The Minor in Religious Studies
Why minor in Religious Studies?
Many students decide that they would benefit from a minor, a formal program of study in a field other than their major. The name (or term) minor refers to the smaller number of units in the program, as compared with the major. A minor may be required of students in certain majors, but for most students, it is optional.
Students who voluntarily choose a minor typically do so from personal interest in the field or because a minor can provide them with a recognized field of secondary knowledge that may be attractive to employers and to graduate/professional schools. A student who plans to complete a minor should choose it early so that General Education classes can be selected to satisfy requirements for both GE and the minor simultaneously. The student must formally notify the University when choosing a minor by filing a Change of Minor form with Admissions and Records. The name of the completed minor is notated on the student’s transcript at graduation.
We live in a world of many cultures. Each of these cultures is shaped by a least one religion and often more than one. A minor in Religious Studies can bring an important dimension of multi-cultural awareness to a major in any other discipline and the issues raised by the study of religion and the investigation of these issues involve factual discovery and conceptual insight.
The Religious Studies Minor helps develop critical thinking and writing skills, critical historical analysis, socio-cultural analysis and comparative analysis of the "other". Anyone who will need to know something of the beliefs, rituals and moral values of other people in order to better appreciate different cultural patterns and individual aspirations would benefit from a Religious Studies Minor to supplements one's major.
A minor in RS consists of 3 units of lower division and 15 units of upper division credit. With approval of the department advisor, students may apply an Experimental Topics course (RS 396A-Z) to fulfill the requirements of the minor.
Did you know that you can fulfill 15 units of G.E. requirements and with only one more course complete a minor? (note: take only 1 lower division course from the S2 or S5 GE sections in order the complete the lower division requirement for the minor.)
In addition you can meet all upper division GE requirements with Religious Studies courses.
For lower division requirement (3 units):
- RS 100 for GE S2 or
- RS 150 for GE S5 or
- RS 240 for GE D
For upper division requirements (15 units):
- Religion in America (3 units): RS 306 for GE S5 or RS 307 for GE S2
- Current Issues in Religion - G.E.: S2 (3 units): RS 304, RS 310, RS 356, or RS 361
- Religious Traditions - G.E.: S5 (6 units):
Select two courses from the following: RS 365, RS 380, RS 385, RS 390
For D take (3 units):
- RS 240 Approaches to the History of Religion
Total units for GE: 15 units
Remaining units for Minor: 3 units
PDF of the Requirements for a minor in Religious Studies