Prospective Graduate Students

The application portal usually opens in mid-September, and applications to the Religious Studies doctoral program are due on December 15. Late Applications are not accepted.

The department has ten different subfields. All students identify a primary subfield. Students also have the option of identifying a secondary subfield. Students can take courses across all subfields and can work with faculty members across the department, but they fulfill the requirements (coursework, languages, comprehensive exams, dissertation prospectus, dissertation) of their specific subfield.  

Yes. Many Religious Studies students include faculty from across the university in their programs of study, whether in course work or on exam and dissertation committees. A given subfield may have specifications about this practice, so you’ll work with the Assistant Directors of Graduate Studies as your program unfolds.  

Statements of purpose describe a candidate’s reason for applying to graduate school. Such statements usually center descriptions of research interests, particularly the questions that animate their scholarly work. We welcome statements of purpose that indicate any career plans the applicant may have for after graduate school. Whether a student is primarily interested in an academic or a non-academic professional horizon, the statement should express why doctoral education in Religious Studies is the right next step for their research interests and training. Applicants often make reference to previous research experiences elsewhere, as well as specific skills that Yale faculty and university resources could support. Applicants should mention if there are particular faculty at Yale with whom they would like to work.

Writing samples are usually 15-25 pages in length, and are whole or partial works derived from previous course work. Sometimes students excerpt from a master’s thesis.

Applicants should request letters of reference from individuals who have had the chance to witness the applicant’s work as a researcher and learner. Such letters might be written by faculty appointed at colleges or universities, or they might come from other professional mentors.

We encourage you to read about the department, doctoral program, subfields, and faculty on our website.  If you still have questions, you are welcome to reach out to any of the Assistant Directors of Graduate Studies (each of whom can answer subfield-specific questions), to the Director of Graduate Studies (for general questions about the doctoral program), or to the Graduate Registrar (for questions about policies).  You are also welcome to contact individual faculty members with whom you would like to work, but you are not required to do so.  Applicants who contact faculty members are not advantaged in the selection process.

No, the doctoral program in Religious Studies is a full-time program.

For the first two years, students are in coursework, and all coursework is conducted in person. In addition, students are required to be in residence for at least three of the first four years of the program. Many students travel both domestically and abroad for research and language study or for exchange programs. In addition, teaching responsibilities that are part of Yale’s financial package for doctoral students are always conducted in person. 

Students are required to be in the New Haven area for at least three of the first four years of the doctoral program.  The ‘in residence’ requirement refers to the ability to get to campus for classes or to teach.  In addition, students who serve as Teaching Fellows (typically in third, fourth, and sixth years of the program) must have the ability to be on campus for their teaching fellowship responsibilities.  Any exception to the residence requirement must be approved by the department and by the appropriate academic dean.

Yale University devotes substantial resources to financial aid for its graduate students. All applicants to Ph.D. programs are automatically considered for financial assistance and are not required to submit the Yale Applicant’s Financial Statement. All Ph.D. students entering the Graduate School in the fall of 2025 were offered a financial aid package consisting of five years of full tuition, at least five years of stipend support for living expenses, and comprehensive health care coverage, as well as a dissertation year fellowship. Students are eligible for a sixth year of funding, contingent of satisfactory completion during their first five years in the program. Minimum fellowship stipends for doctoral students during 2025-2026 academic year is about $50,777 for twelve months. The tuition fellowship covers the cost of annual tuition for the five years that tuition is charged. More information about graduate fellowships (including stipends, health insurance, family support for students, the Dean’s emergency fund, and travel grants) is available at the Student Funding website and additional information about grants and financial support at the Office of Financial Aid & Resources’ website. You may also be in touch with the Graduate Financial Aid Office for more information.

Instructions for applying for an application fee waiver can be found here.

You can read about TOEFL and IELTS policies for GSAS Admissions here.

Decisions by the Graduate School are normally released by early March, and admitted applicants must indicate acceptance of Yale’s offer of admission by mid-April.

You can search the application and acceptance statistics for all doctoral programs at Yale here.