Students must complete a minimum of three full years of residential study beyond the bachelor’s degree (or two years beyond the M.A., or its equivalent, if earned elsewhere than UGA), exceptions to this rule being permitted only with the approval of the Department and Graduate School. This can be gained either by 60 hours of graduate-level coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree (in the case where one has not previously earned a master’s degree at UGA), which can be completed either in two 30 hour blocks of consecutive work or 60 hours of consecutive work; or by 30 hours of consecutive graduate-level coursework beyond the master’s degree (in the case where a master’s degree has previously been earned at UGA) Also required for the PhD are Research Skills: Two modern secondary research languages plus any other primary languages deemed necessary and appropriate and approved by the student’s major professor. The modern, secondary research languages must be other than English, languages in which contemporary scholars present and publish their research and discuss and critique other scholars’ research. Primary languages are those in which the principal texts of one’s research are written or spoken. This assessment shall be taken prior to the Ph.D. comprehensive examinations; no dissertation proposal will receive final approval until all language requirements have been met. Our programs allow students latitude in pursuing their interests, but are designed to emphasize the Department’s areas of concentration: American Studies (American Religion, African American Religion, Native American Religion, Southern Religion) Asian Studies (Literature, History, Thought in Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Sikhism, and/or Shinto) African and African Diaspora Studies Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Biblical World) Christian Studies (Bible & Christian Literature, History, Thought) Islamic Studies (Quran & Islamic Literature, History, Thought and Sufism) Jewish Studies (Hebrew Bible & Jewish Literature, History, Thought)
