Department of Religious Studies

Graduate Application

All applications to the Department of Religious Studies must be submitted online between October 1 and no later than midnight of December 15th. Application fee is $70.00. We no longer accept hard copy application forms.

For more information, access the electronic application form here.

All writing samples should be mailed to:
Ernestine Williams
Religious Studies Graduate Group
236 Cohen Hall, 249 South 36th Street
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6304
(215) 573-0250
email: ernestin (at) sas.upenn.edu

Applications are welcome from students from various academic backgrounds. Usually, about half of the entering students have already done extensive work in Religious Studies, either as undergraduates or in post-baccalaureate programs elsewhere. Other applicants often will have majored in classics, philosophy, history, a modern language and literature, or area studies. Those students who enter the program with graduate level credits at other comparable institutions may petition to receive transfer credit for up to a maximum of eight courses.

Applicants are asked in their application to indicate what field of specialization they intend to pursue within Religious Studies. The Department especially encourages graduate applications in the following areas: Judaism in late antiquity, the medieval and early modern periods, and the modern period; Christian origins; medieval and modern Christianity; Islamic history and thought; religions of South and East Asia; and religion in the African-American experience. Applications from students with other primary interests will be considered.