MAR - Master of Arts in Religion

The Master of Arts in Religion (MAR.) provides advanced study in religion and theology. The program consists of scholarly communication seminars, disciplinary and interdisciplinary study, and culminates in either a thesis, an extended research paper, or a portfolio.

Communication and Integration

Throughout the program, MAR. students study and practice written and oral scholarly communication and skills in multiple modes. Integrative capstone projects support individual academic and professional goals through extended academic research, mentored teaching, a problem-solving project, or a professionally-relevant apprenticeship.

Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Study

Each MAR student takes one interdisciplinary seminar and selects one disciplinary area of study:

• General Studies: Pursue general study across several subject areas in the regular Theological School curriculum.

• Bible and Cultures: Explore the Bible’s rhetoric, material and political contexts, interpretation, and ethics within diverse cultures and theoretical frameworks.

• Theology and Philosophy: Study philosophical, constructive, pluralist, comparative, and systematic approaches to theology and theological themes.

• Religion and Society: Examine the role of religion and Christianities in relation to social processes and meaning, structures of oppression, and struggles for liberation and wholeness for individuals, communities, and the natural environment.

• Self-Declared Interdisciplinary: Pursues an intentionally interdisciplinary course of study in one of Drew’s signature interdisciplinary fields - Africana and African American Religion and Culture; Ecology and Religion; or Women’s and Gender Studies.

Advanced Research

Students in the MAR program may choose to write a Master’s thesis based on scholarly primary research or may choose to complete a non-thesis, coursework-only track.