PhD in Study of Religion - Critical Theory in Davis United States | University of California Davis

The Ph.D. program in Religious Studies is structured as a six-year curriculum. Participants develop expertise in the textual traditions of specific faiths while exploring their connections to modern themes and regional contexts, such as ethics, human rights, modernity, science, secularism, visual culture, media, technology, language, rhetoric, performance, embodiment, and theoretical approaches. Graduates acquire both qualitative and quantitative research competencies for academic careers in religious scholarship. Our program provides dual training: traditional textual analysis within specific religious traditions and theoretical frameworks to situate these traditions within contemporary regional dialogues. The program features specialized research opportunities in three key areas: American religious movements, ancient Mediterranean religions, and Asian spiritual traditions. Students also pursue a secondary regional focus for comparative analysis, concentrating their research through thematic perspectives including Ethics and Human Rights, Modernity and Secularism, Media and Visual Culture, Language and Performance, Embodied Practices, or Theoretical Methodologies. This framework enables students to produce innovative scholarship that advances the field's academic and public discourse.

UC Davis's Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory allows doctoral candidates to engage in cross-disciplinary seminars examining historical and contemporary critical thought while earning a formal credential. Faculty from diverse humanities and social science departments contribute specialized knowledge spanning different historical eras and theoretical frameworks. These seminars create unique interdisciplinary forums where students and scholars examine foundational assumptions about social, political, and cultural systems through multiple analytical lenses.