DEPARTMENTAL HONORS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
The Department of Religious Studies encourages its majors and minors to intensify and deepen their knowledge of religious texts, traditions, and issues through its Departmental Honors Program. The program is designed to give our students the opportunity to explore various topics and problems in religion that are of particular interest to them, to work more closely with faculty in the department, to develop skills in research and thesis preparation, and in some cases to prepare for graduate work in religious studies or other disciplines.
Minimum requirements for the program are as follows: 1) a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30; 2) a cumulative grade point average in religious studies of at least 3.50; and 3) a thesis that is approved by departmental faculty.
For the determination of honors, cumulative grade point average means either the average of all grades earned at the University of Miami or the combined average of all graded work taken at the University of Miami and elsewhere (whether or not the transfer work is accepted toward a degree at the University of Miami), whichever is lower.
Students have three options for writing the thesis. First, they may take six credit hours of senior thesis (REL 491 and 492: Senior Honors Thesis I and II) with one or more departmental faculty. Second, they may take a three-credit course offered at the 300-level or above and three credits of senior thesis (REL 492). Third, in exceptional circumstances, a student’s thesis may be written as part of the requirements for earning six credits in religious studies courses at the 300-level or above. In all three cases, the thesis must be a single, coherent work of scholarship through which the student earns six credit hours in religious studies over the course of two semesters.
A Religious Studies faculty member must serve as the Honors thesis advisor, and a second reader, who may be from another department, must be selected in consultation with the thesis advisor. The thesis must be at least 30 pages in length. Once the topic and committee are secured, students should turn in their signed Departmental Honors Thesis Form to the main office of the Department on Religious Studies. This form must be signed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies and submitted by October 15 for fall graduation and February 15 for Spring graduation.
In addition to completing the written thesis, students must orally present the results of their work to faculty and students at a special honors colloquium to be held at the end of the semester.
THETA ALPHA KAPPA –THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES AND THEOLOGY (TAK)
Since 1995 the Department of Religious Studies has been proud to house the Alpha Beta Upsilon chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa (TAK), the national honor society for religious studies and theology. Each spring the chapter inducts eligible faculty, students, and members of the community who have distinguished themselves in the academic study of religion. The chapter presents all student inductees with an honors cord that they may wear at the University’s Honors Convocation and Commencement.
To be eligible for induction into TAK as an undergraduate, students must have a cumulative grade point average in all academic subjects of at least 3.30 and earn an overall grade point average of 3.50 or higher in at least 12 academic credits in Religious Studies. Graduating seniors who are in the process of fulfilling the requisite 12 academic credits in Religious Studies will be considered for induction into the Society, provided that they meet the other criteria. Eligible students are reviewed by the faculty each spring. Those who are approved by the faculty are offered induction into TAK, which is one of the highest honors that the faculty can bestow on majors and minors.
TAK publishes the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa, which each year features undergraduate papers in all fields of religious studies and theology. The best undergraduate paper is awarded a prize worth $200. For additional information on TAK and the paper competition, please contact Dr. David Kling.
Majors and minors who have achieved academic excellence and have completed 90 credits (12 credits in Religious Studies) are eligible to join TAK. Each spring the chapter inducts eligible faculty, students, and members of the community who have distinguished themselves in the academic study of religion. The chapter presents all student inductees with an honors cord that they may wear at the University’s Honors Convocation and Commencement.
AWARDS FOR GRADUATING SENIORS
Because every significant field of study intersects at crucial points with aspects of religion, the discipline of religious studies is extremely broad. The Department of Religious Studies attempts to offer course work in as many areas as its faculty has expertise. To facilitate the goal of acquiring both breadth and depth in their knowledge of religion, majors and minors meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and religious studies faculty to plan their course of study.
Each spring semester the Department of Religious Studies bestows its two highest awards to graduating seniors at the TAK induction ceremony. The first is the department’s highest award, the Theta Alpha Kappa Award, given to the student who has excelled in the diverse areas of study offered by the Department. The second is the W. Sloan McCrea Award, bestowed on the outstanding Religious Studies major whose outstanding academic performance also merits recognition. Other awards are occasionally presented at the Theta Alpha Kappa induction ceremony that recognizes excellence in areas of study offered by the Department.
