In rare cases, an individual enrolls as a qualifying student before being admitted to the full status of a graduate student. Admission as a qualifying student will usually delay the general examination for one year. At the point of admission, preference is given to those applicants who will not require a qualifying year of study. Applicants in East Asian religions should have completed at least two years of formal study of either Chinese or Japanese prior to enrollment and those in Religions of Late Antiquity are expected to have studied several relevant ancient languages. Language Requirements Candidates for the degree of doctor of philosophy in religion are expected to have a reading knowledge of two modern foreign languages, usually German and French, occasionally substituting Spanish.
Students concentrating in East Asian religions substitute Japanese for either French or German.
This requirement may be fulfilled by completing summer language courses offered by the University, or by passing tests given by the language departments. All entering students are strongly urged to achieve competence in at least one of these languages by the August prior to entering the program. It should be noted that first-year students who are seeking admission for the second year of study must have completed the requirement in one foreign language. Students in the Religions of Late Antiquity are also expected to demonstrate competence in two ancient languages by the time they complete their general examination. Students must show evidence of competence in the two required modern languages before being admitted to a fifth term.