Graduate Application
Materials and instructions for application are now available through the internet by clicking here and choosing the appropriate paths. Otherwise, applications may be obtained from the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, 3401 Walnut Street, Suite 322A, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228. (They are sent bulk mail, so allow up to eight weeks for delivery.) All PhD applicants requesting financial aid must submit a complete application by the due date (December 15) order to receive consideration for the following academic year. Those seeking admission without financial aid should apply before April 1 for matriculation in the fall semester and before November 1 for matriculation in January.
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 (after completing one year at Penn) 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 classical period, and the modern period; Christian origins; medieval and modern Christianity; Islamic history and thought; religions of South and East Asia; modern western religious thought; and methodology. Applications from students with other primary interests will be considered, with regard to both extra-departmental resources in the Graduate Group and the flexibility of the applicant's projected plan. Applications from those who wish to do comparative studies on the basis of solid linguistic and historical foundations in the traditions to be compared will also be given serious consideration.
All application materials are due by December 15. Access the electronic application form for more information at: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=upenn-g