PhD in Cultural Studies - Study of Religion in Davis United States | University of California Davis

The UC Davis Graduate Group in Cultural Studies provides an interdisciplinary framework for examining culture and society, emphasizing how factors like sexuality, race, ability, citizenship, gender, nationality, class, and language shape identities, social dynamics, and cultural artifacts. Under faculty mentorship, students conduct cross-disciplinary research spanning diverse fields such as critical race studies, ecocriticism, fashion theory, queer studies, media analysis, science and technology studies, Marxist thought, tourism, food culture, disability studies, cultural geography, transnational politics, globalization, religious studies, rhetoric, performance, and critical theory. While both Ph.D. and M.A. degrees are available, the program only accepts Ph.D. applicants, with the M.A. serving as an optional stepping stone toward doctoral studies.

The Designated Emphasis in Religion equips graduate students with interdisciplinary insights into historical and contemporary approaches to studying religion, particularly its influence on Western thought and global identity formation. This program challenges static notions of religion, instead examining it as a fluid, context-dependent field that actively shapes its subjects of study across various disciplines including literature, culture, and social behavior.