Master of Arts in Religion

Yale Divinity School offers the Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) degree both as a comprehensive and a concentrated program.  Both comprise a two-year, 48 credit course of study.  The comprehensive MAR degree prepares students for many forms of lay ministry or service (secondary teaching, college or hospital chaplaincy, non-profit management, religion writing, to name but a few of the paths our graduates pursue), while the concentrated MAR degree often serves as a preparation for doctoral study.

Students in classThe comprehensive program consists of a study of the various theological disciplines, including biblical studies, systematic theology, liturgics, and historical Christianity with electives drawn from courses which deal with Christianity in the larger context of culture.  Students are encouraged to take courses in other professional schools (Law, Management, Public Health, Forestry) or departments (Religious Studies, American Studies, Art History, Philosophy, Women’s Studies) of the University.

The concentrated program offers the following academic areas of specialization:

  • Asian Religions
  • Hebrew Bible
  • Black Religion in the African Diaspora
  • Ethics
  • History of Christianity
  • Latinx & Latin American Christianity
  • Liturgics
  • New Testament
  • Practical Theology
  • Philosophical Theology
  • Religion & the Arts
  • Religion & Ecology
  • Second Temple Judaism
  • Theology
  • Women’s/Gender/Sexuality Studies
  • World Christianity/Missions

Students will work closely with a professor from their respective discipline and are encouraged to take courses in other professional schools and departments of the University.  Applicants to the concentrated MAR degree must have sufficient background in the discipline (undergraduate major or minor) to be accepted into the program.  A student who applies to the concentrated program but lacks the necessary academic preparation may be admitted to the MAR comprehensive.  It may be possible to transfer into the concentrate after a year of study at YDS.