Graduate Study

Welcome to the Centre for the Study of Religion
You are Invited
Purpose of the Centre
Degrees Offered
The Study of Religion
Research Resources
Research and Publication
Community Life
About Professional Opportunities

The Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Torontois a unique institution for the pursuit of graduate studies. A multidisciplinary organization, the Centre combines the resources of the Religion department with an extensive network of cross-appointed affiliations with faculty colleagues whose primary research and teaching interests address religious phenomena, and who are drawn from a variety of departments and programs in the humanities and social sciences. The Centre thus consolidates the vast curricular and faculty resources for the study of religion that are distributed across disciplines throughout the university, making it the largest and most comprehensive graduate program in this field within Canada, and one of the largest and most diverse such programs internationally. Current faculty membership in the Centre includes some 65 professors, ranging from scholars trained in a variety of specializations within religious studies, to sociologists and anthropologists of religion, historians, philosophers, and psychologists of religion. Sustained by such a broad representation of disciplinary and area expertise, the Centre is able to facilitate graduate learning and research in a manner that conjoins scholarly depth with scholarly breadth, and encourages the creative possibilities that attend the critical, mutually-informing encounter of diverse theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches.

Since its inception in 1976, the Centre has awarded more than 90 doctoral degrees and some 150 master’s degrees. The Centre belongs to the Division of Humanities within the School of Graduate Studies, which governs and administers graduate programs in some seventy-five departments, centres, and institutes within the University of Toronto.

The Centre is situated in the downtown area of the city of Toronto, within a metropolitan region that includes one of the most culturally and religiously diverse populations in North America. Toronto offers ready contact with the communities and institutions of a large number of the religious traditions in the world.

The University of Toronto, with a population of some 60,000 students and a teaching staff of roughly 2,000 faculty, is the largest and most comprehensive institution of higher education in Canada. In international rankings of academic excellence and research performance, U of T consistently places among the top universities in the world.

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An Invitation

We invite students and professors to visit the Centre as well as to participate in lecture and colloquia events occurring at the Centre, located at 170 St. George Street on the University of Toronto downtown campus. We also invite you to consult the our website for information about the Centre and the University, as well as for access to helpful links. For questions about the Centre, or about the admissions process in particular, please contact the Centre: by telephone: (416) 978-3057; or by email: religion.grad@utoronto.ca

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Purpose

The purpose of the Centre is essentially twofold: (i) to provide for graduate training and experience in the study of religion, and (ii) to facilitate research and publication in this important field of inquiry. The Centre conceives of the study of religion in comprehensive terms, and so encourages a wide and critical conversation among scholars with diverse perspectives and approaches to the investigation of religious phenomena and traditions. The Centre seeks to promote the view that the academic study of religion should be interdisciplinary in its theoretical and methodological approaches and integrative in its focus on the multi-faceted centrality of religion in the human experience. We believe that such a program of inquiry provides an indispensable intellectual basis for exploring and comprehending the traditions that have shaped the determinant processes of world history, and for tracking the social trends that are currently underway in global as well as local contexts.

The Centre considers its distinguishing mark and unique strength to derive from its ability to provide individualized programs of graduate study that are integratively interdisciplinary, and that make maximize use of the rich and diverse curricular, library, and faculty resources that are available here at the University of Toronto for the study of religion. Our programs are characterized by breadth, flexibility, and focus, and they are supported by an advising system that is immediate, intensive, and comprehensive.

The Centre’s master’s program aims to serve students with a wide variety of purposes. While many of our master’s graduates continue on to pursue doctoral studies, others have followed different options, such as careers in teaching, public affairs, and publishing.

The Centre’s doctoral program, like other advanced programs in religious studies, exists primarily to prepare students for academic careers in universities and colleges

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Degrees

The Centre offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in the Study of Religion. The Centre also participates in several graduate level collaborative programs: South Asian Studies, International Relations, Bioethics, Editing Medieval Texts, Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Women's Health, Centre for the Environment and Jewish Studies.

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The Study of Religion

All students of the Centre are engaged in the common project of the study of religion, as construed in terms of the Centre’s commitment to an integrative and interdisciplinary approach to the subject. Students are accordingly admitted to the Centre as a whole and to the single program known as the study of religion. There are no specialized fields within the Centre with set requirements, specified courses, and designated faculty. Both programs of graduate study—master’s and doctoral—are constructed individually to fit and support the specific topics of interest identified by each student at the point of admission. This procedure strives to maximize the achievement of breadth and flexibility in interdisciplinary training, and of achieving the requisite focus regarding research specialization.

The Centre’s academic task in studying religious phenomena as expressions of the changing and diverse social-historical conditions of human existence is distinct from the study of theology as pursued from within a faith-based commitment to any particular religious tradition.

In the University of Toronto, this distinction is upheld institutionally by the separate functioning of the Centre for the Study of Religion and the Toronto School of Theology.

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Research Resources

The University of Toronto library system consists of some thirty libraries containing over nine million volumes, served by a fully online catalogue. It is consistently ranked among the top five research library systems in North America. The University’s collections of books, journals, and other materials for the study of religion are unsurpassed in Canada. These resources are found chiefly in Robarts Research Library, located on St. George Street near the Centre; but significant collections—often specialized—can also be found in various institutes and in the libraries of the many colleges that are attached to the University and the Toronto School of Theology. Particularly valuable to students of religion are the libraries of Trinity, St. Michael’s, Victoria and Emmanuel, Wycliffe, Knox, and Regis colleges, along with the South Asian Library, the East Asian Library, and the internationally renowned Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Internet: www.library.utoronto.ca

The Centre houses a small collection of standard reference works as well as current and back issues of Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses, along with variety of association bulletins and newsletters. The Centre also provides computers for student use, including access to the University’s online library catalogue, the Internet, and email.

Students of the Centre may use the computing facilities provided by Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS), which is located on the 14th floor of Robarts Library. It maintains two computing laboratories which provide access to various computer applications, including word-processing, the Internet, email, and electronic publishing. CHASS also offers tutorials and hands-on computer training sessions. Most of their services are offered free of charge. Internet: www.chass.utoronto.ca

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Research and Publication in the Centre

The Centre facilitates research and publication primarily through the encouragement it provides for the work of faculty members and students of the Centre. The research interests and projects of the faculty members are reflected in the recent publications listed in the Centre Faculty Profiles provided in this Handbook.

The Centre attracts visiting scholars, post-doctoral fellows, and research readers who come to the University to pursue programs of research. These visitors contribute to the intellectual life of the Centre by taking part in graduate seminars, colloquia, and other events. The Centre also periodically sponsors conferences and special lecture series, often in association with a college or other departments and centres in the University.

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Community Life in the Centre

The Centre functions as a community of professors and students engaged in the study of religion, together with the supporting members of the administrative staff. As much as possible, the Centre seeks to foster the understanding that professors and students are senior members and junior members of the community of scholars working together in common academic pursuits. By statute, the professors and Centre officers represent the University of Toronto in the operation of the academic program and om the assessment of the achievements of graduate students in fulfilment of the requirements for the degrees of M.A. and Ph.D.

The Chair of the Department for the Study of Religion also serves as the Chair of the Centre.

The Chair is thus responsible for the overall operation of the Centre, and is accountable to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. The Graduate Director of the Centre serves as the coordinator for the graduate program. In a parallel manner the Associate Chair of the Department directs the undergraduate academic program. The Chair, the Graduate Director, and the Associate Chair meet regularly as the joint executive committee of the Department and Centre. The Graduate Administrator assists the Graduate Director and runs the day-to-day academic operations of the Centre. The Departmental Officer serves as the primary administrative, business, and human resources officer of the Department and the Centre. The Departmental Secretary assists both the Chair and the Associate Chair. The joint By-laws of the Department and Centre define the governance structure. A copy is available at the Centre.

The following structures include both the Department and the Centre in their affairs: Advisory Committee on policy, appointments, and other general matters; Committee on Promotions and Appeals; Committee on Academic Development. The Centre has the following additional structures: the Centre General Assembly; Committee on Curriculum and Graduate Study; Committee on Graduate Admissions and Fellowships. All Centre students are members of the Centre General Assembly, and student representatives serve on the Department/Centre Advisory Committee and the Committee on Curriculum and Graduate Study.

Community life in the Centre tends to be focused on the Common Room (first floor), where public lectures, public meetings, and social events are held, and the Graduate Common Room (second floor), where students have their mail boxes, book lockers, access to email, and use of basic kitchen facilities. The Centre maintains a job placement board as well as a board for announcements of events (second floor). The Centre’s Seminar Room (second floor) is used for Centre courses, meetings of student advisory committees, thesis proposal meetings, and oral examinations. The Round Room (first floor) is frequently used for committee meetings and lunches.

The Centre sponsors a colloquium that meets frequently to hear papers and hold discussions about the work of professors, visiting scholars, invited lecturers, and graduate students. Centre members are encouraged to propose papers. The Centre expects graduate students to attend the colloquium as often as possible during the academic year.

All new doctoral students are members of RLG 1000Y, a Method and Theory seminar whose membership is restricted to first year Ph.D. students of the Centre. The seminar, which meets weekly throughout the academic year, is focused on fundamental questions of interpretation, explanation, and analysis in the study of religious phenomena. It serves as a primary way for students to engage in discussion about the study of religion in relation to their own academic interests as well as to develop a community of discourse among peers.

All new M.A. students are members of the RLG1200H. They will meet together weekly during the first term in a seminar series oriented towards professional training in issues of methodology, theory, and the research process. This forum will feature a topical discussion introduced by individual faculty members, followed by an open collective exploration of the important themes raised.

All Centre students are members of the Student Association of the Centre, a self-governing organization that provides academic, social, and counselling services. The Student Association provides an essential linking mechanism for students to engage intellectually and socially outside of the more formal arrangements of the graduate program. In recent years, students have sponsored an annual Spring Symposium, published an annual volume of papers, and organized roundtable discussions. The Student Association is also instrumental in assisting Centre students in regards to conference activities, providing guidance on the preparation of papers, and in the organizing of sessions for learned society meetings in Canada and the United States. Helpful advice on academic publishing—articles, reviews—is also made available. In addition to its intellectual role, the Student Association serves as an advocacy organization on behalf of student concerns and individual student interests. The Association also organizes social events, pub nights, and sporting events.

The Student Association executive includes the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Co-ordinator, Academic Co-ordinator, Graduate Student Union (GSU) Representative, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902 Representative (Shop Steward), M.A. Representative and Members-at-Large. All students are also members of the Graduate Students Union (GSU) of the University of Toronto.

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A Word to Students about Professional Opportunities

In addition to fostering a learning environment for academic research, the Centre also strives to provide students with opportunities to secure teaching experiences that will enhance their prospects for securing academic positions. The Centre tries to meet this need by means of Teaching Assistantships and, in a few cases, Course Instructorships. Centre doctoral students are eligible to apply for enrollment in THE5000H, Teaching in Higher Education, a course devoted to helping graduate students acquire teaching know-how, taught by accomplished teachers in the University. Research or work-study positions are also occasionally available, wherein students will work closely with a professor on a research project.

The Centre assists graduates in finding suitable initial positions, notably by giving advice on the job search, posting advertisements of position openings, maintaining a file of publications which advertise positions in the subjects covered by the Centre, and writing letters of recommendation. The University operates a Career Centre in the Koffler Student Centre, which runs workshops, offers career advice, provides an academic dossier service and posts job notices.