Looking for an online masters program for Comparative Religion

I know that this is a fairly new line of study, so I'm having a really hard time finding an online program that has some level of validity to it. This is what I'd really love to do, and I have family friends and others who have studied this in one place or another (on campus) and have fulfilling careers.

Can someone please help me find some options?

- Katie

 

Texas Wesleyan University: B.S Comparative Religious Studies

Online Comparative Religious Studies - Texas Wesleyan University

 

I appreciate the help - unfortunately, that is for a bachelor's degree, and I will be graduating with mine in May. I am looking for a graduate program to move on to.

 

Could look at the University of Wales - Trinity St. David, MA Study of Religions, which is offered by distance learning:

Requires research dissertation.

 

Thank for for the information.

How do "modules" work? Are they individual classes or sets of classes that work together within the same topic area?

 

Could also look at the California Institute for Human Sciences, MA in Comparative Religion & Philosophy, which is offered online.

I don't think CIHS is accredited. Unaccredited schools can operate legally in California with state approval, which CIHS has. For example, CIHS grads qualify for psychologist licensing exams in California (though the lack of accreditation might be an issue if they were pursuing licensure in other states).

 

I was looking at the program at CIHS yesterday - the program itself was just what I was looking for, but I'm worried about the accreditation. I do not want to practice in the psychology field, but I'm sure it is still a concern.

 

The lack of recognized accreditation at CIHS would have the following potential drawbacks:

- program will not qualify for government financial aid
- degree may not be recognized by accredited schools (for admission into another degree program)
- degree may not be recognized by employers
- degree may not be recognized by state licensing agencies (outside of California)
- some states (outside of California) may legally restrict the advertisement of unaccredited degrees (e.g. Oregon "disclaimer")
- people with accredited degrees may scoff

An MA in Comparative Religion does not have an obvious professional application, which suggests that you may be pursuing the degree primarily out of personal interest. If so, then these drawbacks may not be significant. It seems unlikely, for example, that an MA in Comparative Religion would matter to any state licensing board, whether it was accredited or not.

 

My impression is that a "module" is offered like an individual class -- but it covers as much material as you would get in multiple regular classes, and it requires as much work as you would get in multiple regular classes. So like a set of regular classes that have been bundled together, and offered as one super-sized class. However, I have no first-hand experience with this program, and can't say for sure. You would want to check with the school directly, or with students/alumni if you can find them.

 

Big enough exceptions that come to mind: An accredited MA in Comparative Religion could be applied toward a community college teaching credential, or applied in part toward a K-12 humanities-subject teaching credential (or additional qualification to get a job, or a pay boost).

 

OK. But the implication is that an unaccredited MA in Comparative Religion may not be acceptable for these purposes. So these points reinforce the potential drawbacks listed in Post #8 above: an unaccredited degree may not be recognized by schools, employers, or licensing agencies.

If the degree is desired for potential use in a teaching career, then these may be serious drawbacks. If the degree is desired for personal interest, then they may not matter.

 

This may be a graduate program to consider:

University of Philosophical Research (DETC): M.A. Transformational Psychology
M.A. Transformational Psychology | University of Philosophical Research | Online Psychology M.A. Program | University of Philosophical Research

Note: The degree requires a total 54-credit hours (3-credit hour thesis), of which, 12-hours can be in Comparative Religion & Mythology, Abrahamic, and/or Eastern Religion area coursework.
Religion Courses Online | University of Philosophical Research | World Religions | Comparative Religion | University of Philosophical Research

 

As said CalDog, avoid unaccredited school, I know what i'm talking about...

david