Congratulations on being admitted to the M.A. program in religious studies at UNC Charlotte. Each of you is here today because of the promise and abilities you displayed in your previous scholastic work, and the graduate faculty are looking forward to working with you and helping you to be successful in the M.A. program.

This handbook is designed to help you understand the major expectations of graduate study, the specific procedures for meeting these expectations, and the habits you will need to establish as you move from undergraduate to graduate study.

Formal graduate study bears only a superficial resemblance to its undergraduate precursor. While the institutional framework (departmental differentiation, faculty, courses, etc.) of academic culture remains roughly parallel, the sheer intensity of intellectual involvement, the heightened expectations placed upon graduate students by the faculty, and the heavy responsibilities which the students shoulder are very different. We presume as a matter of course that graduate students are serious academics who are independently and individually motivated to excel in their chosen field of study. Graduate students are continually evaluated against very exacting standards, and it is only those students who exhibit and maintain a serious commitment to their studies and who manifest a creative use of their intellectual talents who will successfully complete the program.

Upon or shortly after your initial arrival to campus, you should schedule appointments with those faculty whose primary interests most closely parallel your own. Graduate students should make themselves visible to everyone in the department. Introduce yourselves and describe your interests and intended plan for study. Solicit advice regarding preparation for specific courses, readings, and the ideal toolkit for pursuing a particular specialty or sub-discipline. The faculty are eager to assist you, and they can do this most effectively if you let them know about your specific goals and research interests.