MA prerequisite for all PhD programs?

[UndergradDad]

After doing some research I am finding that Religion phd programs all seem to require a masters prior to admission, rather than earning the masters on the way to the phd. Is that correct?

By comparison it is possible to get into phd programs in philosophy with a BA only. 

Do the religion depts have less money to reward than other depts? MA'S without funding bring on quite a bit of debt, and the only funded masters I could find was Western Michigan.

Thanks for your help!

[xypathos]

Most programs require a Masters in order to be admitted. A few state that they don't require a Masters but also note that they'll rarely accept a BA applicant and when they do they have an exceptional background and stats.

Syracuse has a funded MA but they take, I think, two students. Which, honestly, is par for the course.

A lot of us went to seminaries or divinity schools to get our Masters, where full (or near) funding packages are much more common.

[fides quarens intellectum]

It is going to be difficult being admitted to a PhD program in religion without an MA, but not impossible. I would also ads that Florida State funds MA students. 

[marXian]

It really depends on what you're doing. If your interests are in texts or reception history in the ANE, for example, you're going to need way more language training than you could get in undergrad. Hence, you likely won't be admitted without an MA, not because you need the physical degree necessarily, but because earning the degree provides you the opportunity to do the language work. Unless the requirements literally say "MA or equivalent required," you aren't required to have an earned master's degree. In my application year (2011) I was told by two profs at UVA that they really don't admit people without an MA, which I think is largely true. Yet, that very year they admitted someone without an MA (and didn't admit me!) My cohort at Northwestern has two students who did not earn an MA before coming. But neither of them do work that requires substantial language training. We're all going to graduate around the same time, i.e. not having an MA did not hinder them and having two MAs (me) did not make my program go any faster.

I would say that it's definitely more common in philosophy for people to be admitted without an MA. There are actually a number of threads in the philosophy forum with debate over whether or not this is a good thing with some noting a trend toward earned-MA students being more competitive and desirable for PhD programs. But I think that, in general, doing anything philosophy-related in religious studies makes it slightly easier to get into a PhD program without an MA assuming you really know what you want to do, maybe have some German or French already, etc.. The reality is that most people finishing a BA don't have a clue what they'd write a dissertation on (even if they think they do) and need the MA to focus their interests in order to write a compelling SOP.

[UndergradDad]

Thanks for the replies. It's unfortunate that the situation makes it difficult for students who don't want to take out extra loans to obtain a Religion phd.

[cr615]

Hey all. I want to piggy back off of this thread. Does the M.A necessarily have to be in religion theology?

[rheya19]

11 minutes ago, cr615 said:

Hey all. I want to piggy back off of this thread. Does the M.A necessarily have to be in religion theology?

It doesn't necessarily need to be in religion if it gives you the background you need for the PhD. I have a colleague with a masters in international studies focusing on women's issues. Now she's doing a PhD in religion focused on women and media studies. A Classics MA would be a great degree to get into an ancient Mediterranean religions program. Religious studies in and of itself is very interdisciplinary, so as long as it helps you prepare for your doctoral work, I think it could work.

[xypathos]

As @rheya19 noted, it doesn't have to be in Religious Studies. I've had colleagues that came over from Classics, History, and Sociology. That said, your school will certainly be looking for coursework in religion. If you don't have any then you're shooting yourself in the foot before the race even begins. Most of the programs that I know that take non-RS students into their PhD programs are still looking for 15-18 credits in RS for your app to be considered viable.

[marXian]

I had zero coursework in "religious studies" before being admitted to an RS PhD program--but I do have an MA in theology. I know people who focused on religion in a history MA who then went on to RS PhD programs. I have a colleague who does work on medieval mysticism who only had a BA in English and no courses in religious studies before being admitted.

Religious studies is too nebulous to be able to say definitively that a program is looking for A, B, or C especially when it comes to coursework. It really depends on the faculty in the program you're applying to. At the PhD level, adcoms mostly want to be convinced that you'll be able to get through the program and that you have the potential to make some interesting and important contributions to the field--which is so broadly defined as to be virtually meaningless.