General Information

For information about Division-wide requirements, visit the Virtual Red Book. For the SPR qualifying examination reading lists, visit the Green Book. For past SPR examination questions, visit the Past Examination Archive.

Credits may be earned that do not count toward the total required. For example, PM-PhD students earn only two credits per semester toward their 36-credit SPR total for the one-year basic proficiency courses (Science Literacy, Core Texts and Motifs of World Religions), regardless of how many credits show on the transcript. Students should keep in mind this distinction between registered credits and credits that count toward the SPR requirements.

The MA program has the same course credit and research competency requirements as the post-Masters PhD, but no required lab placement, qualifying examinations, or dissertation, and only one language.

Abbreviations

SPR: Science, Philosophy, and Religion
MA: Master of Arts
PB-PhD: Post-Bachelors PhD
PM-PhD: Post-Masters PhD
N/A: Not Applicable

Note the following degree-specific information:

• For SPR students beginning the MA program in Fall, 2001, or later, all of the 4 required credits count toward the 32 credits required for the degree.
• For SPR students beginning the Post-Bachelors PhD program (PB-PhD) in Fall, 2001, or later, all of the 16 required credits count toward the 68 credits required for the degree.
• For SPR students beginning the Post-Masters PhD program (PM-PhD) in Fall, 2001, or later, 8 of the 16 required credits (for the two year-long basic proficiency courses in Science Literacy and Core Texts and Motifs of World Religions) do not count toward the 36 credits required for the degree.

Here is a brief description of the four required classes. 

• Every DRTS student (including every SPR student) must take a year-long, 4-credit course in Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion (GRS RN 795/796). This course prepares students to teach the "Religion 101" course in a college or university context. These 4 credits count toward the credit requirements for the PM-PhD, the PB-PhD, and the MA degrees.
• Every doctoral student in the SPR program must take a one-semester, 4-credit proseminar in Science, Philosophy, and Religion (STH TT921). This course introduces students both to the main issues of concern at the intersection of science, philosophy, and religion and to the most important literatures for studying those issues. These 4 credits count toward the credit requirements for the PM-PhD and the PB-PhD. This course is not required for SPR MA students.
• Every doctoral student in the SPR program must take a year-long, 4-credit course in science literacy (STH TT871, 2 credits per semester; students outside the SPR program and MA students within SPR can take these classes for up to 4 credits per semester). This course aims to prepare people to read science, religion and science, and philosophy of science literature. This course covers the biological and the physical sciences and involves extensive mathematics training and remedial work as needed. These 4 credits count toward the credit requirement for the PB-PhD but they do not count toward the credit requirement for the PM-PhD degree. This course is not required for SPR MA students.
• Every doctoral student in the SPR program must take a year-long, 4-credit course in the core texts and motifs of world religious traditions (STH TT901, 2 credits per semester; students not required to take these classes can register for up to 4 credits per semester, including SPR MA students). This course is a requirement for students in other DRTS specializations as well. The point of the sequence is to provide SPR students with enough background in the sacred texts and fundamental ideas of other religions that their reflections can achieve a significant degree of cross-cultural sophistication. These 4 credits count toward the credit requirement for the PB-PhD but they do not count toward the credit requirement for the PM-PhD degree. This course is not required for SPR MA students.

SPR PhD students (but not MA students) also need to demonstrate competence in a basic science-related skill such as mathematics, computer programming, computer modeling, or logic, depending on the specialization. For example, a student specializing in certain aspects of the biological sciences may need the ability to understand computer programming just to understand what is at stake in such research as computer models of protein folding and the like. Someone working in physics would usually need competence in mathematics. A student working in ecology would probably need expertise in environmental modeling software.

During the period of coursework, each SPR PhD student undertakes a lab placement of some appropriate sort. This placement involves about 6-8 hours of work each week for two semesters for a total of about 175 hours. For students entering in Fall 2001 or later, the lab placement earns 4 credits for the year through the course number (STH TT842), which count toward the credit requirement for their degree.

During the placement (and continuing afterwards, optionally), the student takes on the insider-outsider role of being involved in the work of the lab in basic ways while trying to interpret that work for those both inside and outside the laboratory context.

Each student is assigned an advisor within the lab. Within the SPR program, a cooperative learning arrangement is adopted whereby people in lab placements meet regularly as a group with SPR faculty. The aim of these meetings is to discuss how to interpret what is going on in their labs in relation to their growing mastery of the history and philosophy of science, and with their growing understanding of the humanities.

For further information about qualifying examinations, check out the guidelines and reading lists in the Green Book and review the list of SPR qualifying examination questions  in the Web QE Question Archive.