FACULTY OF  Religious Studies

Our Mission

The Society is a support network for graduate students working towards their MA, MDiv, STM or PhD in the field of Religious Studies at McGill University. The Society aims to create an environment where graduate students support one another by interacting periodically to exchange research ideas, voice concerns and share advice relevant to up-and-coming researchers and scholars of religion like themselves.  The website seeks to apprise other scholars from around the world about the research being done by junior scholars at the Faculty.

The Society regularly holds meetings at the Faculty of Religious Studies to discuss potential individual and group funding projects, research topics, conference plans, proposals, and issues relevant to graduate students.  

The Society provides a regular forum for the presentation of academic work by Faculty and graduate students.

The Society organizes ongoing panel discussions, dealing with issues of teaching religion each semester.

The Society undertake the organization of special events relevant to graduate students in Religious Studies.

The Society disseminates information to graduate students via the RSGS email listserve, this website, which is hosted and linked vis-à-vis the Faculty site, and through graduate student mailboxes.  Among other things, this information consists of notices concerning relevant conferences, workshops, publications, job postings information on funding possibilities, new publications, etc.

McGill University's Faculty of Religion Profile

Established in 1821, McGill University is an English-language university located in Montreal, Quebec. The University is recognized as the most internationally-oriented university in Canada. During the nineteenth century, several theological colleges in Montreal became affiliated with McGill University. In 1912, they formed a joint board for the academic study of Theology, leaving each denominational college to provide its own professional training for Christian ministry. This relationship between the colleges and the University led naturally to the creation, in 1948 of a Faculty of Divinity which assumed the academic functions of the Joint Board. In keeping with this goal the University Faculty offers the Bachelor of Theology and several graduate degree programs.

The original Faculty of Divinity taught theological courses for ordinands and also engaged in teaching undergraduates in other faculties a selection of courses of more general interest, such as philosophy and psychology of religion, and comparative religion. This selection grew over the years into the present B.A. Honours, Major and Minor programs in Religious Studies within the Faculty of Arts. In 1970 the name of the Faculty was changed to the Faculty of Religious Studies in order to reflect the new emphasis on the the academic study of religion. Currently, the Faculty of Religious Studies offers or contributes to six degrees - BA, Bachelor of Theology, MDiv, STM, MA and PhD - and offers both graduate and undergraduate courses of study on most of the world's major religions.

Faculty Programs

Graduate programs are available specializing in Buddhism, Church History, Bioethics and Comparative Religion, Hinduism, New Testament, Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible, Philosophy of Religion, and Theology. Graduate degree programs include the STM, MA with thesis, MA without thesis, MA (with a specialized emphasis on Bioethics) and PhD.

Contact Information:

Telephone: 514-398-4121
Fax: 514-398-6665
Postal Address: Birks Building, 3520 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2A7
E-mail:  rebecca.coughlin@mail.mcgill.ca

Send mail to shayna.sheinfeld@mail.mcgill.ca with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Religious Studies Graduate Students' Society of the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University
Last modified: 09/22/08