PhD in Religious Studies

Submit the form below and our admissions expert will respond to you shortly.

*required field

To be eligible for admission to the Graduate School at Marquette University, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution or international equivalent must be completed prior to starting graduate school.
• A master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in theology, religious studies, or another field appropriate to their academic interests. A Master of Divinity degree is acceptable for prospective applicants to the doctoral program. 
• Proficiency in a classical language relevent to an applicant's area of research.
• A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.
• Demonstrated English proficiency for non-U.S. citizens.

Application Requirements

Read all application instructions prior to beginning an application.

• A completed online application form and fee. (Applicants for the PhD should apply for the Religious Studies program on the application.)
• Transcripts:
  • If coursework was completed within the United States, submit copies of all current and previous college/universities except Marquette¹
  • If coursework was completed outside of the United States, a transcript evaluation is required. A copy of a course-by-course evaluation is approved for the application process.²

• A statement of purpose indicating the applicant's reasons for wanting to enter the program,areas of academic interest, vocational objectives, reasons for selecting Marquette's program, and/or how the applicant stands to contribute to the program's demographic diversity.

• Applicants with language study experience should indicate formal graduate-level language course work reflected in their transcripts and/or private language study, along with estimations of present abilities reading, writing, and speaking the language or languages studied.

• An academic writing sample approximately 20 pages in length.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• GRE scores, general test only (Waived for international applicants)
• International applicants from non-English-speaking countries must provide TOEFL scores or other acceptable proof of English proficiency.
  • International applicants from non-English-speaking countries who have completed a master's degree or anticipate completing a master's degree at an English-speaking higher education institution prior to enrolling in the PhD program may request a waiver of this requirement.

^{1Upon admission, final official transcripts from all previously attended colleges/universities, with certified English translations if original language is not English, must be submitted to the Graduate School within the first five weeks of the term of admission or a hold preventing registration for future terms will be placed on the student’s record.} 

^{2Upon admission, an official course-by-course transcript/academic record evaluation must be submitted to the Graduate School within the first five weeks of the term of admission or a hold preventing registration for future terms will be placed on the student’s record.} 

December 15: Application and application materials should be received to be considered for the fall term. Applicants will be notified of an admission decision by March 31.

Financial Aid

The Department of Theology draws on the university's considerable financial aid resources to offer a variety of assistance opportunities to qualified students. These resources include teaching assistantships (TA), research assistantships (RA), minority student fellowships, graduate teaching fellowships, dissertation fellowships, M.A.C.D. scholarship, Smith family fellowships, Arthur J. Schmitt fellowships, John P. Raynor, S.J., fellowships, and Marquette University scholarships. For a comprehensive listing of merit-based aid (graduate assistantships/fellowships), visit the departmental financial aid webpage.

Private scholarships may also be available. U.S. citizens and permanent residents may be eligible to apply for student loans to help fund their educational expenses as well.