Admission to the graduate program in Religious Studies at UT-Austin is highly competitive. Only highly qualified applicants whose records indicate considerable academic potential are admitted to the program. A prior degree in Religious Studies (B.A. or M.A.) is not required to apply to the program.
All students must have earned a bachelor's degree prior to registration. In addition, note that:
We admit students for the fall semester only.
We only accept full-time students.
We offer the M.A. as the first step toward completion of the Ph.D., we do not offer a terminal M.A. degree.
Three letters of recommendation
Statement of Purpose
Supporting documents - Writing Sample & CV/Resume
Transcripts. You must provide one copy of the academic transcript from every senior college you have attended. You may upload a copy of your transcript(s) after you have submitted your application for admission and paid the application fee. After you have submitted your application you will receive an email that contains a link to the Status Check web site where you will be able to upload your transcript. The uploaded transcript(s) is considered to be unofficial but will be used to process your application for admission. Please do not mail official transcripts or paper copies of your transcripts before you are offered admission. Sending paper copies of documents you have uploaded will significantly delay the processing of your application.
Report of GRE scores (not required) and (if applicable) official report of TOEFL scores.

TOEFL: 79 on the Internet-based test (iBT)
IELTS: An overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination