What are some good MA or PhD programs in the area of Religion Studies or Comparative Religion?

Answer 1

Top PhD programs:

University of Chicago (#1 in most, but not all areas)
University of California at Santa Barbara
Harvard University
Yale University
Syracuse University
Princeton University
Florida State University
Boston University
Brown University
Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Northwestern University
Duke University
Stanford University
Indiana University
University of Iowa
Vanderbilt University

These are not in any ranked order, and there are a few more good programs as well. My list has emphasized history of religions and comparative religion programs rather than theological programs.

Top MA programs:
University of Missouri at Columbia
Miami University (Ohio)
Arizona State U
University of Colorado
Western Michigan University

Do keep in mind, however, that many of these programs have strengths in some fields but not in others. You must choose the programs that have depth of faculty in both your area of specialization (Hinduism, Hebrew Scriptures, Native American religions, etc.) and your methodological inclination (history of religions, philosophy of religion, sociology of religion, social scientific studies of religion, postmodern theologies, etc.).

If you have any more specific questions, please do contact me via the Yahoo!Answers email function. This is my area of expertise, and I direct one of the programs above.