Religious Studies

Applicants are admitted on a competitive basis based on transcripts, scores on the verbal and writing portions of the Graduate Record Examination, letters of recommendation, personal statement of research interests, and fit with the resources of the department. In addition to departmental requirements for admission, applicants must fulfill university requirements for admission to graduate status described in the chapter \xc2\x93Graduate Education at UCSB.\xc2\x94 Applicants interested in pursuing a Ph.D. who have completed the M.A. degree in religious studies (or its equivalent) elsewhere may apply directly to the Ph.D. program. Others should apply to the M.A./Ph.D. program, which entails completion of the M.A. Plan 1. Applications for the M.A./Ph.D. program are accepted for fall quarter only; the deadline is December 1. The same schedule is normally required for M.A. Plan 2 applicants.

• Statement of Purpose, Personal Achievements/Contributions, and Resume or CV (submitted in the online application)

• Three Letters of Recommendation (submitted online)

• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended (submitted online)

• GRE General test scores

• TOEFL scores 550 Paper-Based Test (PBT), 80 Internet-Based Test (IBT) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Overall Band score of 7 or higher (if applicable)

• Writing Sample (submitted in the online application only)

• Final/Official transcripts will be required for all applicants who are admitted and have indicated their intent to enroll at UC Santa Barbara by submitting a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR). UC Santa Barbara reserves the right to require official transcripts at any time during the admissions process, and rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between uploaded and official transcript(s) are found.