In 2003, #UFreligion took a major step forward, inaugurating a doctoral program. A particular strength of this program is its interdisciplinary nature. In approaching religion, we encourage our students not only to engage other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but also to draw from university-wide resources in the natural sciences. We also place a strong emphasis on training our students in method and theory in the study of religion, as well as on the pedagogical challenges in the classroom.
Our graduate program allows students to specialize in three unique fields. The Religion and Nature doctoral track is the first program of its kind in the world to explore the relationship between human beings and the natural world. Students and faculty in this track collaborate closely with colleagues in the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the School of Natural Resources and Environment. The Religion in the Americas doctoral program draws on UF’s outstanding Title VI Center for Latin American Studies to focus on religious dynamics crisscrossing North, Central, and South America. The program in Religions of Asia emphasizes the transmission and interaction of Asian religious traditions and peoples as they move across and beyond Asia.
With that in mind, we are excited to welcome our fresh cohort of graduate students pursuing their M.A. and PhD degrees in our three tracks. Each of their interests are individually fascinating, but will continue to contribute to the greater whole of relevant research emerging from #UFreligion. Read more about each below:
Richard Batchelor – M.A. (Asia) – B.A. in Religion, University of Florida, interest in Hindu and Buddhist Tantra
Jeyoul Choi – PhD (Americas) – B.A. Hanshin University (South Korea), M.A. in Religion, Missouri State University, interest in comparative study of evangelical Protestantism in South Korea and Brazil
Dustin Hall – M.A. (Asia) – B.A. in Religion Youngstown State, interest in identity construction in South Asian religions.
Vickie Machado – PhD. (Nature) – B.A., M.A. in Religion, University of Florida, interest in Christianity and environmental justice.
Amanda Nichols – PhD (Nature) – B.A. Wake Forest, M.A. in Religion, University of Missouri-Columbia, interest in environmental justice and mountaintop removal in southern Appalachia
Priyanak Ramlakhan – PhD (Asia/Americas) – B.A. UCF, M.A. FIU in Religion, interest in guru-disciple relationship in the Indo-Caribbean diaspora.
Jep Stockmans – PhD. (Islam) – B.A., M.A. in History University of Ghent (Belgium), interested in Islam in Ethiopia