This information is part of the Colgate University catalog, 2026-27.
Major Requirements
A major in religion consists of ten courses, a minimum of eight of which must be departmental courses. Only one of the total number of courses may be an independent study.
The requirements for the major are as follows:
Introductory Courses
One of the following:
Required Courses
All of the following:
Seven Electives
- Electives can be any RELG course (other than 101, 102, 352, or 411) or a non-RELG course with an attribute of RLEL (see course offerings for attribute information)
- at least two of the electives must be at the 300- or 400-level.
Additional Information
In consultation with the student's adviser and the department chair, a student may elect to count up to two Colgate courses from outside the program in religion for religion major credit. These courses may be in the study of a language, provided that the student has planned these courses in advance and in consultation with their adviser and the department chair. A student who has received approval from the registrar to transfer credit for a language course not taught at Colgate (e.g., Biblical Hebrew, Hindi, Sanskrit), may petition the chair for the approved transfer credit to count toward the major. Relevance to the student's program of study in religion must be demonstrated. Required Core courses cannot be counted toward religion requirements.
GPA Requirement
For graduation, the religion department requires a minimum GPA of 2.00 in courses chosen to count toward the major.
Honors
All candidates for honors in religion who wish to write on a religious theme are required to take in the fall of the senior year. At the end of the course, the faculty member may recommend that a student's paper be reworked into an honors thesis.
In the spring of the senior year, candidates for honors normally take an independent study () with their honors adviser. The honors thesis — a substantial piece of research, analysis, or critique — is turned in to the adviser several weeks before the end of the term. If the adviser decides that the thesis can stand for honors, the honors candidate meets during exam week with their adviser and two other faculty readers and fields questions: the honors defense. Ideally the question and answer session becomes a forum for intellectual exchange between the student writer and the faculty readers. A student is awarded honors on the basis of both the quality of the written thesis and the conduct of the honors defense. No student can be awarded honors who does not have at least a GPA of 3.60 in their major.
Religion Department
For more information about the department, including Faculty, transfer credit, awards, etc., please visit the catalog page.