We encourage all our graduate students to prepare for both the faculty job market and one or two alt-ac career paths, and we provide concrete steps throughout our program to guide this preparation. We take a realistic approach to career preparation because we think this is in the best interests of our students. We acknowledge the reality that it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure faculty positions in Religion. At the same time, we know that anyone who completes an MA or PhD in Religion will experience personal growth, do interesting research, and develop valuable skills. We believe our MA and PhD graduates are able to use those skills and have an impact on society in a variety of possible careers, whether inside or outside a university. Our graduates make a difference. Religion Skills Our largest professional organizations, the American Academy of Religion (AAR), has gathered anecdotal evidence in recent webinAARs that those Religion graduates who take jobs outside academia report being able to use their graduate skills in rewarding ways and advance more quickly through promotions. Influential graduate skills in Religion include, for example, understanding others’ perspectives, asking good questions, making sound judgments about complex social phenomena, and speaking and writing clearly. Therefore, the AAR promotes a strong focus on skills. For example, one recent webinAAR addressed "Preparing Graduate Students for a Variety of Futures" and another discussed the book The New PhD. In the Religion Department, we build on this advice. All our students leave the MA or PhD program with enhanced personal and professional skills gained through the study of religion. Interdisciplinary Skills Our students also develop interdisciplinary skills. We can define interdisciplinarity (following the UGA Provost) as "a dynamic process that integrates knowledge, methods, and perspectives to develop a new understanding of a problem." Given the increasingly complex challenges facing communities both within and outside the United States, we believe interdisciplinary skills will continue to grow in importance over the next decades, and we want our graduates to have the advantage of bringing interdisciplinary perspectives to their job interviews and to their future careers. Therefore, almost all our MA and PhD students take at least two graduate classes outside the Religion Department, and almost all our PhD students invite at least one faculty member from outside Religion to serve on their committee. Over the past few years, our students have taken seminars and built lasting connections with faculty in a range of areas, including African American Studies, Archaeology, Asian Studies, Classics, Communication Studies, Education, English Literature, History, Linguistics, Qualitative Research Methods, Sociology, Women's and Gender Studies, and more. Students who complete our program will be able to demonstrate some aspect of interdisciplinary expertise. Career Preparation In the Fall of their first year, we provide a tailored template for an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to each MA and PhD student. We encourage students to fill out the plan with action steps that fit with their own goals and life circumstances, in conversation with their major professor and the Director of Graduate Studies. The IDP incorporates a wealth of career resources that UGA offers graduate students, including the UGA Mentor Program, the Graduate School's GradUP professionalization resources, including graduate leadership development and internship programs, and free access to the professional training platform Beyond Prof, where students can attend live career exploration sessions and browse job application material templates. Beyond Prof starts from the guiding statement: "PhDs work wherever smart people are needed." In the Fall of their second year, our MA students are encouraged to consider both academic and alt-ac paths: PhD applications: MA students have the option of receiving feedback from their major professor and other relevant committee members on their PhD application statements and to discuss where to apply, if desired. Alt-ac jobs: Students can meet with the Franklin College Humanities Internship and Career Coordinator to receive feedback on their cover letter and resume, do mock interviews, and make a plan for their job search. Further resources are also available from the Humanities Career Consultant in the UGA Career Center. In the Spring of their penultimate year (typically either their third or fourth year), our PhD students are encouraged to prepare for both the academic and alt-ac job markets: Faculty job market: PhD students are offered the opportunity to work with their major professor and the department's Placement Officer to receive feedback on their academic application materials, prepare for Zoom interviews, and do a practice job talk. Alt-ac jobs: Students can meet with the Franklin College Humanities Internship and Career Coordinator to receive feedback on their alt-ac cover letter and resume, do mock interviews, and make a plan for their job search. PhD students can also participate in workshops organized by the Associate Director of Graduate Student Services in the UGA Career Center to support them in this process. Retention and Completion We are proud of our high retention rate. Of the students who start in our PhD program, around 9 in 10 complete the degree, and of the students who start in our MA program, around 19 in 20 complete the degree. While we recognize that stepping out of a graduate degree can sometimes be the right decision, we also want to make it possible for all our students to complete the degree if that is their goal. Our high retention rate speaks to the close interaction between students, their major professors, faculty inside and outside the department, and the Director of Graduate Studies. We also aim for a good time to degree. In our MA program, the average time to degree is around 2.5 years, with a majority of students completing the degree in 2 years. In our PhD program, the average time to degree is around 4.75 years, with a majority of students completing the degree in either 4 or 5 years. Placements Our MA and PhD graduates have gone on to make important contributions in a wide range of career paths and jobs. In addition, they help others through their community service and voluntary commitments. If you are one of our graduate alumni and you wish to update your information, please write to us! Placements include: Daryl Bloodsaw PhD, 2025 Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Athens Sarah Cook PhD, 2025 Senior Coordinator of Examinations at the Canadian Institute of Actuaries Eduardo Mendez MA, 2025 Manager in the Science Library at UGA (TAP student in Religion) Hisham Qureshi PhD, 2024 Director of Religious Studies and Spiritual Care at the Madina Institute Samaria Divine PhD, 2024 Director of Community Engagement for Doctoral Initiatives in the Forum for Theological Engagement Bashir Mundi PhD, 2024 Imam at the Masjid Al-Furqan - West Cobb Islamic Center Nathan Fleeson PhD, 2023 English Language Arts Teacher at Peachtree Ridge High School Jessica Couch PhD, 2023 Academic Advisor in History at UGA (TAP student in Religion) Sarah Burns MA, 2023 Paralegal Specialist, Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice Abderrahim Er-Ragragi MA, 2022 PhD student in Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan Drew Craver PhD, 2020 Academic Advisor in the Exploratory Center at UGA Anderson Moss-Weaver MA, 2019 Went on to do a PhD in Religion, Literature, and Culture at the University of Virginia, now Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Bates College Amanda Walls PhD, 2018 PhD awarded in Linguistics with a major professor in Religion, now Lecturer in Hebrew at UGA Rachel Tagoulla MA, 2018 Went on to do a PhD in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University Bloomington, now Lecturer in Arabic at UGA Nasim Fekrat MA, 2018 PhD student in Anthropology at UC Irvine Jonathan Barefield MA, 2017 PhD student in the Institute for Higher Education at UGA, and Senior Analyst on the Educational Transformation team at Ithaka S+R Danielle Clausnitzer MA, 2016 Went on to do a PhD in Theological and Religious Studies at Georgetown, now Adjunct Instructor of Religion at Augsburg University, and Assistant Director of Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality Raleigh Heth MA, 2016 Went on to do a PhD in Theology at the University of Notre Dame, now Assistant Teaching Professor in the Cornerstone Liberal Arts Program at Perdue University Rachel Nabulsi PhD, 2015 PhD awarded in Linguistics with a major professor in Religion, now Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Point University Joshua Patterson MA, 2015 Went on to do a PhD in the Institute for Higher Education at UGA, now Assistant Director in the SERU (Student Experience in the Research University) Consortium Zach Eberhart MA, 2015 Went on to do a PhD in New Testament and Early Christianity at Loyola University Chicago, now Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Point University Umesh Patel MA, 2013 Went on to work as an Academic Advisor in Education at UGA, now Director of Career Development and Programs in the Career Center at UGA Hugo Méndez MA, 2009 Went on to do a PhD in Linguistics at UGA, now Associate Professor of New Testament at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Kate Daley-Bailey MA, 2004 Academic Advisor in Romance Languages at UGA P. Daniel Silk MA, 2000 Went on to work for the US Department of State, now Associate Vice President for Public Safety at UGA
