Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Religious Studies

The Graduate Program in Religion at Duke University is an exciting collaboration between the Department of Religious Studies in Duke's College of Arts and Sciences and Duke Divinity School. The GPR is a tight-knit community of diverse and dynamic faculty and graduate students, all of whom enjoy valuable scholarly exchange not only with each other, but with our colleagues in the broader university and at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Areas of study include: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament New Testament Early Christianity American Religion History of Judaism Islamic Studies Christian Theological Studies Religion and Modernity Asian Religions The Ph.D. program begins with two years of coursework (three years for doctoral students entering directly from undergraduate studies). When they are ready, students will take four preliminary exams, one each in their major, dissertation area, inside minor, and outside minor. The program normally takes five years to complete, though some fields with significant language requirements may take longer. Foreign language requirements are determined by the faculty in each field. Most fields require reading competency in two modern languages. Many fields also require competency in primary research languages such as Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac, Japanese, Chinese, or Arabic. The languages must be completed before taking the doctoral preliminary examination.