BA Comparative Study of Religion at Harvard University

Programme overview

The concentration in the Comparative Study of Religion invites students to explore the most consequential and momentous questions relevant to the understanding of individual and communal human life. Concentrators consider topics such as the significance of ritual and practice; differing conceptions of human nature and the nature of the divine; and comparative study of how people understand the meaning of life, suffering, and death. Our program is unique in allowing students to take up these and other “big” questions in rigorous and critical ways.

Faculty: Harvard College: Arts and Humanities | Department: Comparative Study of Religion | Study mode: full-time | Location: Cambridge, MA, United States

What you will study

The Study of Religion as an interdisciplinary, academic field draws upon both social scientific and humanistic methods to interpret religious phenomena worldwide. The program stresses the acquisition of skills: (1) the arts of reading and interpreting texts, practices, and societies; (2) clear writing (essays are a substantial part of the requirements of the sophomore and junior tutorials), and (3) knowledge of the fundamental literature on theories of religion, and on various methods of study. Gateway courses include Fall 2024 GENED 1166 Pluralism: Case Studies in American Diversity (Eck) REL 47 Christian Ethics and Contemporary Society (Lockwood) REL 1028 Icon or Idol: Attitudes to the Sacred Image (Patton) REL 1400: Introduction to the New Testament REL 1701.

Official programme page

Application information

USD 62,226 a year (2026-27). Harvard College undergraduate tuition for 2026-27, one rate for all students; excludes fees ($6,216), housing, food and health insurance. Source

Entry term is fall. Applicants choose Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision; admitted students reply by May 1.

First-year applications through the Common Application: Restrictive Early Action closes November 1 with notification by mid-December; Regular Decision closes January 1 with notification by the end of March. The application fee is $95 (fee waiver available) and can be paid online via the Common Application. Harvard requires the SAT or ACT, with exceptions only where the tests are not accessible.

Apply through the official page: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply

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