The Master of Religious Studies program offers concentrations in Buddhist Studies, Chinese Buddhist Studies and Comparative Religious Studies. The Ph.D. in Religious Studies offers concentrations in Buddhist Studies and Chinese Buddhist studies. Students in the Buddhist Studies program acquire a critical appreciation and master of Buddhist thought and traditions and an increased familiarity with non-Buddhist traditions. Students in the Comparative Religious Studies program will become familiar with contemporary critical theory in the academic study of religion and the doctrines of different religous belief systems, including a working knowledge of at least two major religious traditions. University of the West is affiliated with an authentic Buddhist order. The campus attracts lay and monastic students from a wide variety of religious traditions and from many countries.