About the CSSR

Constituent Societies

CSSR Publications

The Council on Graduate Studies in Religion

An Affiliate Member of the CSSR, the Council on Graduate Studies in Religion was founded in 1947 with the aim of fostering communication and developing common academic standards among university-based graduate programs in Religious Studies. Each of the 34 member institutions designates representatives who attend the Annual meeting of the CGSR.

Many of these representatives serve on appropriate committees established by the CGSR. In 1982, the CGSR adopted a new set of Constitutive Principles which establish a basic set of academic standards and procedures for member institutions and for those seeking membership.

The Committee on Membership and Standards review the program of any member which seems to be in default on the maintenance of the CGSR's goals and standards.

The major aim of the CGSR is to guarantee that graduate education in Religious Studies will be carried out along interdisciplinary lines, requiring students to pursue study and be examined in those disciplines adjacent to their field of specialization in religious studies. Examples of such intellectual links are with the fields of psychology, history, classics, sociology, and literature.

Members of one or more of those departments must be part of the instruction, examination, and research directing of each student in Religious Studies. Standards for language and other specialized competence are also included in the Constitutive Principles.

MEMBERSHIP

Inquiries about membership should be addressed to Secretary, William Stroker
Drew University
Madison, NJ  07940
E-mail:

OFFICERS OF THE CGSR

PRESIDENT
Rick Rosengarten
Divinity School
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 60637
E-mail:

VICE-PRESIDENT
Stephen Garfinkel
Graduate School
Office of the Dean
The Jewish Theological Seminary in America
3080 Broadway
New York, NY  10027-4649
E-mail:

SECRETARY
William Stroker
Drew University
Madison, NJ  07940
E-mail:

TREASURER
Bruce Zuckerman
School of Religion THH-328
University of Southern California
California Park
Los Angeles, CA  90089-0355
E-mail:

MEMBERSHIP AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE
Elizabeth Clark
Graduate Studies in Religion
Box 4735
Duke University
Durham, NC 27706
E-mail:

Katherine Sakenfeld
41 Lopatcong Dr
Trenton, NJ 08638

CONTACT

For further information on the CGSR, please contact:

William Stroker
Drew University
Madison, NJ  07940
E-mail:

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© 2003 The Council of Societies for the Study of Religion.
All Rights Reserved.

Revised: April 2006