M.A. in Early Christian Studies

The M.A. degree in Early Christian Studies (ECS) is a two-year interdisciplinary program offered jointly by the Department of Classics and the Department of Theology, with the participation of faculty in several other departments. The program prepares beginning graduate students for the advanced study of early Christianity and late antiquity in various disciplines and areas of interest.

Why pursue graduate studies in Early Christian Studies at Notre Dame?

The program has an excellent placement record. Eighty-five percent of graduates from the Early Christian Studies Program have also gone on to top-ranked Ph.D. programs. Among the universities where ECS alumni have earned doctoral degrees or are currently students are Berkeley, Brown, Columbia, Catholic University of America, Chicago, Duke, Fordham, Harvard, Marquette, New York University, Oxford, Princeton, Princeton Theological Seminary, St. Louis University, UCLA, and, of course, Notre Dame.

Graduates of the ECS program have entered doctoral programs in a large number of different fields of study, including ancient history, Armenian studies, Classics, Christian Origins/Mediterranean religions, early Christianity/late antiquity, historical theology/patristics, literature, liturgical studies, medieval studies, Near Eastern studies, New Testament, Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, philosophy, political science, Syriac studies, and systematic theology. Many have gone on to a successful academic career.

Graduates have also won prestigious fellowships or have gone on to study at renowned programs outside of the U.S. (most recently, at Oxford and Leuven).