The doctoral program in Religious Studies enrolls about thirty students. The department typically admits four or five doctoral students each year, all of whom receive a five-year funding package of fellowships, teaching assistantships, and tuition for the academic year. In addition we offer summer support for three summers.

The majority of current students in the doctoral program work in the three fields of Buddhist Studies, Judaism, and Modern Western Religious Thought and Practice, with others engaged in individually designed fields, such as Chinese religions and religious ethics. With the recent addition of professors, Bashir and Sadeki, Islamic Studies is our newest field of strength in the department. Within these broad fields, students are expected to declare an area of specialization in a particular period, topic, or corpus of materials.

The field of Buddhist Studies, directed by Carl Bielefeldt and Paul Harrison, encompasses Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese Buddhism in their historical and cultural contexts. Training emphasizes research in primary sources and requires reading knowledge of the languages relevant to the area of specialization, which may include Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan. The field recognizes a wide range of approaches to the understanding of Buddhism, and students are encouraged to design their own course of study, to explore a variety of academic disciplines, and to undertake independent research. The department's program works closely with the Stanford Center for Buddhist Studies, which provides library and study facilities, research support, and extracurricular activities. Students may also draw on the curricular and library resources of the nearby University of California, Berkeley, and participate in Stanford's graduate student exchange program with other universities.

Students of Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies concentrate on Judaism in Late Antiquity (working primarily with Charlotte Fonrobert and on contiguous literatures with visiting faculty). Specialization in Late Antiquity involves a comprehensive understanding of the history, literature, and religious cultures amongst Jews during roughly the first six centuries C.E. Students are expected to acquire a general sense of the entire period, in addition to an understanding of the complex textual histories of the literary corpora on which they focus. Resources to do so are available inside as well as outside the Department. The Taube Center for Jewish Studies is a particularly valuable resource. As with other fields in Religious Studies, it is also possible for students in Judaism to design a concentration not defined by the sub-field described above. Our approach, whatever the concentration, is decidedly inter-disciplinary. Students are expected not only to master the texts, skills and approaches integral to the study of their chosen period or topic, but to work with scholars in related areas such as classics, history, anthropology, and philosophy.

Stanford University will conduct an international search for the Koshland Chair in Jewish History and Culture during the academic year of 2007/ 2008 providing future research and teaching resources for graduate students.

The field of Modern Western Religious Thought and Practice comprises the study of Christian thought, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics in the context of the social, cultural, and intellectual challenges posed by modernity and post-modernity. Students will normally choose to focus on one (and possibly two) of these areas but will to some degree incorporate the insights, key texts, problematics, and perspectives of all three in their coursework and research. The core faculty for the Modern Western field are: Thomas Sheehan (continental philosophy of religion, with special emphasis on Heidegger), Brent Sockness (who specializes in modern Christian thought with special emphasis on post-Kantian Protestant theology and ethics in Germany), and Lee Yearley (religious ethics, the theory and practice of comparative ethics, theories of religion). Hester Gelber (who specializes in late medieval theology and philosophy) offers supporting background for understanding the continuities and discontinuities of modern religious thought with its premodern antecedents. While individual interests and approaches differ, faculty working in this field share a set of concerns regarding the emergence, character, and viability of distinctively modern forms of religious thought and practice in the West.

The field of Islamic Studies is concerned with religious thought as well as the intellectual and social history of Muslim societies. Although open to all sub-fields of Islamic studies, the program is particularly appropriate for students whose interests coincide with the work of Professors Behnam Sadeki (Islamic origins, Quran and hadith, Islamic law) and Shahzad Bashir (Sufism, Shi’ism, religious history of Iran, Central Asia, and India). Students are expected to acquire competence in two Islamic languages (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, etc.) along with fulfilling departmental requirements for languages necessary for a mastery of modern scholarship. The program aims to prepare students to work extensively with primary sources in conjunction with paying self-conscious attention to research methodologies in religious studies and related fields. Departmental offerings in religious studies are an integral part of the Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford and students are expected to work with faculty in other departments, such as history, history of art, comparative literature, and anthropology. Along with building research competence, the program trains students to teach broadly in Islamic Studies.

The doctoral program involves three years of course work, followed by a qualifying examination in the field and area of specialization, and writing the dissertation. Total time to degree varies considerably, but most students take at least six years. (To fund extra years, many students apply for outside fellowships.)

Although course requirements may vary according to field, in general, the doctoral program encourages students to design their own curriculum, including work outside the department. All students take two seminars in theories and methods, a reading course on recent scholarship in religious studies, and two courses in a field outside their own, and a pedagogy seminar.

Reading competency in two modern foreign languages (one of which must be French or German) is required of all students. Additional languages, both modern and classical, may be required by particular fields and areas of specialization.

The program emphasizes preparation for both scholarship and teaching. During the third year, students work with the faculty to prepare a publishable paper in their area of specialization. In addition to TAing, they will also at some point serve as a Teaching Intern for a course in their field.

A number of opportunities are available for extracurricular participation in the life of the department. Students run a graduate association, which organizes events, including an annual colloquium and the pedagogy seminar for teaching assistants. The association elects a representative who attends faculty meetings and works on student issues with the chair and graduate director. Students serve on admissions, faculty search, and other committees of the department.

Beyond Stanford: Doctoral students in the department may make arrangements to study for limited periods at other universities. The university maintains a cross-registration policy with the University of California, Berkeley, that enables students to receive Stanford credit for courses taken at Berkeley. For information, contact the registrar's office.

Stanford also participates in an Exchange Scholar Program, which facilitates arrangements for visits of up to one year to selected U.S. universities. The current list of institutions includes: University of California, Berkeley, Brown University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

Students considering extended study at another institution should consult with their advisor, the Graduate Director, and faculty at the host institution. To apply for an exchange, please contact your home institution's Office of the Registrar.

For more specific information regarding courses offered, steps to degree, and admission requirements, please download the Stanford Bulletin.

• Completed application form (including, for PhD applications, indication of intended field of study in the department)
• Application fee
• Statement of purpose (in application)
• 2 copies of each transcript (sent directly to the department)
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (no more than 5 years old)
• Three letters of recommendation (via online application or sent directly to the department)
• Writing sample of recent work on a religious studies topic (sent directly to the department)

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
• Test of Spoken English (TSE)