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Introduction

The Department of Religious Studies offers career-oriented, professional and liberal religious education, which prepares its students in a variety of religious disciplines.  The programme therefore focuses on formal research projects and activities in which post-graduate study opportunities are available.

Objectives

A specific area of religion is chosen by the candidate in order:
To achieve academic excellence  and to develop high level manpower in areas of religious studies;
To further  and deepen the knowledge of religious education gained at undergraduate level so as to prepare the candidate for a career in this area;
To undertake research in religion and other related disciplines such as history, philosophy, sociology, literature and geography so as to have a scientific and critical approach to human development.

Admission Requirements

A candidate must satisfy the common regulations for Master of Arts degree of Egerton University, and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
The candidate must have obtained at least an Upper Second Class Bachelor?s degree BA/B.Ed. in religious studies, Social Education and Ethics or its equivalent from a recognised institution of higher learning.
The candidate must also have studied Religion or Social Education and Ethics as a major subject at Bachelor?s degree level and must have obtained a minimum average grade of ?B? in the subject.

Duration
The Master of Arts degree programme in Religious Studies shall extend over a minimum period of 18 months and a maximum of 36 months for full-time students, and a minimum period of 24 months and a maximum period of 42 months for part-time students.

Structure of The Course

Candidates for the Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies will pursue studies in nine areas of specialisation, namely:
Judaism;
Christianity;
Islam;
Buddhism;
Hinduism;
African Traditional Religion;
African New Christian Movement;
Ethics;
Comparative Religion.
The programme shall consist of coursework, examination and thesis.
The candidates will take and be examined in a minimum of 10 courses offered in the Department, which will be distributed over two semesters:
FIRST SEMESTER:  Two compulsory courses from the specialisation, one of which is REST 502: Principles of Theological Research Methods and three optional courses.  Comp 501: Computer Science will be taught in the Department of Computer Science.
SECOND SEMESTER:  Two compulsory courses, from the area of specialisation and three optional courses.

EXAMINATION
Assessment of the candidate?s progress will be by continuous assessment and written examination which shall constitute 40% and 60% respectively in each course.
Marks obtained in Examination shall be converted into letter grades as follows:
A    70% and above        very good
B    60-69%            Good
C    50-59%            Average
D    49% and below        Fail
(c)    Pass mark will be 50% or Grade C in all courses  offered

Thesis
During the first year of study, the candidates shall, in consultation with the Department, choose a topic for the thesis.  The topic will be chosen from any area of the discipline of Religious Studies.
The Second Year will be devoted to research work, and preparation of the thesis of minimum of 25,000 words (including foot/end notes, references and appendices but excluding bibliography).
The thesis will be assessed in accordance with the regulations of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Egerton University in general.