Major and Minor Requirements

Why Study Religion at Kalamazoo College?

The study of religion leads in many directions, qualifying undergraduates for further study in graduate school or seminary, and providing students the basic skills required in today’s world. We offer students training in a unique combination of skills, including direct observation, textual analysis, critical thinking, historical narrative, and multicultural understanding. Many of our religion majors or minors go on to study law, business, education, and medicine in graduate school. Some students choose to make religion the center of a professional career, either as the leader of a religious community, or as an academic specialist in higher education.

We are an active interdisciplinary department with close ties to Jewish Studies; Women, Gender, and Sexuality; African Studies; American Studies; Anthropology/Sociology; Art History; History; and the new K College shared passages curriculum. Dr. Haus teaches Jewish traditions, and chairs the Jewish Studies Program. Dr. Maldonado-Estrada is an ethnographer specializing in Religion in the Americas, with a focus on masculinity, Catholicism, material culture, and urban religion. Dr. Pillai specializes in South Asian religious traditions and epic literature. The Chair, Dr. Petrey, specializes in Hebrew Bible and early Christianity. Please feel free to contact any of us with questions you may have on the study of religion.

Requirements for a Major

The requirements for a major in Religion are eight courses, which include:

  • the Junior Seminar (RELG 390)
  • the Senior Seminar (RELG 490)
  • and four courses at the 200-level or above

No comprehensive exams in the major.

Requirements for a Minor

Requirements for a minor are six courses, which include:

  • the Junior Seminar (RELG 390), or the Senior Seminar (RELG 490)
  • and three courses at the 200-level or above

Other Things to Know

  • The Junior Seminar should be taken in the spring of your junior year
  • The Senior Seminar should be taken in the winter of your senior year
  • The Junior Seminar in Religion is required for any SIP in Religion, regardless of major or minor. A SIP in Religion may be done outside the major with the support of a faculty member in the department, and relevant courses taken prior to the Junior Seminar

Course Descriptions

View a full description of Religion courses on the Course Descriptions page.