We believe innovative and exciting academic inquiries depend on conversations between people who approach the study of religion from different angles.
Due to curriculum changes new applications will open September, 2027. In September 1981, the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology jointly inaugurated a program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in the Study of Religion. Although planned and staffed initially by the faculties from Iliff and the University of Denver's Department of Religious Studies, other faculty from the Graduat
07/26/2026
There's a new doctor in the house!! Dr. Matthew Konerth passed their dissertation defense yesterday and is pictured with most of their committee here.
The JDP is proud of everything you contributed to the program and your unique approach to interdisciplinary scholarship. We wish you all the best!
Matthew Konerth's Dissertation Defense happening THIS Friday, July 24th, at 10am MT
Title: "Eating Othered Minds: From Fetishization to Abjection in the Modern Horror Film"
Location: AAC 340
Check institutional email for Zoom link.
07/15/2026
Only 15 days left to submit a paper for the Fall Volume of the Journal of Auto-Academia!
Anyone whether inside or outside academia can submit a paper for our theme "From Blueprints to Praxis: Practical Disruptions in Academia and Beyond."
We are looking forward to seeing how you cause disruption!
07/09/2026
Congratulations to Kev Grane who passed his proposal defense on Tuesday!! 🎉
It is titled: "Experiencing God Through the Nation: Ritual, Experience, and the Phenomenology of American Christian Nationalism"
The JDP is looking forward to the completion of your dissertation research!
The JDP is invited to Kev Grane’s Proposal Defense TOMORROW, Tuesday, July 7th at 12:30pm MT.
Title: "Experiencing God Through the Nation: Ritual, Experience, and the Phenomenology of American Christian Nationalism"
Location: Iliff 201
Check your institutional email for Zoom link
Congratulations to Wake Gerbi who passed his dissertation proposal defense on Wednesday (06/23)! We can't wait to see where your scholarship goes 🤩
Title: "Decolonizng Democracy: Rationality in the Oromo Gadaa System and the Critique of Kantian Racialized Politics"
(sorry we lost the photo of you!)
06/10/2026
Congratulations to Jessica Patterson for passing her proposal defense today! This is a big accomplishment and we can't wait to see where you go for the rest of your PhD journey!
Title: "Diffracting Āsana: Reconfiguring and Re-membering the Matter(ing) of Bodies in Practice and Pedagogy"
Announcing Jessica Patterson's proposal defense!
Title: "Diffracting Āsana: Reconfiguring and Re-membering the Matter(ing) of Bodies in Practice and Pedagogy"
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time: 10:30am-12:30pm
Location: ONLINE ONLY
Check your institutional email for the Zoom link.
05/31/2026
Deadline for submission is August 1st, 2026. Please email [email protected] with the subject heading “Submission for JOAA Fall2026”
We do not standardize citation styles but ask you to use either MLA, APA, or Chicago consistently throughout your document
Acceptances announced on September 15th
05/27/2026
Send your congratulations to Robert Monson who passed their proposal defense yesterday! 🥳
Title: Black (Disabled) Lives Mattering: A Theoethical Construction of New Futures Alongside Black Sacred Disabled Bodies
