Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies (PhD)
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Overview
The PhD in Religious Studies provides training in early Judaism, Christian origins, and religions of the Late Antique Mediterranean.
Students develop range and breadth through coursework and comprehensive examinations in Years 1 and 2 of the program; after that, students will be encouraged and enabled to narrow their focus so that they become world experts in their chosen dissertation topic.
What makes the program unique?
The PhD if Religious Studies is the only program in Canada to offer students the opportunity to focus on the early religious traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East. PhD students engage in a broad range of coursework and pursue multi-disciplinary research on the material culture, religious beliefs, languages and histories of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. We have four full-time faculty specializing in Hebrew Bible studies, Jewish studies, and early Christianity and New Testament Studies. Our other faculty in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies are interdisciplinary researchers whose work regularly engages with religion and myth, including the archaeology of Roman religion and Greek mythology.
Quick Facts
Program Enquiries
Contact the program
Admission Information & Requirements
1) Check Eligibility
Minimum Academic Requirements
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:
Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.
English Language Test
Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.
Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:
TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based
Overall score requirement: 100
Reading
22
Writing
21
Speaking
21
Listening
22
IELTS: International English Language Testing System
Overall score requirement: 7.0
Reading
6.5
Writing
6.5
Speaking
6.5
Listening
6.5
Other Test Scores
Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:
The GRE is not required.
Prior degree, course and other requirements
Course Requirements
Students must have completed a minimum of two years' of study in Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, or Latin prior to commencing the program. More than two years is highly recommended and preferred.
2) Meet Deadlines
September 2025 Intake
Application Open Date
02 September 2024Canadian Applicants
International Applicants
3) Prepare Application
Transcripts
All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.
Letters of Reference
A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.
Statement of Interest
Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.
Supervision
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies (PhD)
Citizenship Verification
Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.
4) Apply Online
All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.
Research Information
Research Focus
Our research strengths in Religious Studies include Hebrew Bible studies, Jewish studies, and early Christian history and literature. Many of our faculty are interested in historiography, receptions of the ancient world, and digital approaches to the past. Additionally, our faculty have expertise in a large range of ancient languages and we offer rigorous training in Ancient Greek, Latin, Biblical Hebrew, and Classical Arabic as well as introductory courses in Akkadian, Middle Egyptian, and Coptic.
Program Components
PhD students complete coursework, comprehensive exams, modern language exams, and a dissertation.
Research Facilities
Our students have access to work space in the Graduate Reading Room with exclusive access to a library of ancient texts and seminal scholarship relating to Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies and a computer lab for research and teaching equipped with eight powerful desktop PC computers with dual monitors and a variety of software packages (including ArcGIS, Adobe Creative Suite and Agisoft Metashape) as well as a 3D printer.
Tuition & Financial Support
Tuition
| Fees | Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat | International |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee | $116.25 | $168.25 |
| Tuition * | ||
| Installments per year | 3 | 3 |
| Tuition per installment | $1,838.57 | $3,230.06 |
| Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%) | $5,515.71 | $9,690.18 |
| Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) | $3,200.00 (-) | |
| Other Fees and Costs | ||
| Student Fees (yearly) | $1,116.60 (approx.) | |
| Costs of living | Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies. | |
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.
Financial Support
Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.
Program Funding Packages
From September 2024 all full-time students in UBC-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $24,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.
Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)
All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)
Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)
Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.
Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)
Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.
Financial aid (need-based funding)
Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.
All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.
Foreign government scholarships
Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.
Working while studying
The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.
International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.
A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.
Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals
Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.
Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.
Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.
Cost Estimator
Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.
Career Outcomes
Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats
These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.
ENROLMENT DATA
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | 7 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 8 |
| Offers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| New Registrations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Enrolment | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Disclaimer
Research Supervisors
Supervision
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies (PhD)
Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors
These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.
This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.
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Bablitz, Leanne (Roman history, Roman law, Roman courtrooms, , Roman social history and law, Roman topography, Roman legal procedure)
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Cooper, Elisabeth (Archaeology of greater Mesopotamia)
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Daniels, Megan (Classical religion; Archaeology of Greece and the broader eastern Mediterranean; Late Bronze Age to Hellenistic Period; Ancient religion, sanctuaries, votive objects; Cross-cultural interaction; Ancient economies and trade; Divine kingship; Digital/data science approaches to the ancient world, particularly ancient religion; Migration and mobility across Eurasia; Phoenician culture; Ceramic analysis)
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De Angelis, Franco (Ancient Greek world history, environment, urbanism, developmnet of societies, colonization, economics, ancient literature)
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Fisher, Kevin (Prehistoric archaeology; Anthropology; Archaeological theory; Archaeometry; Archeological Data Analysis; Archeological Excavation Methods and Techniques; architecture; built environments; digital archaeology; Dynamics of Social Transformations; Mediterranean archaeology; Near Eastern archaeology; power; Social Life / Societal Life; social interaction; Urban Spaces and Urbanity; urbanism)
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Gardner, Gregg (Judaism, Rabbinic Literature, Rabbinic Judaism, Mishnah, Talmud, Jewish Studies, Jewish Law, Jewish Ethics, Charity, Jewish Ethics, Archaeology of Israel, Archaeology and Hebrew Bible, Archaeology of Jerusalemn )
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Griffin, Michael (Greek philosophy, Ancient philosophy, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Proclus, Neoplatonism, Ancient logic )
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Huemoeller, Katharine (Classical Greek and Ancient Rome history; Classical archaeology; Classical linguistics; Religion and religious studies; Ancient law (in theory and in practice); Documentary texts; gender and sexuality; Non-urban life in antiquity; Roman social history; Slavery (ancient and comparative))
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Marshall, Toph (Cinema studies; Classical Greek and Ancient Rome history; Classical archaeology; Classical linguistics; Film, television and digital media; Religion and religious studies; Literary or Artistic Works Analysis; Performance and Theatrical Productions)
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McCarty, Matthew (archaeology and art of the Roman Empire and Iron Age Europe/North Africa; ancient religion and ritual practice; interplays between texts, practices, and objects; imperialism, colonialism, and identity in the ancient world; interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, comparative (especially comparison with Qin/Han China), and theoretical approaches; historiography of archaeology)
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McElduff, Siobhan (Ancient and modern translation, history of the book)
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Milstein, Sara (Classical Greek and Ancient Rome history; Classical archaeology; Classical linguistics; Religion and religious studies; biblical and cuneiform law; Hebrew Bible and Near Eastern Studies; History of Major Eras, Great Civilisations or Geographical Corpuses; literary history of the Bible; Literary or Artistic Works Analysis; Mesopotamian literature; Near Eastern scribal culture; Religious Contexts)
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Philbrick, Rachel (Latin Poetry, Especially Epic and Elegy, Textual authority and credibility, Genre and intertextuality, Narratology, Geography and Mapping, as Well as Narratives of Boundaries, Utopias, and the Unknown)
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Schneider, Thomas (Egyptian history and phonoly)
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Soon, Isaac (Early Christianity and New Testament)
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Yoon, Florence (heralds and the representation of the absent; anonymity and naming, particularly in Greek Tragedy; props and silent characters in Greek drama)
Doctoral Citations
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Dr. Glass studied stories of human encounters with the divine in ancient Jewish, Christian, and pagan literature, often called epiphanies. This comparative research illustrated shared beliefs in how and why the gods intervened in human life, and contributes to our understanding of intercultural relations in the ancient Mediterranean. |
| 2022 | Dr. Schroeder compares prophecy in the Hebrew Bible with documents excavated in the Middle East that date to the second and first millennia BCE. He argues that oracles were commonly solicited in antiquity and thus biblical depictions of spontaneous revelation reflect the ideals of ancient Hebrew scribes rather than the actual oracular process. |
| 2016 | Dr. Tong studied the earliest Chinese translations of the Christian Bible by Protestant missionaries, and demonstrated that factors such as patronage, rivalry, and networking often played a more important role than literary and linguistic considerations. His research provides new and challenging insights into the beginning of Chinese Protestantism. |
| 2014 | Dr. Glessner examined competing views of conventional masculinity in early Christian literature focused on the character of Joseph of Nazareth. His findings expose the political mechanics behind Joseph's colourful characterizations and open interpretive possibilities for rethinking normative views of manliness in early Christianity and beyond. |
| 2013 | Dr. Ames studied the Talmud Yerushalmi, demonstrating that it was carefully constructed and deliberately edited. Contrary to traditional claims that the Talmud Yerushalmi was improperly and hastily compiled, Dr. Ames concluded that biblical and rabbinic traditions were subjected to an interventionist editorial process, with novel creative input. |
Sample Thesis Submissions
Further Information
Specialization
The following areas of concentration are offered in the Master's program: Biblical Studies; Christian Thought and Institutions; History of Religions; Islamic Studies; and Judaic Studies. The Ph.D. program at present provides training in Early Judaism, Christian Origins, and Religions of the Late Antique Mediterranean.
Faculty Overview
Program Identifier
Classification
September 2025 Intake
Program Enquiries
Contact the program
Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.
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