Apr 03, 2026

2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog

Religious Studies Major, BA

Campus: Knoxville, Distance Education**

For additional information regarding distance education programs, including Admissions Requirements, visit https://volsonline.utk.edu/

Not every course is offered each term or available in all modalities. Students should review their degree audit regularly and work closely with their academic advisor to plan their courses and ensure timely progress toward degree completion based on course availability in their declared modality.

**Honors Concentration not available for Distance Education

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Major Requirements

¹The Religious Studies concentration consists of 30 credit hours.

I. Complete:(6 Credit Hours)

REST 300* - Method and Theory in Religious Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 499* - Advanced Seminar in the Study of Religion 3 Credit Hours

II. Select one course from each of the following areas (12 hours):

III. Select 3 hours at the 100 level or above: (3 Credit Hours)

any Religious Studies course, including REST 101* or REST 103*

REST 101* - Religions of the World 3 Credit Hours
REST 103* - Religions in the U.S. 3 Credit Hours
or any other Religious Studies course at the 200 level or above

IV. Select 3 hours at the 200 level or above:

any remaining Religious Studies courses at the 200 level or above

V. Select 3 hours at the 300 level or above:

any remaining Religious Studies courses at the 300 level or above

VI. Select 3 hours at the 400 level:

Anchor

REST 405* - Modern Jewish Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 413* - Seminar in Early Judaism 3 Credit Hours
REST 423* - Seminar in Early Christianity 3 Credit Hours
REST 430* - Seminar in North American Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 436* - Seminar in Islamic Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 476* - Contemporary Asia 3 Credit Hours
REST 479* - Seminar in East Asian Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 481 - Public Health in Holocaust Ghettos 3 Credit Hours
REST 490 - Readings and Research in Religious Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 493 - Independent Study 1-15 Credit Hours

Honors Concentration – Religious Studies

The honors concentration consists of 30 hours. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.25 to be accepted to the honors concentration. To graduate with honors the student must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.25 and pass REST 407 and REST 408* with at least a 3.3 in each class. Students interested in the honors concentration should consult the department’s honors coordinator.

I. Complete: (12 Credit Hours)

REST 300* - Method and Theory in Religious Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 407 - Honors: Senior Thesis I 3 Credit Hours
REST 408* - Honors: Senior Thesis II 3 Credit Hours
REST 499* - Advanced Seminar in the Study of Religion 3 Credit Hours

II. Select one course from each of the following areas (12 hours):

A. Mediterranean and the Middle East

REST 311* - Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 3 Credit Hours
REST 312* - Early Judaism 3 Credit Hours
REST 321* - New Testament and Christian Origins 3 Credit Hours
REST 322* - Martyrs and Monks: Christian History, 100-800 CE 3 Credit Hours
REST 323* - Christianity: An Introduction 3 Credit Hours
REST 332* - Introduction to Islam 3 Credit Hours
REST 335* - Islam and the Body 3 Credit Hours
REST 339* - Islam in the Modern World 3 Credit Hours
REST 381* - Judaism 3 Credit Hours
REST 385 - Contemporary Jewish Thinkers 3 Credit Hours
REST 386* - Voices of the Holocaust 3 Credit Hours

B. North America and Africa

REST 306* - Contemporary Christian Thought 3 Credit Hours
REST 344* - Religions in Appalachia 3 Credit Hours
REST 350 - Black Power to Black Lives Matter in African American Religious Thought 3 Credit Hours
REST 352* - African American Religion in the United States 3 Credit Hours
REST 353* - Religion, Race, and Ethnicity in North America 3 Credit Hours
REST 354* - Popular Religion in the United States 3 Credit Hours
REST 355 - Topics in North American Religion 3 Credit Hours
REST 356* - Vodou Gods and Atlantic Perils: African Religions in the New World 3 Credit Hours
REST 359* - American Religious History 3 Credit Hours
REST 360* - Witchcraft, Magic and Religion 3 Credit Hours
REST 361* - The American Jewish Experience 3 Credit Hours
REST 363 - African Religions in the Western Imagination 3 Credit Hours
REST 373* - African Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 380* - American Buddhism 3 Credit Hours

C. South, Southeast, and East Asia

REST 319 - Gender, Sexuality, and Religion in Asia 3 Credit Hours
REST 372* - Contemporary Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 374* - Hindu Traditions 3 Credit Hours
REST 375* - Theravada Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 376* - Buddhism 3 Credit Hours
REST 379* - Chinese Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 383* - Japanese Religions 3 Credit Hours
REST 390* - Mindfulness 3 Credit Hours

D. Methods and Issues in Religious Studies

REST 301* - Religion and Nonprofit Leadership 3 Credit Hours
REST 302 - Anthropology of Religion 3 Credit Hours
REST 303* - Sociology of Religion 3 Credit Hours
REST 305 - Contemporary Religious Thought and Practice 3 Credit Hours
REST 309* - Religion and the Workplace 3 Credit Hours
REST 310* - Religion and Gameworlds 3 Credit Hours
REST 316* - Topics in Religion and Film 3 Credit Hours
REST 320* - Gender, Sexuality, and Religion 3 Credit Hours
REST 343* - Religion, Nature, and Ethics 3 Credit Hours

III. Select 6 additional hours of honors or honors-by-contract courses in Religious Studies.

Notes:

* Meets Volunteer Core Requirement

¹Not every course is available in both modalities or offered every term. Students should regularly review their Degree Audit Report System, i.e., DARS, and consult with their academic advisor to plan their courses and ensure timely progress toward degree completion based on course availability in their declared modality.

Undergraduates

Graduate Students

Religious Studies Major, BA

Campus: Knoxville, Distance Education**

College Requirements

Major Requirements

I. Complete:(6 Credit Hours)

II. Select one course from each of the following areas (12 hours):

A. Mediterranean and the Middle East

B. North America and Africa

C. South, Southeast, and East Asia

D. Methods and Issues in Religious Studies

III. Select 3 hours at the 100 level or above: (3 Credit Hours)

IV. Select 3 hours at the 200 level or above:

V. Select 3 hours at the 300 level or above:

VI. Select 3 hours at the 400 level:

Honors Concentration – Religious Studies

I. Complete: (12 Credit Hours)

II. Select one course from each of the following areas (12 hours):

A. Mediterranean and the Middle East

B. North America and Africa

C. South, Southeast, and East Asia

D. Methods and Issues in Religious Studies

III. Select 6 additional hours of honors or honors-by-contract courses in Religious Studies.

Notes: