Philosophy students studying in either the one-year or the two-year MA program have the opportunity to participate in the Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies (ACRS). Coordinated by the CEU Center for Religious Studies, the program awards a non-degree Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies, accredited in the US, complementing the Philosophy diploma.
Drawing on the university’s courses and on faculty from a range of departments, the Advanced Certificate brings together multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of religion. ACRS students can engage in the study of religious phenomena from Antiquity to the present, from Ancient Greece to modern Europe and the Arab world. Its diverse course offerings cover primarily the Abrahamic religions, over a vast span of time and from cross-disciplinary perspectives. Students within the ACRS are introduced to core concepts and methods in the social sciences and humanities as applied to religious phenomena, provided in contexts especially relevant to today’s conditions.
MA students enrolled in the CEU Department of Philosophy can benefit from this Advanced Certificate, which will provide them with advanced knowledge of a subject increasingly in the spotlight – studying in depth the interaction between religion and philosophy both historically and systematically, and exploring the way religion is approached by other disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.
ACRS students have been successful in receiving prestigious international scholarships for further study at leading universities such as Chicago, Oxford, Toronto and Yale and other European universities and research centers.
The CRS offers a number of scholarships to qualified students.
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Program Structure
Both the one-year and two-year Advanced Certificates for Philosophy MA students are based on the structure of the corresponding Philosophy MA programs, with the following modifications:
One-year MA students take 4 credits mandatory ACRS courses and 6 credits elective ACRS courses. Students can take up to 6 credits from courses not offered by the Department of Philosophy and not cross-listed with it.
Two-year MA students take 4 credits of mandatory ACRS courses over their two years of study, and additional 10 credits of elective ACRS courses.
ACRS students write their thesis on a religion related topic. The student’s supervisor should be a faculty member from the CRS.
Students participate in the Annual ACRS Student Thesis Writing Workshop, and in lectures, special seminars and workshops organised by the Center for Religious Studies.
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If you are considering to apply for the Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies please attach a statement to your application package. For more information, please contact the Center for Religious Studies Coordinator at religion@ceu.edu.