Academic Overview

Scope and Objectives

The undergraduate major in the Study of Religion equips students to understand and compare creatively the worldwide varieties of core convictions, stories, texts, rituals, and practices known collectively as religion. Students complete courses in a wide range of departments in which religious phenomena are analyzed, including but not limited to: Anthropology, Art History, Asian Languages and Cultures, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, History, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Philosophy, Political Science, and World Arts and Cultures. Students can anticipate gaining versatile intellectual tools for approaching, analyzing, and appreciating the deep roots, human motivations, and history of the formation of religious traditions in their respective cultural contexts. Within this interdepartmental program, students may focus in depth on one or more specific religions. Students may wish to choose this major in combination with a second major field, a minor, or related language study.

Reasons to Study Religion at UCLA

“What can I do with a Study of Religion major?”

•         Advertisement and Publishing
•         Marketing and Management
•         Education
•         International Business
•         Counseling and Social Work
•         Corporate Environment
•         Government Agencies, Foreign Service, Peace Corps
•         Human Rights
•         Journalism
•         Museum and Arts
•         Law
•         Media
•         Health Care and Medicine
•         Non-profits or Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
•         Psychology
•         Peace Corps/ AmeriCorps
•         Social Care / Counseling
•         U.S. Government Policymaking
•         Religious Vocations (Priest, Pastor, Chaplain, Rabbi, Administrator, Specialized Ministries)