Religious Studies Scholar
🕍Studies the world's religions scientifically, without preaching: history, texts, rituals and new movements. Advises courts and government, teaches.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $99.8k a year on average
Postsecondary teachers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £53k median a year · 186,000 jobs
Higher education teaching professionals — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI searches and translates sacred texts fast; expert judgement, context and responsibility for conclusions stay with the scholar.
Who it suits
Interests: 🏛️ History, society, politics, ✍️ Writing and literature, 🌍 Languages and cultures.
Key strengths: speaking and writing, attention to detail, foreign languages.
Where to study
- Bachelor's BA Religious Studies or Theology and Religion
- Master's MA Religious Studies
- PhD PhD (for academia)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): History, English Literature, Languages, Politics.
🧗 Religious studies or theology degree (secular programmes are common), then an MA and PhD. Jobs in universities, schools, museums, think tanks and NGOs.
Universities
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- University of Oxford Oxford · €43k–72.2k/yr
IELTS 7.5 (7.0 each); subject test (MAT, PAT, TSA, LNAT, UCAT), interview; apply by 15 Oct; medicine takes ≤14 international students/yr - University of Cambridge Cambridge · €33.4k–81.1k/yr
IELTS 7.5 (7.0 each); subject test (ESAT, TMUA, LNAT, UCAT), interview; apply by 15 Oct; plus college fee £12–14.5k/yr - University of St Andrews St Andrews · €40.1k/yr
MA Philosophy £34,910/yr; IB 36 / A-levels AAB; Attestat alone not enough; English test required
🇺🇸 United States
- New York University New York · €59.7k/yr
Common App; TOEFL/IELTS/DET for non-native speakers; ≈ $101k/yr with housing - Princeton University Princeton, NJ · €59.6k–61.9k/yr
TOEFL/IELTS/DET for non-native speakers; SAT/ACT recommended, required from fall 2028 entry; need-blind, full need in grants - University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN · €60.3k/yr
need-blind for internationals; SAT/ACT optional through 2026-27; IELTS 7.5 / DET 125 / TOEFL 5.5 recommended
🇩🇪 Germany
- LMU Munich Munich · free
No tuition; DSH-2, TestDaF 4 in all parts, telc C1 Hochschule; without it at least B2 to apply; medicine: non-EU quota - University of Tübingen Tübingen · €3k/yr
Non-EU: €1,500 a semester (Baden-Württemberg); German DSH-2 or DSH-3 depending on programme - Humboldt University of Berlin Berlin · free
No tuition; German C1 (DSH-2/TestDaF 4x4); apply via uni-assist; Russian certificate: via Studienkolleg *
🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Leiden University Leiden · €14.3k/yr
Certificate + usually 1 university year; IELTS 6.0–7.0 by programme (International Studies 6.0, LUC 7.0); medicine is numerus fixus - Radboud University Nijmegen · €13.8k–17.8k/yr
Certificate + usually 1 university year; IELTS ≈ 6.5; medicine and dentistry are numerus fixus; apply by 1 April if you need a visa - University of Amsterdam Amsterdam · €17.5k/yr
Certificate + usually 1 university year (Diploma finder); IELTS 6.5 (PPLE 7.0); medicine is Dutch-taught, numerus fixus, €34,700
🇫🇷 France
- Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1) Paris · €2.9k/yr
DAP, French B2 (law C1); non-EU pay €2,902 in 2026/27 - École Normale Supérieure – PSL Paris
No entry from school: concours after 2 years of CPGE or international selection at master level * - Institut Catholique de Paris Paris · €10.2k–11.7k/yr
Private: foreigners pay the top rate (licences up to €10,190, law €11,710) + admission fee; French
🇮🇹 Italy
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University Milan
Psychology, philosophy, dentistry are in Italian: Italian B2 and entrance test; only the International MD is in English - University of Milan Milan · €1.1k–4.3k/yr
12 school years; Italian B2 (English B2 for English programmes); programme tests; income abroad: fixed fee by country group - Pontifical Gregorian University Rome
Pontifical university (philosophy, theology); Italian, some courses in English *
🇪🇸 Spain
- Complutense University of Madrid Madrid · €6.8k–8.2k/yr
Spanish B2 required (DELE/SIELE/CCEE); homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE; non-EU pay 4th-attempt rate - University of Barcelona Barcelona · €1.8k/yr
Homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE for score; many classes in Catalan; non-EU €30/ECTS * - University of Navarra Pamplona · €11.8k–20.4k/yr
Private: own admission process; year 1 €11,750–20,400 (medicine); bilingual/International tracks available
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- Charles University Prague · free
Free in Czech (Czech ≈B2 + exams, ÚJOP course); English programmes €40–30,620/yr - Masaryk University Brno · €0–16k/yr
Free in Czech; English €2,700–7,500/yr (Informatics €4,500), Medicine CZK 380,000; Czech ≈B2 + entrance exams - Palacký University Olomouc Olomouc · €0–14k/yr
Free in Czech (Czech ≈B2 + exams); in English: Medicine €12,500, Dentistry €14,000/yr
Things to know
🪑 Sitting at a computer all day
Similar careers
Not sure what to choose?
A ~100-question quiz builds your interest profile and matches you with careers and universities in Europe, the UK and the US.
Take the quiz →Scales are expert estimates; tuition and admission rules are for 2026/27 from official sources — always check the university website.