions come in contact with one another. Examples are courses that investigate the spread of Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, or Islam from their cultures of origin to other regions.
Students are required to complete a major and a minor concentration. These concentrations will focus your study and provide theoretical building blocks for your capstone research paper(s). Only courses taken at the 400 level and above count towards these concentrations. It is possible to apply JSIS 600A: Graduate Independent Study to these credits.
Major concentration: Students must complete four to five courses in their chosen major concentration. Major concentration options include: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Religion, or Religion and Culture.
Minor concentration: Students must complete two to three courses in their chosen minor concentration. Minor concentration options include all options listed in the major concentration plus: Religion in America, African religions, East Asian religions, Greco-Roman religions.
CAPSTONE RESEARCH PAPER(S) AND ORAL EXAM
Students can complete either a thesis or two separate research papers. Each student must form a supervisory committee to advise them during their work and assess their completed work. You should consult what option you would like to select with the GPC initially and then regularly with your supervisory committee members for guidance in research and writing.
One research paper
This option is designed for students who wish to undertake a major research project that involves extensive use of primary sources. Generally, work on the paper begins in a graduate seminar.
Your paper is typically about 15,000 words long.
Two research papers
Alternatively, students may choose to write two research papers expanding on papers written for their seminar classes. Each paper must be at least twenty-five pages and be revised to incorporate comments from the instructor on the original versions. One paper should be from your minor concentration and the other from your major concentration.
Each research paper is typically about 8,000 words long.
ORAL EXAM
The point of this exam is to allow your committee to evaluate your technical skills as a scholar. Can you frame significant theoretical, interpretive, or historical questions? How well have you integrated existing scholarly paradigms and results into your work? Are you capable of using the relevant languages in a competent way?
The oral exam is to be scheduled no earlier than one week after the research paper(s) have been submitted to the committee members. The discussion in the oral exam will be based on your research paper(s). All exams are different and you should ask your committee about your exam specifically. Below is an example of how the exam may be structured.
At the start of the exam, students are asked to step out of the exam room, while the committee members deliberate about the student’s candidacy and the line of questioning they will pursue. Students are expected to prepare a brief, ten to twenty minute, presentation about their research projects. Following these deliberations, committee members will ask the student questions for about forty-five to sixty minutes. The student will then leave the room while the committee deliberates on the results of the oral exam. Following their second deliberation, the chair will invite the student back to the exam room to inform them of the results of their exam.
You will take your oral exam with your supervisory committee during the quarter you intend to graduate.
Committee members may award distinction to students with outstanding performance in their written work (essay or two papers) as well as in their oral exam. The following two categories of distinction will be awarded to students for their overall body of work and with unanimous consent of all committee members.
- High Pass: A High Pass will be awarded to students who (1) showed overall mastery of material in their thesis or, whose two papers exhibit a close to publishable quality; and (2) delivered an impressive performance during their oral exam that showed substantial theoretical and empirical knowledge of their fields of study.
- Honors: Honors will be awarded to students who (1) showed excellent mastery of material in their thesis or, whose two papers are of publishable quality; and (2) delivered an outstanding performance during their oral exam that showed excellent and broadly situated theoretical as well as empirical knowledge of their respective fields of study in the context of international affairs.
PREREQUISITES & LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Language study is an essential part of the program, particularly for students who aim for study at the Ph.D. level. Students must demonstrate the equivalent of two years of proficiency in a language approved by the Comparative Religion GPC either by exam or successful completion of appropriate coursework. Students do not have to demonstrate proficiency prior to entering the program. Students can complete the language requirement during the M.A. program.
Language classes are offered through Asian Languages and Literature (Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Japanese,Korean, Thai, Indonesian, and Vietnamese), Classics (Latin and Greek), Middle Eastern Languages and Civilization (Arabic,Turkish, Persian, Aramaic, Coptic and Hebrew), French and Italian Studies, Spanish and Portuguese Studies, and the Department of German Studies (German). The Jackson School offers Modern Greek and Khmer languages.
If you already have some language proficiency in your chosen language but are uncertain about what level to take, contact the department offering the language for advice. Language taken at other institutions can be used to fulfill language requirements, provided it is recorded on a transcript. If you believe you are at or beyond the required language level but do not have a transcript to show this, you should arrange to take a proficiency exam through the appropriate department. Do this early before you start your first quarter in the program; if your exam results do not show the required proficiency, you will need time to take the appropriate coursework.
MODEL TIMELINE FOR COMPLETING DEGREE IN TWO YEARS
This timeline is for students who have no prior training in a language. It is intended to be a guideline and model for courses taken as a full-time M.A. student, not a required path for all students. It is also different than the path concurrent students will take.
YEAR 1
- Autumn (15 credits: 10 graduate cr + 5 language cr):
- Language Year 101 (5 cr)
- RELIG 501 (5 cr)
- Major Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Winter (15 credits: 10 graduate cr + 5 language cr):
- Language Year 102 (5 cr)
- RELIG 502 (5 cr) if offered
- Major Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Spring (13-15 credits: 8-10 graduate cr + 5 language cr):
- Language Year 103 (5 cr)
- Major Concentration Course or Required elective (History of a Religion) (5 cr)
- Minor Concentration Course (3-5 cr)
YEAR 2:
- Autumn (10 credits: 5 graduate cr + 5 language cr):
- Language Year 201 (5 cr)
- Major or Minor Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Winter (10 credits: 5 graduate cr + 5 language cr):
- Language Year 202 (5 cr)
- Major or Minor Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Spring (10 credits: 5 graduate cr + 5 language cr):
- Language Year 203 (5 cr)
- Major or Minor Concentration Course (5 cr)
* If approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator, up to five (5) 400-level credits taken at the Jackson School as an undergraduate student can be counted towards the 39 graduate credits you have to accumulate for your M.A. degree.
MODEL TIMELINE FOR COMPLETING DEGREE IN ONE YEAR
This timeline is for students who have prior training in a language. It is intended to be a guideline and model for courses taken as a full-time M.A. student, not a required path for all students. It is also different than the path concurrent students will take.
- Autumn (15 graduate credits):
- RELIG 501 (5 cr)
- Major Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Minor Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Winter (14-15 graduate credits):
- RELIG 502 (5 cr) if offered
- Required elective (History of a Religion) (4-5 cr)
- Major Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Spring (10 graduate credits):
- Major Concentration Course (5 cr)
- Minor Concentration Course (5 cr)
* If approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator, up to five (5) 400-level credits taken at the Jackson School as an undergraduate student can be counted towards the 39 graduate credits you have to accumulate for your M.A. degree.
HANDBOOKS
M.A. in Comparative Religion Handbook 2023-24
M.A. in Comparative Religion Handbook 2022-23
AFFILIATED CENTERS
The Jackson School houses 14 outreach centers. These centers provide opportunities for educators, students, and the community to learn about the world. Some of them have specific scholarship opportunities and other resources that may be useful. Here are those you might find particularly useful: