Program Overview

The Religious Studies M.A. at CSULB is the only M.A. in Religious Studies offered in the entire CSU system. That make it the least expensive Religious Studies M.A. in the entire state of California. It is a "stand-alone" M.A. program--one of about fifteen in the U.S. which means that it is not an afterthought or consolation prize in some other degree program. We are going to give you personal attention that prepares you for the next level. An M.A. from CSULB can do what the gravitational field of Mars can do for a space probe on the way to Pluto. You can use our gravitational field to sling you into orbit for a better graduate program (if you want a Ph.D. or some other advanced degree) or career.

Why is this so? First of all our graduated M.A.s have gone on to good Ph.D. programs -@ Heildelberg, Edinburgh, University of California, etc. You have a chance to polish your writing skills and learn languages that make you more attractive to such schools.Good schools want you to have tackled research and target languages. We offer Nahuatl; Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Modern Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese at the campus

Second, you learn how to learn things fast, well, and critically. In the world of knowledge-based economies, you have the basic skills for any knowledge-based career. You can discern quickly what is garbage, what is fact-based, and what is possible. Our graduates have become entrepreneurs, writers, social activists, and religious leaders.They innovate and adapt.

Third, we take your interest in Religion seriously and know that you want to grow as a person while you are learning. That means, whatever your religious position--from Atheist to Zoroastrian, Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, or Sikh, Neo-pagan or "None," Fundamentalist or Progressive--you are welcome here. This means that you will meet people with religious positions that are different from your own and have conversations that you could not have imagined in a parochial program.