Universitas Gadjah Mada

State Islamic University 'Sunan Kalijaga'

Duta Wacana Christian University

76 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 1

Notes:
Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction 5
Chapter 2. Academic Program 12
Chapter 3. Administrative and Academic Structures 23
Chapter 4. List of Faculty Members & Their Research Interests 29
Chapter 5. Academic Freedom, Academic Responsibility and Code of Ethics 34
Chapter 6. Student Admission 37
Chapter 7. Financial Costs and Scholarships 43
Chapter 8. Attending Doctoral Courses 50
Chapter 9. Language Policy 56
Chapter 10. Photocopying Policy 58
Chapter 11. Advising, Supervising, and Promoting Doctoral Students 59
Chapter 12. The Comprehensive Examinations 66
Chapter 13. The Ph.D. Dissertation 70
Chapter 14. Academic Calendar 76
2 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 75

REVISED
October, 2011
Notes:
Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Note: This is a revision based on a draft of the

ICRS-Yogya Doctoral Faculty and Student Handbook that
was approved by the Board of Trustees of ICRS-Yogya on
__________________

Revisions are based on new policies established by the

Board of Trustees.

Comments and criticisms are welcome.

Signature

Prof. Dr. Banawiratma

Chair, Board of Trustees

For further information please contact:

ICRS-Yogya
UGM Graduate School, 3rd Floor
Jl. Teknika Utara, Pogung
Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

Tel./Fax.: +62 274 562570

http://www.icrs.ugm.ac.id
icrs@ugm.ac.id

Cover design + layout by: isgradesign@yahoo.com

Cover photograph by: Elis Zuliati Anis

74 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 3

Chapter 14
Chapter 1
Academic Calendar
Introduction

March 30 : Deadline for International applicants & applicants with ITP TOEFL score below 525

May 10 : Deadline for applications to BPPS scholarships*

(please visit http://beasiswa.dikti.go.id/bpps)

April 15 : Announcement of those accepted to the Ph.D. Program and those accepted to
the Pre-Ph.D. Program

May 16 : Beginning of the Pre-Ph.D. Program

May 31 : Deadline for applications to DIKTIS scholarship*

June 14 : Deadline for applications with TOEFL score above 525

July 31 : Announcement of those accepted to the Ph.D. Program

End of August : Orientation for the new Ph.D. Program students

Early September - Mid of December

: The first semester

End of December - January

: Break seasons

End of January - Mid of May

The Speakers of International Conference and Research on The Resurgence of Religions in Southeast Asia,
: Second Semester
Jogjakarta, January 4-8, 2011
End of June - July : Intersession Semester
A. Inter-Religious
People of different religions often talk about
dialogue and frequently hold conferences together
in which they exchange perspectives and talk about
differences and similarities between their religious
teachings. But rarely do they form institutional struc-
tures that create a space for them to work together
day in and day out, working towards the same goals.
Even more rarely do such structures engage Chris-
tians, Muslims and other religious believers from a
wide variety of theological and social commitments.
Usually “inter-religious dialogue” is between liberal
4 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
religious people who can talk to each other more
easily than they can talk with conservative mem-
bers of their own respective religions. What happens
when traditional boundaries break down and Mus-
lims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists find them-
selves colleagues rather than opposing sides in a
“dialogue”? In Yogyakarta, Indonesia a new consor-
tium between “secular” (in the sense of religiously
neutral or multi-religious), Muslim and Christian in-
stitutions is attracting international attention and
support.
B. Inter-Institutional
Yogyakarta is one of the most fascinating cities
in the world in which to study religions, especially
Islam. It is a city of universities including some of
the best public and private universities in Indone-
sia. Muslim, Christian and state universities in
Yogyakarta have demonstrated a unique ability to
work together across religious boundaries in the field
of religious studies. Three of these universities,
Universitas of Gadjah Mada (UGM), the State Is-
lamic University Sunan Kalijaga (Universitas Islam
Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, UIN Sunan Kalijaga) and
Duta Wacana Christian University (Universitas
Kristen Duta Wacana, UKDW), have formed the
Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS).
UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga and UKDW, cooperate
with each other in many informal ways. Now, these
three universities, with support from international
partners, have founded an integrative Ph.D. program
in Inter-Religious Studies (IRS) with internationally
recognized standards of academic excellence. The
program cooperates with partner institutions in
America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
C. Quality and Accreditation
The Inter-Religious Studies (IRS) Program
founded by ICRS is legally located in the Graduate
CHAPTER 13. THE PH.D. DISSERTATION 73
School of UGM, which is the oldest and largest na- 13. The chair of the members of examiners will an- a. He or she should have published part or the whole
tional university in Indonesia, and has been accred- nounce the result of the Judicium and award the of her dissertation in an accredited national or
ited by BAN-PT since 2011. ICRSYogya has a very student a Ph.D. Degree in Inter-Religious Stud- international journal, or other highly qualified
close relationship with the Graduate Program in ies. journals.
Religious and Cross-cultural Studies at UGM that
14. The result of the Judicium should be signed by b. The Promoters and the Director of ICRS will
includes an M.A. program called CRCS (Center for
the Director of the UGM Graduate School, while conduct a Judicium Meeting by one month at the
Religious and Cross Cultural Studies) that was
the Ph.D. Diploma by the Rector of UGM and latest before the date of the Graduation Cer-
founded in the year 2000. In 2007, ICRS and CRCS
the Director of UGM Graduate School. emony. The Meeting will be chaired by the Di-
were selected by the Indonesian Department of
rector of UGM Graduate School.
Higher Education (DIKTI) as a Center of Academic 15. The Ph.D. Diploma will be awarded during the
Excellence in Indonesia. UGM is rated as Indonesia’s Graduation Ceremony or the Open Oral Defense
top university in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the Dissertation.
and has been listed as one of the 10 best universi-
ties in Asia. It has about 56,000 students. UIN Sunan H. Graduation Ceremony
Kalijaga was the oldest State Institute for Islamic 1. The Ph.D. Cand. who passes the Closed Oral
Studies (IAIN) in Indonesia and recently became a Defense of the Dissertation may participate in
full university (UIN). It has about 12,000 students the joint Graduation Ceremony held by the UGM
and is one the leading Islamic centers of higher edu- Graduate School.
cation in Indonesia. UKDW is one of the finest
Christian universities in Indonesia with about 5,000 2. To participate in the Graduation Ceremony, the
students and a highly respected Faculty of Theo- Ph.D. Cand. should meet the following require-
logy. ments:
D. A Unique Program
These three universities represent different in-
tellectual and religious traditions that seldom com-
municate with each other, let alone cooperate in a
joint academic program. A single integrative and in-
terdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Inter-religious stud-
ies between Muslim, Christian and “secular” univer-
sities is unique. This is the world’s first and only
Ph.D. program in inter-religious studies, co-spon-
sored by Muslim, Christian and religiously neutral
institutions.
In a world of polarization, suspicion and mis-
understanding there are very few places where a joint
venture between major universities with such dif-
ferent religious traditions could succeed. Different
religions build their institutions in ignorance of each
72 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
a. Comprehension of the contents
b. Reasoning or argumentation underlying the
conclusion
c. Methodology
d. Style of writing and its consistency
8. The result of the Closed Oral Defense of the
Dissertation may be:
Pass without Pass with Revisions (the revisions should
be done by no later than 3 (three)
months after the Oral Defense, otherwise
the student should retake the Oral
Defense. Revisions should be approved by
the members of the Examiners.
9. Students who pass without revision or pass with revi-
sion may choose either to take a graduation cer-
emony or an Open Oral Defense of the Disser-
tation.
10. B is the passing grade in the Closed Oral De-
fense of the Dissertation.
G. Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation
1. The members of the Examiners in the Closed Oral
Defense of the Dissertation will also serve as the
members of examiners in the Open Oral Defense
of the Dissertation.
2. Students who Pass with Revisions in their Closed
Oral Defense of the Dissertation should receive
written approvals from the members of the ex-
aminers.
3. Students must submit 10 (ten) copies of the dis-
sertation and 20 (twenty) copies of the disserta-
tion summary and at least 20 (twenty) copies of
dissertation press release for media publication.
4. The date of the Open Oral Defense of the Dis-
sertation is determined by the members of the
Examiners.
5. The revised dissertation should reach the mem-
bers of the Examiners at least 10 (ten) days be-
fore the Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
6. The Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation is to
determine whether students pass with either Cum
Laude, Very Satisfactory, or Satisfactory.
7. The Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation takes
Fail (the student will be given 1
(one) year to retake the Oral
Defense
place around 60 (sixty) minutes.
8. After the Open Oral Defense of the Disserta-
tion, the members of the Examiners will conduct
a Judicium Meeting to determine the Ph.D. Cand.’s
grade: Cum Laude, Very Satisfactory, or Sat-
isfactory
9. The members of Examiners will consult the
student’s Promoters on the final grade of the
Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
10. The final grade should take the Ph.D. Cand.’s
academic transcript, examinations, and other re-
lated assignments into account.
11. The Ph.D. Cand. will graduate from the UGM
Graduate School with the grading system:
- 3.75 < GPA < 4.00 : Cum Laude
- 3.50 < GPA < 3.75 : Very Satisfactory
- 3.25 < GPA < 3.50 : Satisfactory
12. The grade Cum Laude will be only awarded to a
Ph.D. Cand. who finishes their studies no more
than 5 (five) years since his or her first enrolment.
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 5
other’s rich traditions of scholarship. Often igno-
rance is a pretext for distain or even active hostility
towards other religious or secular groups. In West-
ern and Middle Eastern countries a joint academic
program in religious studies between secular, Mus-
lim and Christian universities is unthinkable. Indo-
nesia is proud of a tradition of tolerance and dia-
logue between Islam and other religions. However
even in Indonesia, Yogyakarta is the only place
where universities from different religious traditions
have developed enough trust in each other to open
an interuniversity Ph.D. program in inter-religious
studies. During several years of preparation the lead-
ers of these three universities built the academic
structures necessary to open this joint doctoral pro-
F. Focus on Religions in Asia
gram together in September 2007.
The primary strength of ICRS is the study of
Asian religions, especially Indonesian Islam. Indo-
E. International, Conducted in English
nesia includes the largest and most dynamic Muslim
The doctoral program initiated by ICRS is inter-
population in the world. ICRS also has strong re-
national and conducted in English. All Indonesian
sources for the study of Indonesian and Asian Chris-
students are required to spend at least one semester
tianity, and can facilitate study of Balinese Hindu-
in another country and have a foreign academic ad-
ism, Indonesian Buddhism, Indonesian Chinese re-
visor. Now in its fifth year, ICRS Ph.D. students are
ligions and local religious communities connected
already accepted for sandwich programs at Capetown
with specific ethnic groups such as Javanese mysti-
(South Africa), Duke (North Carolina), Georgetown
cism. Indonesia has hundreds of unique tribal reli-
(Washington, DC), GTU (Berkeley), Hartford (Con-
gions, some of whose practices may date back thou-
necticut), NUS (Singapore), Ondokuz Mayis (Tur-
sands of years.
key), Temple (Philadelphia), and Union (New York).
ICRS is exploring partnerships with other leading
G. Mutual Respect and Trust
Asian universities in China, Hong Kong, India, Ja-
pan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri A unique feature of these three universities is
Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. In addition to students their strong commitment to their respective religious
from Indonesia, ICRS has accepted applicants from traditions, combined with openness and tolerance
Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Myanmar, Pakistan, Phil- to learn from other religious and secular traditions.
ippines, Poland, Serbia, India, Sierra Lione, Gambia With their combined human and library resources,
they provide the basis for a truly outstanding research
and the USA. Most Indonesian students who are
accepted receive scholarship help, not only for setting in which the difficulties of dialogue between
tuition but also for their living costs and sand- different traditions add to the value of the challenge.
wich program. The whole project requires inter-religious dialogue
at a very substantial level. The faculty members of
6 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
ICRS share a common commitment to inter-religious
dialogue and the promotion of peace in Indonesia
and the world. However they are not uniform but
rather extremely diverse, representing not only dif-
ferent religions but different traditions and theologi-
cal perspectives within the same religion.
H. Indonesian and International
ICRS preserves a unique Indonesian character.
Indonesia enjoys a rich context for research on reli-
gious communities. Scholars come from all over the
world to study not only the largest and most diverse
Muslim community in the world, but also to study a
variety of religious movements throughout Asia and
the world. Prior to the founding of ICRS, there were
many religious studies programs in Indonesia, but
all of them are in religiously based institutions with
normatively focused faculties that are relatively cut
off from other academic disciplines and from the
perspectives of other religious groups. ICRS is gov-
erned by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Rec-
tors of all three universities, and an Academic Coun-
cil including faculty members from a wide variety
of religious and academic backgrounds.
I. Inter-Religious Academic Study of
Religions
ICRS is the first to offer an Indonesian inter-
religious studies program that is based in a multi-
religious university. Like many foreign Religious
Studies departments, ICRS studies religions descrip-
tively using tools from the social sciences and hu-
manities. However
ICRS has not simply copied the kind of religious
studies available in foreign secular universities.
Rather it has built a new structure for a doctorate in
religious studies premised on a different approach.
It is not a secular program that studies religions “ob-
jectively” or focuses on deconstruction of religious
beliefs as purely social phenomena. Nor is it a mono-
religious approach that studies religions from a par-
ticular Muslim or Christian perspective. Nor is it a
multi-religious, comparative religious studies pro-
gram that focuses on the differences and similarities
between religions. ICRS makes no attempt to find
the lowest common denominator that unites all reli-
gions. Nor does it aim to subtly show the superiority
of one particular religion.
Rather, ICRS is interreligious. Sincere believers
of different faiths study religions together. Doctoral
seminars are taught by professors from different re-
ligious and academic backgrounds. They share their
different perspectives and try to understand each
other. They use social and human sciences to re-
search the impact of religious communities in the
world. But they also take divine revelation and the
normative teachings of their different religions seri-
ously. The goal of ICRS is to study religions by cre-
ating dialogue, not only between people from differ-
ent religious communities, but also between dispar-
ate disciplines such as anthropology, Quranic and
Hadith studies, sociology, Christian ethics, history,
Islamic law, philosophy, Islamic mysticism and bib-
lical studies. In time ICRS and CRCS will add fac-
ulty members who are expert in other religious tra-
ditions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.
J. Interdisciplinary, Rich in Resources
Including three universities and many depart-
ments is not only to ensure religious diversity and
dialogue between different traditions of scholarship,
but also to dramatically increase the available re-
sources for an excellent doctoral program. ICRS en-
joys world-class campus infrastructure through its
location in the Graduate School of UGM. The cen-
tral offices and campus of ICRS includes a study
lounge with computers and free internet access on
the third floor of a lovely building overlooking foun-
3. The promoters will then submit the approved dis-
sertation to the Director of ICRS who will then
write to the Director of UGM Graduate School.
4. Under consultation with the Director of ICRS,
the Director of UGM Graduate School will ap-
point a Dissertation Qualification Team.
5. The Director of UGM Graduate School will is-
sue a Letter of Decree (Surat Keputusan) and dis-
tribute the copies of the Dissertation to the ap-
pointed Dissertation Qualification Team.
6. The Dissertation Qualification Team includes
three members of doctoral faculties whose disci-
plines are related to the dissertation.
7. The Dissertation Qualification Assessment is to
test the dissertation’s contents, reasoning and
analytical abilities, methodology, styles of writ-
ing, and consistency.
8. The process of Dissertation Assessment and re-
vision is as follows:
a. At least within one month after their appoint-
ment, the Dissertation Qualification Team
must meet to evaluate the dissertation based
on the information from the invited students’
promoter and co-promoters.
b. The Dissertation Qualification Team will write
to the Director of UGM Graduate School on
the result of the meeting, including revisions
(if any).
c. Revisions should not be done by no longer than
one year.
d. After revision is approved, students should
submit ten (10) copies of the their disserta-
tions and fifteen (15) copies of dissertation
summary to the UGM Graduate School.
CHAPTER 13. THE PH.D. DISSERTATION 71
F. Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation
1. The Director of UGM Graduate School will in-
vite the management of ICRS, the Dissertation
Qualification Team, and the Promoter and co-
Promoter to determine the qualification, the mem-
ber of examiners, and the date of the Closed Oral
Defense of the Dissertation.
2. The member of Examiners consists of the Di-
rector of UGM Graduate School as the chair, the
Promoter and co-Promoter, the Dissertation
Qualification Team, and other members of Ex-
aminers whose academic expertise are relevant
with the topic of the Dissertation. The members
of Examiners should have professorship and at
least a doctoral degree.
3. The members of examiners consist of up to nine
doctoral faculties appointed by the Director of
UGM Graduate School. One of the examiners
should be a doctoral faculty at Gadjah Mada
University if the members of the Dissertation
Qualification Team and the Promoters are none
from UGM.
4. If the Director of UGM Graduate School is not
able to attend the Closed Oral Defense of the
Dissertation, s/he may be replaced consecutively
by the Vice Director for Academic Affairs of
UGM or the Director of ICRS.
5. The dissertation should reach the members of
examiners at least 10 (ten) days before the Closed
Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
6. The Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation takes
place 150 minutes, inclusive of a 30-minutes pre-
sentation by the student.
7. The Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation will
examine students at least on the following as-
pects:
70 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
favor to the student as it can cause many months
of difficulties latter on, or even result in the
failure of the dissertation.
B. Dissertation Research
1. Dissertation research necessarily includes library
research.
2. Some dissertations also include field research.
3. Methods of research appropriate to a given dis-
sertation depend on the academic discipline and
problem or question that is central to the research
project.
4. Some students, during their sandwich program,
may have made plans for dissertation research in
another country, either because of superior library
resources or because their research involves com-
parative international research.
5. If a student’s research includes the need to travel,
visit foreign libraries, employ research assistants,
or incur other research costs, the student is re-
sponsible for finding funding to make this pos-
sible.
6. Some students spend their sandwich program
during their period of dissertation research..
C. Writing and Completing the
Dissertation
1. Students are encouraged to write their disserta-
tions in Yogyakarta, where they can easily meet
with their Promoter and other faculty.
2. Since the residency requirement for ICRS is only
two years, students may choose to write their dis-
sertation either at the site of their field research,
at the location of a good library appropriate to
their topic, or at their home away from
Yogyakarta.
3. Students should not return to full time work be-
fore finishing writing their dissertation. Complet-
ing a Ph.D. at ICRS requires at least four years of
full time work. Students who return to their
home institution should be careful not to take on
a full-time workload, since that is one of the most
common reasons why some students never finish
their dissertation.
D Monitoring and Evaluation of the
Dissertation
1. At the end of each semester, students should
submit a research progress report that must be
approved by their Promoters.
2. If the Promoters consider students incapable to
complete their studies on time, they should write
a statement explaining students’ failure to con-
tinue their studies.
3. The dissertation will be evaluated and assessed
by a Dissertation Qualification Team who will
decide whether the dissertation is ready for a
Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
4. If students pass their Closed Dissertation Oral
Defense, they may choose either to take the sched-
uled Graduation Ceremony or an Open Oral
Defense of the Dissertation.
E. Dissertation Qualification Assessment
(Penilaian Kelayakan Disertasi)
1. Submission of the dissertation for qualification
assessment requires one article that has been pub-
lished in an accredited journal or a proceeding
that has been reviewed. The article should include
the Promoters’ names.
2. Students must submit their dissertations to the
promoters.
tains, lawns and an old growth forest. ICRS also has
access, in the same building, to offices, large and
small classrooms and a conference room for inter-
national seminars.
ICRS and CRCS students are building together
the UGM Graduate School Common Library in Re-
ligious Studies and have on-line access to many jour-
nals. Doctoral and Master’s students also share in
many common activities such as the Wednesday
Forum and special lectures by visiting professors.
Since CRCS is the only English language religious
studies program in the three universities, its course
offerings are also a very important part of the ICRS
program, especially for foreign students who do not
speak Indonesian. Advanced CRCS M.A. students
can also take ICRS seminars with permission from
the instructor.
In addition to the ICRS/CRCS library in the
UGM Graduate School, ICRS doctoral students are
expected to use the main libraries of all three uni-
versities. Periodic ICRS events are held at UIN Sunan
Kalijaga and UKDW. ICRS students are encouraged
to take at least one graduate course from UGM, UIN
Sunan
Kalijaga, and UKDW. The fourty ICRS doctoral
faculty members from all three universities are our
most precious resource, representing many different
disciplines related to religious studies. There are very
few universities in the world which can match the
number and quality of faculty members related to
religious studies who have agreed to serve in our
program. ICRS accepts students with very different
research interests because of the breadth of our fac-
ulty. ICRS students have the opportunity to study,
not only with fine Indonesian scholars but also with
well known scholars from around the world. These
resources give us hope that ICRS may one day be-
come the best place in the world to do research on
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 7
religious communities in Indonesia and throughout
Southeast Asia.
K. Vision, Missions, Goals and Objectives
of ICRS
a. Vision
To be an outstanding, internationally respected
graduate program and research center in inter-reli-
gious studies.
b. Missions
G To create and interdisciplinary and inter-religious
dialogue between scholars from different religious,
academic and cultural backgrounds in the study
of religion.
G To educate Indonesian and international teachers,
leaders and scholars of religion who are skilled in
cross disciplinary and inter-religious communica-
tion.
G To produce outstanding research and publications
that promote inter-religious understanding of the
role of religions in the world.
G To promote international cooperation between
universities and maintain international standards
of academic excellence and fiscal responsibility.
To develop Indonesian resources that support
national and international reconciliation, justice and
peace.
c. Goals and Objectives
1. Indonesian, International Study of Religions: To
provide a setting for Ph.D. research on religions
that is rooted in Indonesian culture and religious
beliefs, but in dialogue with the international aca-
demic community. To produce a Ph.D. program
in Inter-Religious Studies that maintains interna-
tional standards of academic excellence but is
controlled and directed by Indonesian scholars.
8 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
To promote North-South and South-South ex-
changes which empower cooperation between
good universities in different parts of the world.
2. Religious Leaders Working for Peace: To educate
religious, academic and community leaders who
are deeply rooted in their own religious traditions
and have learned to appreciate other religions
through research and sustained exposure to the
rich scholarship of other religions. To have a posi-
tive influence on Indonesian society by reducing
suspicions and prejudices and providing a frame-
work for religious communities to work together
for the same goals.
3. Institutional Cooperation: To develop institu-
tional structures that facilitates a common doc-
toral program in the study of religions, between
religiously neutral, Muslim and Christian univer-
sities in Yogyakarta. To strengthen the relation-
ship between UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga and
UKDW by ensuring that the structures are fair
and beneficial to all three. To eventually draw in
other religious institutions to increase religious
diversity.
4. Positive Influence on International Religious Com-
munities: To provide international, institutional
avenues for Indonesian religious scholars to help
redefine the perceived meaning of Islam, Chris-
tianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions,
especially in relation to each other and to the
pressing problems of Indonesian society and the
international community.
5. Administrative Excellence, Financial Transpar-
ency and Long Term Sustainability: To develop a
Ph.D. Program of world class academic quality
that also models administrative excellence,
sustainability and integrity. To practice short and
long term planning and avoid all structures and
practices that encourage corruption. To operate
at a surplus and raise the financial resources to
ensure the long term sustainability of ICRS.
6. Institutional Structures that Empower Excellent
Scholarship, Teaching and Research: To create
incentive and disincentive systems that empower
faculty members to read books and journals, en-
gage in critical, life-long learning, keep up with
the cutting edge of their disciplines, spend time
preparing new lectures, engage in nationally and
internationally significant research projects and
write high quality academic and popular articles
and books.
7. Interdisciplinary Dialogue between Religious and
Academic Communities: To empower fruitful
dialogue between secular, Islamic and Christian
traditions of scholarship that developed over
many centuries: in social science, religious stud-
ies and theology. To train scholars and teachers
who are proficient in social scientific methods and
familiar with international academic discourse in
religious studies.
8. A True Story of the History of Religions in Indo-
nesia: To develop an inter-religious community
of academic research and discourse that contrib-
utes to a deeper understanding of the history of
ject of the thesis, showing how this dissertation
builds on and differs from previous research.
5. The Proposal should explain how it will use a
theory or theories to help resolve the central
problem(s) of the dissertation or answer the cen-
tral question(s).
6. The Proposal will show the methods the student
intends to use for resolving the problem or an-
swering the main questions of the dissertation.
7. The Dissertation Proposal must include a bibli-
ography. There is no limitation on the length of
the bibliography; however, the student should
only include books, articles and other materials
that are clearly relevant to the topic of the dis-
sertation.
8. After the Dissertation Proposal has been ap-
proved by all three Promoters, a Dissertation Pro-
posal Seminar will be held as follows:
G
Dissertation Proposal Seminars may be held at
any time during term time (September through
May) after a student has fulfilled all prior re-
quirements
G The student submits a proposal that has been
already approved in writing by his or her two
local and one foreign Promoters.
G
Students must submit the approved Disserta-
tion Proposal at least 2 weeks before the Dis-
sertation Proposal Seminar.
G
The Dissertation Proposal Seminar must be held
within one month after the student submits his
approved proposal (but not in June, July or
August).
G The Dissertation Proposal Seminar must be at-
tended by the resident Promoter and Co-Pro-
moter.
G All ICRS doctoral students who are resident in
CHAPTER 13. THE PH.D. DISSERTATION 69
Yogyakarta are required to attend Dissertation
Proposal Seminars.
G All ICRS DF are invited and encouraged to at-
tend Dissertation Proposal Seminars.
G The Purpose of the Dissertation Proposal Semi-
nar is to:
- Provide critical feedback to the student
from ICRS faculty and students
- Test the students ability to defend their dis-
sertation proposal from criticism
- Provide constructive suggestions on how to
improve the proposal
- Determine whether or not the dissertation
proposal should be approved or needs fur-
ther revision.
G All ICRS DF and students are invited to this
seminar, but only DF members have the right
to decide if the Dissertation Proposal passes
or not.
G DF members present, including the Promoter
and Co-Promoters, will reach a consensus de-
cision on whether the proposal receives an
evaluation of:
Pass Pass with Minor Major
Revisions (which Revisions
can be Required
approved by the
Promoter)
The DF Members will decide on the evalua-
G
tion in an open discussion with the student out
of the room.
G If the DF Members cannot reach a consensus,
then they will vote.
G Both the DF Members and the student should
be aware that passing a Dissertation Proposal
that is insufficiently focused and clear, is not a
68 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 9

religions in Indonesia and the world. To tell a true
story of the interactions between religious com-
Chapter 13 munities and cultures in Indonesia that will help
10. Strengthening Methods of Interpretation that
Indonesians understand their religious identities
The Ph.D. Dissertation and face the challenge of globalization.
9. Inter-Religious Scholarship in the Service of Jus-
tice: To foster ongoing research on the interac-
tion between religion, culture and social change
in Indonesia. To discover resources in all the reli-
gious traditions for addressing the profound chal-
lenges of globalization, environmental destruc-
tion, injustice, social conflict and poverty.
Result in a Positive Contribution of Religion to
Public Life: To stimulate dialogue between reli-
gious leaders on hermeneutics and comparative
religious methods for interpretation of sacred
texts and to encourage research on the relation
between interpretation of sacred texts and the
role of religion in the public sphere.

Leonard C. Epafras on Closed Oral Defense of The Dissertation

A. The Dissertation Proposal 3. The Proposal should also state clearly a thesis
1. The Dissertation Proposal should be between five that the dissertation will attempt to prove, and/
(5) and ten (10) pages long, double-spaced, plus or the student’s own hypotheses that the thesis
bibliography. will test.

2. It should include a clear statement of the central 4. The Proposal should include a very brief discus-
problem(s) and/or question(s) of the dissertation. sion of the most important literature on the sub-
10 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 12. THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS 67

Pass with Pass Pass with Fail but may retake the Fail, may not
Distinction Revisions oral exam after rewriting repeat the
Chapter 2 one or more of the exam
and preliminary papers
examination

Academic Program
A. Academic Focus
have an academic background in one religious tradi-
ICRS is the name of the consortium of three
tion are expected to demonstrate competent under-
universities. ICRS offers a Ph.D. program in Inter-
standing of either another religious tradition or a
Religious Studies. The Ph.D. program includes a wide
particular social scientific approach to religious stud-
range of possibilities for specialization within the
ies. Students are encouraged to study religions in the
study of religions. Each requires an element of dia-
context of Indonesia, using interdisciplinary and
logue between at least two religions, academic dis-
cross-cultural approaches. The program also encour-
ciplines and/or geographical areas. Students who
ages comparative international research on religion.
10. If a student fails their Oral Exam, the Compre-
hension Examination Committee may recom-
mend that they: be dropped from the program,
retake their exams within one year.
11. If their grade is “Requires Substantial Revision”,
then the student has a maximum of 3 months to
revise the relevant comprehensive examinations.
They do not have to have another Oral Exami-
nation, but their revisions must be approved by
both their Primary and Secondary Supervisors.
12. Please note that at ICRS it is possible for intelli-
gent students to fail their Comprehensive Exami-
nations. In other words, these are not just a for-
mality. Students must be willing to work hard to
pass. It is much better for a student to fail their
Comprehensive Examinations and drop out after
2 years, than to work for 4 or 5 years but be un-
able to successfully defend their dissertation.
13. Under normal circumstances, the Comprehen-
sive Examinations should be finished by the end
of the student’s fourth semester (second year).
Unless the student receives a leave of absence,
the final deadline for completing the Comprehen-
sive Examinations is the end of the eighth se-
mester (fourth year). Students who have not fin-
ished all language and other requirements, and
the Comprehensive Examinations, by the end of
their fourth year of study at ICRS, will be dropped
from the program.
14. Students who take more than two years to com-
plete their Comprehensives, or more than 4 years
to complete the Ph.D., must find their own re-
sources to pay for the difference between their
scholarship and the added costs of the program.
15. After passing the Comprehensive Examinations
and completing all required revisions, the student
is declared a Candidate for the Ph.D. This may
be written after their name as follows, Name,
Ph.D. (Cand.).
66 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
(double-spaced 12 pt. font).
3. One of the papers should focus on theories and
methods that are relevant to the type of research
the student intends to carry out in preparing their
dissertation.
4. One of the papers may focus on major figures or
schools of thought that are important to under-
stand in connection with the student’s proposed
research.
5. One of the examinations may focus on the rela-
tion between religions in a particular historical
period, or on a particular contemporary issue or
on a particular set of texts.
6. The primary purposes of the Comprehensive
Examinations are to:
· Test whether the student is adequately prepared
to write a doctoral dissertation in their chosen
area of research
· Prepare the student for writing their dissertation
by providing a structured means for them to study
the most important literature related to their area
of research.
D. The Oral Comprehensive Examination
1. After the student and their Primary Academic
Supervisor determine that the student has com-
pleted their Comprehensive Examination and
Preliminary Papers to the best of his or her abil-
ity, then all three written papers are given to the
four Examiners, including the Secondary Super-
visor, the Foreign Advisor and two other Exam-
iners appointed by the Associate Director of
ICRS.
2. The Primary Supervisor may then schedule the
Oral Comprehensive Examination, not less than
three weeks and not more than 6 weeks after all
Examiners have receive the Examination. Stu-
dents should not expect to schedule Comprehen-
sive Examinations during the months of June, July
and August unless all four examiners agree.
3. The foreign Academic Advisor is expected to read
the Comprehensive Examinations and is invited
to attend the Oral Comprehensive Examination
after all the written work is complete. However,
ICRS is unable to pay for the travel of Foreign
Advisors to attend Comprehensive Examinations.
4. If unable to attend, the Foreign Advisor will sub-
mit written comments and a grade of: Pass,
Requires Substantial Revision, or Fail for each
of the written papers and examination. If the
Foreign Academic Advisor does not attend the
Oral Comprehensive Examination, her or his com-
ments will be taken as advisory and not binding.
5. If either the Primary or Secondary Advisor are
unable to attend, for example because they are
out of the country, one of them (but not both)
may be replaced by another member of the DF.
6. The Oral Examination is moderated by one of
the Core Doctoral Faculty of ICRS.
7. The Oral Comprehensive Examination is closed
to the public and only includes the student, the
three or four examiners and the moderator (who
may be one of the examiners).
8. The Oral Comprehensive Examination lasts for
2-3 hours. Each of the Examiners may question
the student on any aspect of their three examina-
tions for 30-40 minutes.
9. The Oral Comprehensive Examiners test the stu-
dent on the General Comprehensive Examina-
tion and the two Preliminary Papers and assign
an overall grade of:
For example a student may compare a religious move-
ment in Indonesia with a similar or different reli-
gious movement in another country. Students are
drawn from many different religious, academic, cul-
tural and national backgrounds. Ph.D. students in
this inter-university, inter-religious and interdiscipli-
nary program may not have extensive academic back-
grounds in some of the areas they are expected to
master.1 The ICRS Ph.D. program assumes that many
doctoral students still have to master the broader
grounding necessary to locate their specialized re-
search in a field of knowledge. Therefore Ph.D. stu-
dents do not proceed directly to the dissertation but
rather begin with courses designed to prepare them
for Preliminary Papers and a Comprehensive Exami-
nation. We have chosen a highly structured doctoral
program for three main reasons:
1. There is too much diversity in our student’s aca-
demic backgrounds to assume they can proceed
directly to the dissertation without proving mas-
tery of certain fields crucial to their disciplines.
2. An interdisciplinary and inter-religious approach
requires students to master a new academic dis-
cipline and/or religious tradition. We have de-
vised structures to ensure that they have at least
a basic grasp of the broader disciplines they need
to write their dissertation.
3. A doctoral program that includes Preliminary
Papers and a Comprehensive Examination helps
ensure that this program exemplifies international
standards of academic excellence.
4. Both Indonesian and international scholar par-
ticipate in the comprehensive examination pro-
cess. The Preliminary Papers and Comprehensive
Examination give students additional experience
in academic writing and ensure that students who
cannot pass their comprehensives will not pro-
ceed into the dissertation proposal.
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 11
The Comprehensive Examination process is as
follows:
1. There is one, written “General Comprehensive
Examination” that is the same for all students. It
is a limited time examination based on a set of
20 books and themes/topics that are determined
by the Academic Council.
2. Students must also write two “Preliminary Pa-
pers” that are specifically designed by each stu-
dent and her/his Supervisor to prepare the stu-
dent for his/her specific dissertation research.
These papers or parts of them may even become
part of the dissertation.
3. There is one “Oral Comprehensive Examination”
that examines students on their general prepared-
ness and includes discussion/questions related to
the students General Comprehensive Examina-
tion and two Preliminary Papers.
B. Flagship Courses: The Theory and
History of Religions in Indonesia
During their first year, all Ph.D. students take
two integrative doctoral seminars on social scien-
tific theories of religion and the history of religions
in Indonesia. The first semester examines the classi-
cal and contemporary theories for the study of reli-
gions in Indonesia. The second semester examines
critical perspectives on the history of religions in
Indonesia. These required seminars are interdisci-
plinary, inter-religious, team-taught courses that de-
velop the students’ capacity and tolerance for view-
ing Indonesian religious history from multiple per-
1
Someone with first and second degrees in Islamic studies or
theology may not have sufficient background in a relevant social
science, or in another religious tradition. Similarly, someone with
first and second degrees in social science, or inter-religious stud-
ies may not have sufficient background in a particular religious
tradition.
12 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
spectives. For example, the courses will listen to the diversity of students’ academic and religious
Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist, perspectives backgrounds our goal is a productive conversa-
on Indonesian religious history, as well as hear for- tion, based on some shared understandings of
gotten voices such as those of indigenous Indone- religion and society.
sian religions (agama suku) and forbidden groups.
2. The courses help students understand different
The doctoral seminars develop students’ re- narratives of the experience of religions in Indo-
search and theoretical skills. Religious histories are nesia. We assume that different religious commu-
studied in light of theories of the relationship be- nities have different assumptions about their
tween religion and society that are drawn from soci- place in Indonesian history that give rise to dif-
ology, anthropology, philosophical hermeneutics and ferent, sometimes complementary and sometimes
religious studies. In other words, theories and meth- conflicting narratives about their community as
ods of research on religions will be applied in the part of Indonesian identity.
context of studying the history of Indonesian reli-
3. The courses help students define what are their
gions. As the “flagship courses” required for all Ph.D.
questions about religions in Indonesia and then
students, these courses help establish the identity
choose and apply appropriate theories and meth-
and character of ICRS.
ods for finding out what they want to understand.
There are three primary goals of these required The success of this doctoral seminar depends on
doctoral seminars: active, critical and respectful interaction between
the students regarding their research interests.
1. The seminars aim to develop a common discourse
between all ICRS doctoral students about the re-
lations between religious communities and Indo-
C. Areas of Specialization in Inter-
Religious Studies
nesian society. A common discourse is not the
After an initial experiment with three formally
same as agreement or a “master narrative”. Given
delineated areas of specialization, ICRS Board of
Trustees decided that all students would be accepted
into a single broad area of Inter- Religious Studies.
This is not to deny the necessity of specialization
within the broad rubric of religious studies. Rather,
each student will be free to define their own area(s)
of specialization. There are potentially hundreds of
areas of specialization for students at ICRS. The only
limitations are the interests and competencies of the
faculty and students.
Some hypothetical or actual examples of ICRS
research interests include:
a. Anthropological study of a marginalized religious
group in South Sulawesi
questions of this examination, which are changed
every year. The questions are composed by the
Primary and Secondary Academic Supervisors of
the students who are taking the Comprehensive
Examinations. Foreign Advisors may also suggest
questions.
10. The Registrar is responsible for contacting the
faculty members involved, making sure they are
aware of the contents of this year’s Comprehen-
sive Examination and reminding them to submit
one or two questions at least two weeks before
the date of the Comprehensive Exam.
11. The Registrar compiles all the questions and gives
them to the Academic Committee, who then
chooses which questions to submit and the final
format of the Comprehensive Examination.
12. The ICRS Comprehensive Examination is of-
fered twice a year, in November and April. The
list of books is the same for these two Examina-
tions, but the list of questions will be different.
13. Each student’s Comprehensive Examination is
read and evaluated by her/his Primary and Sec-
ondary Academic Supervisor, by the Foreign
Advisor and by two other examiners, normally
members of the ICRS DF.
14. Actual grading of the General Comprehensive
Examination takes place after the Oral Exami-
nation.
B. The Comprehensive Examination
Proposal
1. The student will prepare, with advice from their
Primary Academic Supervisor, a Comprehensive
Examination Proposal that outlines the scope and
content of their two Preliminary Papers and how
they, along with the general Comprehensive Ex-
amination, will help prepare the student to do their
CHAPTER 12. THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS 65
research and write their dissertation. The pro-
posal should include bibliographies for the two
Preliminary Papers.
2. After the Primary Academic Supervisor has ap-
proved the student’s Comprehensive Examina-
tion Proposal, it should be given to the Second-
ary Academic Supervisor, and if possible the
Foreign Advisor, for approval or revision as nec-
essary.
3. After it is approved by both Supervisors, it is pre-
sented at a meeting of the Academic Committee
for final approval.
4. Comprehensive Examination Proposals that are
approved by two Supervisors and the Academic
Committee do not need further approval. How-
ever, a student’s Comprehensive Examination
Proposal should be presented to their Foreign
Academic Advisor as soon as s/he is appointed.
The Foreign Advisor may suggest helpful im-
provements or modifications. After approval by
the Academic Committee, changes to the Com-
prehensive Examination Proposal may only be
made if agreed upon by the student and both
Academic Supervisors.
5. The student and the Primary Academic Supervi-
sor should agree on a time-table with realistic
deadlines for the student to complete the Com-
prehensive Examinations. If all possible, it should
be completed before the end of the student’s
fourth semester.
C. Two Specialized Preliminary Papers
Tailored to the Needs of Each Student
1. The two Preliminary Papers are designed by the
student with advice from her/his Primary Aca-
demic Supervisor.
2. Each of these papers should be 30-50 pages long
 64 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Chapter 12
The Comprehensive Examinations
The Oral Comprehensive Examination
A. Standardized, General, Comprehensive
Examination
1. This is a limited-time, take home examination
required for all students.
2. This Comprehensive Examination is based upon
a list of 20 Required Books that all ICRS stu-
dents must read. The books are drawn from
(though not limited to) the required texts used in
the doctoral seminars offered by ICRS in the last
two semesters.
3. A list of Recommended Books may also be sub-
mitted, but it is for reference only. None of the
questions on the exam should require knowledge
of the recommended books.
4. The Required Books, themes and content cov-
ered in the Comprehensive Examination are pro-
posed by the students, Supervisors and Academic
Committee in consultation with DF faculty mem-
bers who taught at ICRS during the past two se-
mesters.
5. The Comprehensive Examination list of books
can change from year to year, determined by the
interests of the DF and the current students.
6. The proposed Comprehensive Examination is
presented to the Academic Board. Approval by
the Academic Board is final. It does not require
approval from the Board of Trustees.
7. The list of Required Books and general descrip-
tion of Comprehensive Examination for any given
academic year is passed out to all students dur-
ing the last week of September or earlier.
8. The ICRS Comprehensive Examination is a take-
home, open book examination that consists of
4-10 questions which must be answered within
one week (10.000 words, typed, double spaced,
with footnotes).
9. Students do not know beforehand the specific
b. Gender analysis of applications of Syari’ah in
Aceh and Malaysia
c. Comparative analysis of Christian and Muslim
economic ethics, international law and the glo-
bal market
d. The role of Jews in Indonesian Islamic Imagina-
tion and discourse
e. Religious psychology and trauma healing in a di-
saster situation
f. History of Muslim and Christian controversies
regarding religion and political power with spe-
cial attention to Augustine and Al Hall’aj
g. Religious identity and ethnicity among Chinese
Buddhists in Java and Hong Kong
h. Comparative research on the influence of reli-
gion on the environmental movements in Indo-
nesian and Brazil
i. The attitude of persons living with HIV/AIDS
towards religion(s) in South Africa and Indone-
sia
j. Comparative interpretations of Holy War ideas
in the Old Testament and Jihad in the Alqur’an
Even though there are no strictly defined or lim-
ited areas of specialization, the academic program
of ICRS includes the following broad areas of re-
search:
1. Cultural and Historical Studies of Religion
Cultural and historical studies of religion include
anthropological, historical and phenomenological
approaches to the study of religions. Traditions avail-
able for study include Islam in Indonesia, Indone-
sian Christianity, Balinese Hinduism, Indonesian
Buddhism, Indonesian Chinese Religion and Indig-
enous Indonesian religions. Students may focus on
one religion, or two religions in relation to each other.
Religions are studied within particular cultural and
historical contexts, including the context of their
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 13
relation to other religions. Students are expected to
demonstrate competence in at least one religious tra-
dition, a historical period and geo- graphical con-
text, and the academic methodology most relevant
to their projected research. Students with an aca-
demic background in one religion may choose to
focus on the same religion or on a different religion.
If a student studies only one religion, they must dem-
onstrate mastery of social scientific methods for the
study of the religion. In other words, at ICRS a stu-
dent may not just study a single religion using the
traditional methodologies of that religion. They must
also learn methodologies used in other traditions,
including the intellectual tradition of the social sci-
ences and humanities.
During a student’s first and second semesters,
ICRS offers two doctoral seminars that compare
competing paradigms in historical and cultural stud-
ies of religion These seminars also examine major
themes in historical and cultural studies of religion.
The themes studied may change from year to year
and the religions and topics covered vary according
to the research interests of the students and lectur-
ers. During these seminars, students are encouraged
to present papers on topics that are close to their
research interests and help prepare them for their
Preliminary Papers and/or dissertation.
2. Religion and Contemporary Issues
Some students do research on the interaction
between religion and contemporary issues. This may
include sociological, political and economic analy-
sis of the role of religion in society, with special at-
tention to the social ethics of different religious tra-
ditions. Themes of particular interest include post-
colonialism, globalization, justice, inter-religious dia-
logue, human rights, ecology, religion and science,
gender, democracy, civil society, community devel-
opment, conflict, violence, trauma healing and pov-
erty. Students with a background in religious studies
14 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
are expected to develop competence in one of the
relevant social sciences (e.g. sociology, political sci-
ence, psychology or economics). Students with a
background in social science should show compe-
tence in the moral and social teaching of at least
one religion.
During their first two semesters, students with
these interests may take two ICRS doctoral semi-
nars on Religion and Contemporary Issues (3 cred-
its). In each semester the course focuses on one or
two particular contemporary issues or topics. The
topics change each semester and from year to year.
During the first semester the course examines the
topics with special attention to how different social
theories help us to understand structural causes of
the problems raised by the contemporary issue in
question. The approach is not to present one cor-
rect theory, but rather to present different perspec-
tives on social problems based on different theoreti-
cal ways of conceptualizing contemporary issues.
The goal is to understand the social realities that
give rise to the problem, as illuminated by the social
sciences.
Social scientific understanding of contemporary
issues is intended to illuminate the response of reli-
gious communities to these issues. Religious com-
munities are not outside, autonomous actors who
can intervene at will. Rather they are themselves a
part of the contemporary issues in question. They
help create, defend, change and destroy the social
structures that give rise to social problems. In this
regard, the doctoral seminars also examine religious
responses to contemporary issues, not primarily as
normative teaching or revelation, but rather as hu-
man communities who are both part of the problem
and part of the solution. Both semester seminars
consider moral and ethical teachings of different
religions (especially
Islam and Christianity) that is relevant to a par-
ticular contemporary issue with particular attention
to the actual practices and influence of religious
communities (past, present and future) on the issues
in question. However during the second semester
greater focus is on the ethical teaching and response
of different communities to the contemporary
issue(s) chosen.
3. Comparative Interpretation of Sacred
Texts
Students whose research interests lie in tafsir Al
Qur’an, Biblical Interpretation, or textual studies in
any other religious tradition are also encouraged to
study at ICRS.
Textual studies are enriched by exposure to other
religious traditions of textual knowledge. Both UIN
Sunan Kalijaga and UKDW have strong graduate
programs in scriptural studies (tafsir Al Qur’an and
Biblical Studies), while UGM is strong in Linguis-
tics, Literature and Arabic studies. ICRS encourages
inter-religious dialogue in the interpretation of sa-
cred texts. Students in textual studies are expected
to demonstrate competence in the interpretative
methodologies of two different religious traditions,
one primary and one secondary.
CHAPTER 11. ADVISING, SUPERVISING, AND PROMOTING DOCTORAL STUDENTS 63
h. Both the DF Members and the student should Promoters.
be aware that passing a Dissertation Proposal
9. When the Promoter and Co-Promoters have all
that is insufficiently focused and clear, is not
agreed that the dissertation is ready for Disserta-
a favor to the student as it can cause many
tion Qualification Assessment (Penilaian Kelayakan
months of difficulties latter on, or even result
Disertasi), then they will sign a “Oral Defense
in the failure of the dissertation.
Readiness Assessment” form and submit it to the
4. After the Dissertation Proposal is approved, the Associate Director of ICRS, who will then re-
Promoter will be the primary advisor to the stu- check if the student has fulfilled all other
dent until s/he finishes the first draft of the dis- academic and administrative requirements (in-
sertation. The Co-Promoters should only be cluding language, financial, library fines, etc.) and
consulted on matters or chapters on which they then appoint, with coordination with Director of
have special expertise. Of course the student may the UGM Graduate School, a Dissertation Quali-
consult her/his Co-Promoters at any time, but it fication Team (see below).
is generally easier for the student if only one pro-
10. It is very important that the Promoter and Co-
fessor provides the primary direction during re-
Promoter do not approve a dissertation unless they
search and writing.
are convinced that the student is capable of de-
5. The student is responsible for making appoint- fending the dissertation and that it can pass the
ments to see their Promoter regularly, through- Oral Defense of Dissertation.
out the process of research and writing. Stu-
11. The Promoter and Co-Promoters must partici-
dents should meet with their Promoter at least
pate in the Oral Defense of Dissertation. Con-
once a month and submit each chapter in draft
tingent on funding, the Foreign Promoter is ex-
form when it is completed.
pected to also participate. If, because of funding
6. Every chapter may require multiple revisions. or other constraints the Foreign Promoter cannot
Promoters should not accept a completed disser- participate in the Oral Defense, then he/she may
tation if they have not helped the student through submit questions and comments in written form
the long process of writing and revising each chap- and be replaced in the Oral Defense examina-
ter. tion.
7. The Promoter should help the student make, and
keep to, a realistic schedule for finishing the dis-
sertation in a timely manner, including deadlines
for finishing a draft of each chapter.
8. When the student has finished an acceptable first
draft of the entire dissertation, it should be given
to the Co-Promoters to read and offer criticisms.
Students should also expect to have further revi-
sions to write after their work is read by the Co-
62 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
ful completion of the Comprehensive Examina-
tions. This is to give the student and the faculty
time to consider and make suggestions about who
are the most appropriate persons to serve as Pro-
moter and Co-Promoters.
3. The first step is to help the student prepare a
4. If the student does not agree with the persons
chosen as Promoter or Co-Promoters, s/he may
appeal in writing to the Academic Committee
(within two weeks).
5. The Academic Committee will make a decision,
in consultation with other appropriate DF mem-
bers, about who are the most appropriate Pro-
moter and Co-Promoters, after considering the
students appeal. The decision about the Promoter
and Co-Promoters will then be considered final,
unless significant new information is received.
6. Once the Promoter and Co-Promoters have been
appointed, they may not be changed except for
very strong and clear reasons.
G. Changing the Promoter or Co-
Promoters
Procedures for changing the Promoter and Co-
Promoter are the same as the procedures for chang-
ing the Primary and Secondary Academic Supervi-
sors (see above).
H. Responsibilities of the Promoter and
Co-Promoters
1. As was the case with the Primary Academic Su-
pervisor in relation to the Comprehensive Exami-
nations, the Promoter is the main person respon-
sible for overseeing, guiding and encouraging the
student to complete their dissertation.
2. The two Co-Promoters should not give advice
that contradicts the advice of the Promoter. If
there is a difference of opinion between the Co-
Promoters and the Promoter, the student should
follow the direction of the Promoter. The two
Co-Promoters should adjust their advice to the
primary direction of the Promoter.
Dissertation Proposal as follows:
a. After the Promoter has approved the Disser-
tation Proposal, it should be given to the two
Co-Promoters for input, revision and their
approval.
b. Advice from the Foreign Co-Promoter can be
by email.
c. After the Promoter & Co-Promoters have ap-
proved the Dissertation Proposal, the student
will present the proposal at a Dissertation Pro-
posal Seminar.
d. All ICRS DF and students will be invited to
this meeting, but only DF members who are
present at the seminar have the right to de-
cide if the Dissertation Proposal passes or not.
e. DF members present, including the Promoter
and Co-Promoters, will reach a consensus de-
cision on whether the proposal receives an
evaluation of:
Pass Pass with Minor Major
Revisions (which Revisions
can be approved Required
by the
Promoter)
f. The DF Members will decide on the evalua-
tion in an open discussion with the student
out of the room.
g. If the DF Members cannot reach a consen-
sus, then they will vote.
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 15
Doctoral students must understand the tensions pers, for critical discussion and suggestions. Some-
between different hermeneutical and exegetical times the Wednesday Forum will be led by a distin-
(tafsir) methods and how they are influenced by dif- guished Visiting Professor. ICRS doctoral students
ferent theological, cultural and historical contexts. are required to attend these Forums during their first
All the major religions have rich interpretive tradi- two years if they are in Yogyakarta, and as often as
tions that usually developed in isolation from any possible throughout the other two years of their pro-
other religious tradition. In Indonesia, one of the gram. Doctoral students should make presentations
most significant political movements is for the imple- at the Wednesday Forums 2-3 times during their four
mentation of Syari’ah (Islamic Law). Among other year program.
things, students in textual studies are encouraged to
do inter-religious research on the interpretation of
religious law and its role in social life.
While Muslim and Christian methods of inter-
pretation are the primary focus of this area, students
may elect to do research on other religious interpre-
tive traditions.2 During the first semester ICRS of-
fers a doctoral on philosophical hermeneutics with
special attention to how different religious traditions
(and streams within the traditions), interpret their
sacred texts. A second semester seminar includes
detailed comparative study of selected texts from
the Al Qur’an and the Bible. Students should be able
to read least one of the texts in the original language;
however the other may be in a translation. Students
who want to do textual research are required to show
E. The Program of Study
competence in at least one ancient scriptural lan-
guage before being accepted into the program. A 1. The First Year: Coursework
student’s Academic Supervisor will determine, in Doctoral students take 12 graduate credits
consultation with the student, whether or not addi- (SKS) each semester for their first year. These in-
tional languages are required for the student’s re- clude the 3 credits of required doctoral seminars on
search.3 the History of Religions each semester, plus at least
one other ICRS seminar (3 credits) per semester for
D. The Wednesday Forum a total of 6 ICRS doctoral credits. The other 6 elec-
On every Wednesday during the first three tive units may be selected from ICRS seminars or
months of the regular semester, there is a weekly
2
Of course the choice of another religious tradition depends
Wednesday Forum from 12:30-2:30 PM, including
on whether or not there is an academic supervisor available who
free light refreshment. Students, faculty members and is expert in the interpretive tradition of the chosen religion.
staff of ICRS and CRCS present research propos-
3
If necessary, additional language(s) may be studied after en-
als, reports of work in progress or completed pa- tering the Ph.D. program
16 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
from other graduate courses at UGM, UIN Sunan
Kalijaga and UKDW. Doctoral students have access
to selected courses from the combined offerings of
CRCS at UGM, the Masters and Doctoral Programs
of UIN Sunan Kalijaga and the Graduate Programs
in Theology at UKDW. Students must complete at
least 24 credits of coursework in Yogyakarta. Stu-
dents who do not complete 24 credits by the end of
their second semester may take further courses dur-
ing the summer or in their second year.
2. The Second Year: Comprehensive
Examinations & Dissertation Proposal
Seminar
During their second year, students spend their
time preparing for their Comprehensive Examina-
tions under the supervision of their Primary Aca-
demic Supervisor. During their third or fourth se-
mester student should:
a. Prepare for and write their one General Compre-
hensive Examination. This is a take home exami-
nation. The questions will be handed out in April
and November each year, and students will have
one week to complete their answers.
b. Publish an article about their research in consul-
tation with their supervisors.
c. Write two preliminary papers in preparation for
their dissertation research
d. Hold their Oral Comprehensive Examination
e. Prepare and have their dissertation proposal semi-
nar in consultation with their Promoter.
f. Attend the weekly Wednesday Forum, and if
possible make a presentation of their
g. Write and present their dissertation proposal
Indonesian Students who have completed their Com-
prehensive Examinations may apply for their
sandwich program at the same year, or they may
do their sandwich program in the third year. This
may include taking courses for credit or audit,
doing library research or carrying out other forms
of research approved by their Foreign Academic
Advisor. At the end of the semester abroad the
student should arrange for a transcript of his/her
grades for courses taken, and/or a report from
the Foreign Academic Advisor concerning re-
search activities carried out, to be sent to the
Associate Director of ICRS. The student should
also write a frank personal evaluation of strengths
and weaknesses of their sandwich program. Fur-
ther details about the sandwich program are in
the next section, below.
3. Third Year: Sandwich Program, Research
and Writing Dissertation
During their third year, students who have
passed their Comprehensive Examinations should
either:
a. Do their sandwich program
b. Go to the place of their fieldwork research,
c. Stay in Yogyakarta, or
d. Go to a place that offers outstanding library or
other resources for their research.
e. If they return to their home outside Yogyakarta
they must demonstrate that they have sufficient
CHAPTER 11. ADVISING, SUPERVISING, AND PROMOTING DOCTORAL STUDENTS
12. ICRS Ph.D. students are responsible for keeping
in close touch with their Primary Supervisor from
the time they are appointed (in August) until the
students complete their Comprehensive Exams
approximately one year later. They should meet
or communicate by email with their Supervisor
at least once a month, both to receive encour-
agement and to ensure that they are making ap-
propriate progress towards writing their
Comprehensives. If a Primary Supervisor is not
available for meetings and does not respond to
email communication, students should inform
ICRS of their difficulty.
13. The Primary Academic Supervisor will arrange
with the student appropriate deadlines for taking
and completing their Comprehensive Examina-
tion and two Preliminary Papers in a timely man-
ner.13
14. The Primary and Secondary Academic Supervi-
sors serve as the student’s Comprehensive Ex-
amination Committee, along with one additional
Examiner who is appointed by the Associate Di-
rector of ICRS. They are responsible for reading
and evaluating the Comprehensive Examination
and the two Preliminary Papers.
15. The Primary Academic Supervisor, in consulta-
tion with the Associate Director of ICRS will then
schedule the date for an Oral Examination of the
Comprehensive Examination and two Preliminary
Papers.
16. The Foreign Advisor is invited to the Oral Com-
prehensive Examination but may submit com-
ments and questions in writing if s/he is unable
to attend. If unable to attend, the Foreign Advi-
sor need not be replaced.
17. The Oral Comprehensive Examination must be
attended by either the Primary or Secondary Aca-
61
demic Supervisor. If either of them cannot at-
tend, s/he may be replaced by an Examiner des-
ignated by the Associate Director.
18. The Oral Comprehensive Examination is con-
ducted by 3 or 4 Examiners, and chaired by a
Core Doctoral Faculty member who may or may
not be one of the Examiners.
19. At least one of the three or four Examiners should
be a Professor.
F. Appointment of the Promoter and Co-
Promoters
1. Unless there are strong and cogent reasons for a
change, the Academic Committee of ICRS will
appoint the Primary and Secondary Supervisors
and the Foreign Advisor as the Promoter and as
the two Co-Promoters. This is to ensure conti-
nuity and consistency in academic supervision.
2. If a change is needed, for example, because one
of the Supervisors is unable or unwilling to serve
as Promoter or Co-Promoter, or because the stu-
dent or one of the Supervisors can offer good
reasons for suggesting that another DF member
is more appropriate, then the reasons for the
change should be communicated in writing to the
Academic Committee of ICRS, as soon as pos-
sible after the Comprehensive Examinations and
before the Promoter and Co-Promoters are ap-
pointed.
3. The Academic Committee of ICRS will appoint
the Promoter and two Co-Promoters (including
one Foreign Co-Promoter), not less than one week
and not more than one month after the success-
13
Comprehensive Examinations should be completed by the
end of the second year in order to finish the Ph.D. Dissertation
in 4 years.
 60 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
7. The Supervisor should also explain the contents
8. The Supervisor should then help the student for-
9. The student will then prepare, with advice from
Student Orientation
semesters and how it will help them prepare for
their Comprehensives.
a. This includes their choice or hopes for the lo-
10. After the Primary Academic Supervisor has ap-
cation of their sandwich program.
b. The timing and place of their sandwich pro-
gram should not interfere with their ability to
complete the Comprehensive Examination
during their second year.
c. The Supervisor should remind the student that
if they do not complete their Comprehensive
Examination in the second year it may be dif-
11. Comprehensive Examination Proposals that are
ficult to finish the program in four years.
d. They should also be reminded that they must
pay full tuition until they pass their Compre-
hensive Examination, whereas their scholar-
ship may only cover full tuition for two years.
6. If the Supervisor determines that the student
must obtain additional academic skills, such as
another language, statistics, or empirical research
methods, the Supervisor is responsible for requir-
ing the student to take and pass courses in the
required subject.
and form of the one, required, General Compre-
hensive Examination.
mulate the content of their two, required, Pre-
liminary Papers. The contents of these Prelimi-
nary Papers are specially tailored to the needs and
interests of the student.
their Primary Academic Supervisor, a Compre-
hensive Examination Proposal that outlines the
scope and content of their two Preliminary Pa-
pers and how they, along with the general Com-
prehensive Examination, will help prepare the
student to do their research and write their dis-
sertation. The proposal should include bibliog-
raphies for the two Preliminary Papers.
proved the student’s Comprehensive Examina-
tion Proposal, it should be given to the Second-
ary Academic Supervisor, and if possible the
Foreign Advisor, for approval or revision as nec-
essary. After it is approved by both Supervisors
it should be presented at a meeting of the Aca-
demic Committee for final approval.
approved by two Supervisors and the Academic
Committee do not need further approval. How-
ever, a student’s Comprehensive Examination
Proposal should be presented to their Foreign
Academic Advisor as soon as s/he is appointed.
The Foreign Advisor may suggest helpful im-
provements or modifications. After approval by
the Academic Committee, changes to the Com-
prehensive Examination Proposal may only be
made if agreed upon by the student and both
Academic Supervisors.
library and other needed resources available in
that location to continue with full time research
f. Students who do not go to a fieldwork or special
library location are strongly encouraged to stay
in Yogyakarta where they can receive support and
direct, regular feedback on their research.
g. If they have not already done so, students must
present their research during one of the Wednes-
day Forums.
h. In addition, all third and fourth year students lo-
cated in Yogyakarta will form a “Promotion
Club” that meets once a month. At each meet-
ing, one of the students will present either a re-
search progress report or a chapter from their dis-
sertation. The promotion club is required for ICRS
Ph.D. Candidates who are located in Yogyakarta.
All ICRS Doctoral Faculty (DF) members are also
invited to the promotion club meetings. The Pro-
moter and Co-Promoter of the student present-
ing his/her work
i. Students must present their research papers in the
Dissertation Promotion Club at least once, and
attend twice before they undertake their closed,
and Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
j. Students, together with their promoters, must
publish their research (part of it) in an accredited
journal, or a referred, edited book.
4. Fourth Year: Completing the Dissertation
Fourth year students who are in Yogyakarta
should continue to attend the Promotion Club and
Wednesday Forums. Most importantly they should
meet frequently with their Primary Promoter to dis-
cuss drafts of each chapter of the dissertation as
they are completed. ICRSYogya students are not
required to be resident in Yogyakarta during their
third and fourth years. However, writing a disserta-
tion is very hard and lonely work. For some students,
the choice of whether or not to stay in Yogyakarta,
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 17
where there is academic stimulation and encourage-
ment available, may make the difference between
success or failure in completing the Ph.D. Even those
who stay in Yogyakarta must show initiative in seek-
ing the support and help they need to complete their
work on time.
F. The Sandwich Program
1. ICRS requires all Indonesian doctoral students to
participate in a four to six month “sandwich pro-
gram”. Foreign ICRS students are not required to
go to another country. They may stay in Indone-
sia or arrange a sandwich program appropriate to
their area of research, subject to funding.
2. Approximately half of the ICRS Indonesian stu-
dents will be sent to a university in Asia or the
Southern hemisphere and the other half will be
sent to a university in North America or Europe.
3. Students are encouraged to show initiative in
choosing a university that is best for their research
interests, and establishing a relationship with a
foreign professor who may become their Foreign
Advisor.
4. ICRS chooses a university for each student based
on three main considerations:
a. It must be a university or educational institu-
tion that has an agreement with ICRS- Yogya
for student and faculty exchanges. Such an
agreement, or MOU normally includes an
agreement for reciprocal tuition waivers for
student exchanges and may also include pro-
visions for reciprocal provision of housing
and/or faculty exchanges.
b. It should be a university with general resources
for research that are appropriate to the
student’s area of research.
c. It should be a university that has a professor
18 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
willing to work with the student during their
sandwich program and possibly become an
outside reader for their Comprehensive Exami-
nation and Dissertation.
5. ICRS requires a sandwich for all Indonesian doc-
toral students for the following reasons:
a. All Indonesian Ph.D. students must have some
international experience to enable them to
view their religion and culture from another
perspective.
b. Ph.D. students, who will be top religious and
academic leaders in Indonesia, should see how
outstanding educational institutions operate in
another country.
c. Living in an English speaking environment is
very important for improving Indonesian
students’ language and writing skills.
d. The sandwich program provides access to out-
standing library resources that are necessary
for doctoral studies but unavailable in Indo-
nesia.
e. Ph.D. students develop international net-
works, both for ongoing partnerships and so
that their voices are heard in international fo-
rums.
f. The partner institutions in the exchange pro-
gram include the finest scholars in religious
studies. Students will be sent to study with an
expert in their chosen field of research.
g. The exchange program attracts outstanding
foreign faculty to be involved in ICRS as aca-
demic supervisors, visiting professors and out-
side readers.
h. The structured involvement of international
institutions and scholars provides international
legitimacy and academic accountability for
ICRSYogya.
i. The exchange program will bring many foreign
students (and faculty) to Indonesia. This will
expose them to the problems and perspectives
of the largest and most dynamic Muslim coun-
try in the world and enable them to share their
perspectives with Indonesians.
j. The exchange program will stimulate interna-
tional research on the religions of Indonesia.
6. Sandwich Program can be proposed after the stu-
dents completed their Comprehensive Examina-
tions. Depending on other circumstantial factors,
the sandwich program can be arranged for the
fourth semester or for their dissertation research.
7. They should also be aware that students must pay
full tuition until they pass their Comprehensive
Exams, whereas most scholarships only pay half
tuition after the second year.
8. Students may consider having two “sandwich
programs”, a second sandwich program requires
finding special funding, as most ICRS scholar-
ships only include funding for one sandwich pro-
gram. During their initial sandwich program, stu-
CHAPTER 11. ADVISING, SUPERVISING, AND PROMOTING DOCTORAL STUDENTS
10. The Secondary Academic Supervisor should be
a locally resident member of the DF as well.
However, a student may request a Secondary
Academic Supervisor from outside the DF of
ICRS if there are cogent academic reasons to sup-
port the request. The Secondary Academic Su-
pervisor must be resident in Indonesia.
D. Changing the Primary or Secondary
Supervisor
1. The Primary and Secondary Supervisor are nor-
mally not changed except for very strong reasons.
2. Either the Primary or Secondary Supervisor may
withdraw. If so, they must write a letter explain-
ing in detail why they can no longer supervise
the student.
3. If the student wishes to change her/his Primary
or Secondary Supervisor, s/he must approach an
alternative Supervisor and ask them to sign the
“Willingness to serve as an Academic Supervi-
sor” form.
4. S/he must then talk with the current Supervisor
and ask them if they will support changing the
Supervisor.
5. The student then must write a detailed letter to
the Associate Director explaining why it is in the
student’s best academic interests to change their
Supervisor. The letter should explain who they
wish to become their Supervisor and why. It
should also explain whether their current Super-
visor agrees or not and should include the signed
agreement of the proposed Supervisor.
6. The Associate Director will then bring the request
to a meeting of the Academic Committee to de-
cide whether or not to appoint a new Supervisor
for the student.
59
E. Responsibilities of the Primary and
Secondary Academic Supervisors:
Preparing Students for Successful
Completion of Their Comprehensive
Examinations
1. The first task of the Primary Academic Supervi-
sor is to help the student, by the end of their sec-
ond semester, to define the general topic of their
anticipated dissertation research. Initially, this
does not require writing a dissertation proposal,
but it does require limiting the general topic of
their anticipated dissertation.
2. Secondly, the Primary Supervisor should help the
student outline the fields of study (including
methods, theories, particular authors or books,
historical periods, etc.), and academic skills (lan-
guages, statistics, field research techniques, etc.),
which are necessary for the student to master
before s/he writes the dissertation.
3. Thirdly, the Supervisor should help the student
realistically assess their strengths and weaknesses
with regard to readiness to write a doctoral dis-
sertation in their chosen area. This could lead the
student to change her/his topic if s/he does not
appear qualified to write on that topic.
4. Fourthly, the Supervisor should help the student
to plan how they can overcome deficiencies and
prepare themselves to master the necessary fields
of studies and academic skills to do their research.
This plan may include independent reading and
library research and/or additional courses, either
in Yogyakarta or during their sandwich program.
Students may not write their Comprehensive
Examination before they have fulfilled their lan-
guage requirements, including having a TOEFL
score of at least 550.
5. The Supervisor should discuss with the student
where they expect to spend their third and fourth
58 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
reader for their Comprehensive Examinations.
3. Co-Promoters. Upon successful completion of
their Comprehensive Examinations, the Academic
Committee will appoint (along with the Promoter)
two Co-Promoters, one based in Indonesia and
one based in a foreign university. The Co-Pro-
moters are ideally the same persons as the Sec-
ondary Supervisor and the Foreign Supervisor.
The Co-Promoters should provide occasional
advice and direction as needed. They will be on
the Oral Examination Committee for Examina-
tion of the completed Ph.D. dissertation.
C. Appointment of the Primary and
Secondary Academic Supervisors
1. New students are encouraged to state in their
application to ICRS if there is a particular mem-
ber of the ICRS DF whom they would like to
request as their Academic Supervisors.
2. The Associate Director will take into consider-
ation student requests of this nature and if pos-
sible appoint the persons requested as the
student’s Academic Supervisors.
3. However, students are not guaranteed that their
request will be fulfilled. Choice of Academic
Supervisors depends, among other things, on the
availability and willingness of the DF members.
4. By August 15 before their first semester, the Aca-
demic Committee will choose Primary and Sec-
ondary Academic Supervisors for each student
based on each student’s application materials.
5. ICRS doctoral students should ask the appointed
Academic Supervisors if they are willing and
available to become their Academic Supervisors.
6. If the appointed Academic Supervisors are will-
ing and available, the student
should ask them to sign a
“Willingness to Serve as an
Academic Supervisor” form
(available from the
ICRSYogya office).
7. If the student is unhappy
with the DF member ap-
pointed as their Academic
Supervisor, they may ap-
peal the decision in writing
within one month of the
appointment, requesting re-
consideration based on co-
gent reasons.
8. The Academic Committee will attempt to fulfill
the students’ requests but must consider other
factors (such as workload, academic competency,
balance, health considerations, sabbatical leaves,
etc.), of which the student may not be aware.
ICRS must also protect the well-being of DF
members who may find it difficult to say no to a
direct request from a student. Some lecturers may
already have too many students.
9. The Primary Academic Supervisor of an ICRS doc-
toral student must be a member of the ICRS DF.
dents may make contacts that open the possibil-
ity for returning to their host university for fur-
ther research.
9. All sandwich programs are subject to funding.
Since ICRS is committed to sandwich programs
for all Indonesian students, ICRS will do its best
to find funding to al- low all Indonesian students
to spend at least 5 months (one semester) at a
foreign educational institution. ICRS provides
funding for the sandwich program in most
scholar- ships administered by ICRS. However in
the final analysis, responsibility for funding of the
sandwich program, as well as other aspects of
the Ph.D. program, lies with the student. ICRS
cannot guarantee to provide funding for the sand-
wich program for every Indonesian doctoral stu-
dent. Rather we will work with students to help
them find the necessary support for all aspects
of their program.
10. In the first five years of ICRS- Yogya we have
negotiated student exchanges with the following
universities:
G Cape Town University, Cape Town, South Af-
rica
G Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
G Florida International University, Florida, USA
G Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
G
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA,
USA
G Ondokuz Mayis, Turkey
G Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CN, USA
G Melbourne University, Australia
G
National University of Singapore, Asia Research
Institute, Singapore
G Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
G Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY,
USA
11. In addition to the above, the following uni-
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 19
versities have expressed interest in having stu-
dent and faculty exchanges with ICRS:
G Arizona State University, USA
G
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong,
China
G
Fudan University, Shanghai, China
G Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
G Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
G Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
G Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
G
Oxford University, Oxford, UK
G Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands
G Ren Min University, Beijing, China
G Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
G Shaanxi Normal University, Xian, China·
University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
G. CRCS-ICRS Inter- Session During June
and July
1. During the months of June and July, CRCS and
ICRS jointly offer an intersession that includes 2
or 3 intensive courses.
2. These are elective courses of 3 graduate credits
each, which are open to M.A. and Ph.D. students
and open also to outside visitors.
3. There is an extra fee for these courses and stu-
dents may not take more than 2 courses during
the 2 month period.
4. Usually two of the courses are taught by visiting
faculty from other countries and one is taught by
an Indonesian lecturer.
5. A special program is also arranged for visiting
exchange students from other countries (or other
parts of Indonesia) that includes cultural orien-
tation and visits to places of interest around
Yogyakarta and Central Java.
20 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 57

H. ICRS Ph.D. Program Chart

Chapter 11
Advising, Supervising, and
Promoting Doctoral Students

A. Primary Academic Supervision

1. Primary Academic Supervisor. When new stu-
dents arrive for their first year at ICRS, the Aca-
demic Committee will assign all students a Pri-
mary Academic Supervisor. The Primary Aca-
demic Supervisor is responsible for guiding the
students to prepare for their Comprehensive Ex-
aminations.

2. Promoter. Upon completion of their language

requirements and Comprehensive Examinations
(at the end of their 2nd year), the Academic Com-
mittee appoints a Promoter for the successful
Ph.D. Candidate. The Promoter, who is normally
the same person as the Primary Academic Super- demic Supervisor occasionally. However, their
visor, is responsible for guiding the student’s re- primary academic supervision should come from
search and writing until they successfully com- their Primary Academic Supervisor.
plete their dissertation and receive the Ph.D. de-
gree (at the end of their 4th year). 2. Foreign Academic Advisor. If possible12, before
the end of their second semester, the Academic
B. Secondary Supervision Committee will assign each student a Foreign
Academic Advisor who will provide guidance for
1. Secondary Academic Supervisor. When new stu-
them during their sandwich program. The For-
dents arrive for their first year at ICRS, the Aca-
eign Academic Advisor will also be an outside
demic Committee also appoints a Secondary Aca-
demic Supervisor. The Secondary Academic Su-
pervisor will serve on their Comprehensive Ex- 12
In some cases a student may only locate and obtain the
amination Committee and be one of their exam- agreement of a Foreign Supervisor while they are on their sand-
iners. Students may consult their Secondary Aca- wich program
56 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Chapter 10
Photocopying Policy
A. Free Photocopying for Short, Required
Materials
1. This includes required materials for a course, such
as syllabi, tests/examinations, short bibliogra-
phies (1-2 pages), brief charts or outlines, etc.
Materials such as this should be submitted to the
ICRS office for photocopying before the class
where they are required.
2. ICRS will not pay for photocopying required or
recommended readings for classes. Required and
recommended readings must be purchased by the
21
Chapter 3
Administrative and
Academic Structures
students. It is the lecturer’s responsibility to make A. Organizational Chart of ICRS
sure students have access to required readings well
before they are due.
3. ICRS will not pay for photocopying students’
papers or reports.
4. ICRS will pay for one or two photocopied read-
ers and/or books to be placed in the library.
5. ICRS lecturers are expected to pay for their own
readers or photocopied reading materials.
6. At the discretion of the staff, ICRS may photo-
copy papers and other student materials for a stan-
dard charge per page.
B. No Photocopying Copyright Materials
Available for Sale in Indonesia
1. ICRS does not condone photocopying of books
that are available for sale in Indonesia. Books
that are published in Indonesia and still in print
should be ordered through a bookstore so that
they are available to students before the first class.
2. Photocopying materials available in Indonesia is
unnecessary because the cost of Indonesian books
is reasonable. Photocopying cheats both the
publishers and the authors of payment for their
costs and labor.
 22 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
ICRS Board of Trustees
B. Board of Trustees
The highest governing body of ICRS is the ICRS
Board of Trustees (Majelis Konsorsium).4 The Board
of Trustees is directly appointed by the Rectors of
the three universities. The Board provides a written
report to the three Rectors once a year. The ICRS
Board of Trustees consists of 13-16 members, in-
cluding 3-6 representatives of each university who
are appointed by the Rectors of their universities.
The Director of ICRS is a member of the Board ex-
officio. The Board of Trustees holds monthly meet-
ings from September to June and has a two day work-
ing retreat each year. ICRS Board meetings are also
usually attended by the Associate Director, Regis-
trar, Secretary, and the Finance Officer of ICRS. A quo-
rum for official decisions of the ICRS Board requires at
least 7 members, including at least one representative
from each university and the Director.
C. Director, Associate Director and
Administrative Staff
1. The Director of ICRS is nominated by the Board
of Trustees of ICRS for a period of 4 years. S/he
is then appointed in a letter of appointment (Surat
4
The Board of Trustees was originally called the Executive
Board or Dewan Eksekutif.
Keputusan or SK) by the Rectors of all three uni-
versities.
2. Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta was chosen
as the founding Director of ICRS for a special
period of three years (1 July 2006 till 30 June
2009). Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta is
loaned or assigned (ditugaskan) from UKDW to
UGM for a period of three years and can be re-
newed, to serve as the full-time Director of ICRS.
He remains on the faculty of UKDW and will
continue to teach in the Graduate Programs of
all three universities (UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga
and UKDW). On 7 August 2010, The Board of
Trustees has elected Dra. Siti Syamsiyatun, M.A.,
Ph. D as the new Director of ICRS for the period
from September 2010 to August 2014.
3. The Associate Director is nominated by the Board
of Trustees of ICRS- Yogya for an initial period
of 2-4 years. S/he is then appointed in a letter of
appointment (Surat Keputusan) by the Rector of
his/her university and then by the Rectors of all
three universities.
The Current Board of Trustees of ICRS
Prof. Dr. Banawiratma (UKDW)
Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta (ICRS)*
Prof. Dr. E. Gerrit Singgih (UKDW)*
Dr. Fatimah Husein (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)*
Prof. Dr. Hartono, DEA, DESS (UGM)
Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah (UGM)*
Prof. Dr. Iskandar Zulkarnain (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)
Dr. Jeanny Dhewayani (UKDW)
Prof. Dr. Khoiruddin Nasution (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)
Prof. Dr. M. Machasin (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)*
Dr. Sekar Ayu Aryani (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)
Dra. Siti Syamsiyatun, M.A., Ph.D. (Director, ICRS)
Prof. Dr. Umar Anggara Jenie (UGM)
Dr. Wening Udasmoro, DEA (UGM)
Dr. Yahya Wijaya (UKDW)*
Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir (UGM)*
*Founding Board members
dents for writing their Comprehensive Examina-
tions and Dissertations in English.
4. Comprehensive Examinations and Dissertations
must be written in English. The Examining Com-
mittees for these examinations will (if possible)
include a foreign examiner who may not speak
Indonesian.
5. ICRS provides native speaking English teachers
who will help students improve their English
writing. Students should prepare papers well
ahead of time so that they can receive editorial
help from the English teachers for improving their
final draft.
6. Most required reading assignments should be from
published materials in English. Indonesian lan-
guage reading assignments may also be given, but
alternative English materials should be indicated
for those who do not read Indonesian. Recom-
mended reading assignments may be in any lan-
guage.
7. The decision to use English as the primary lan-
guage of ICRS was painful to decide since we are
aware of the “imperialism” of English. Most
people from any nation, including Indonesia, com-
municate most effectively in their mother tongue.
However, English is now the single most
effective language of universal communication.
Indonesians must master English in order to par-
ticipate in international discourse, including dis-
course with other Asian, African and Latin
American scholars.
B. Language Requirements
1. The basic, minimum language requirements for
ICRS doctoral students is defined as fluency in
English (demonstrated by a TOEFL score of 550
or above), and one other modern language (such
CHAPTER 9. LANGUAGE POLICY 55
as Indonesian, French, Tagalog, Chinese, etc.)
2. Students whose research involves textual study
in sacred texts are required to demonstrate com-
petency in at least one scriptural language before
starting the program. They may be required to
study another scriptural language if it is consid-
ered necessary for their research.
3. Students in any of the three areas may be required
by their Primary Academic Supervisor to study a
language or other skill (such as statistics) if it is
considered necessary to their proposed research.
4. Students whose TOEFL scores are below 550
are required to take an approved English Course.
They are encouraged to take only 3 courses in
addition to English. They may not take more than
4 courses (12 credits), in addition to studying
English, until their TOEFL scores are at or above
550.
5. Students with TOEFL scores below 550 must
raise their scores to 550 before they go on an in-
ternational sandwich program.
6. Before students may have their Written Compre-
hensive Examinations, they should pass any En-
glish classes conducted by ICRS.
7. In any case, ICRS doctoral students are not per-
mitted to take their Oral Comprehensive Exami-
nation before they achieve a TOEFL score above
550 (or its equivalent).
54 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 3. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACADEMIC STRUCTURES 23

4. Dra. Siti Syamsiyatun, M. A., Ph. D was appointed pointed by the Director and Associate Director
as the Associate Director of ICRS for an initial in keeping with the budget of ICRS that is ap-
Chapter 9 period of two years. On August 2010, the Board proved by the Board of Trustees. See the Staff
of Trustees replaced her with Dr. Wening Handbook for more details.
Language Policy Udasmoro, DEA.
6. The administrative staff (2012-2013) of ICRS
5. All administrative staff of ICRS-Yog- ya are ap- includes:

Director : Dr. Siti Syamsiyatun, MA.

Associate Director
ICRS International Representative
Financial Development Officer
Financial Development Assistant
Chief Financial Officer
Academic Affairs
International Scholar Host
International Scholar Host Assistant
Media and Communication Officer
Secretary
Office Helper
English Teacher
: Dr. Wening Udasmoro, DEA
: Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta
: Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D.
: Elis Zuliati Anis, MA.
: M. Kuncara Budi Santosa, M.Akt., MM.
: Maufur, MA.
: Faishol Adib, MA
: Ramang Nurdiyansah
: Hendrikus Paulus Kaunang, MA
: Cendy Vebriana, A.Md.
: Triatmoko
: Jessica Peng

A. All instruction at ICRS is held in English
1. Some foreign ICRS doctoral students do not
speak Indonesian. Classes will also be attended
by visiting exchange students who do not speak
Indonesian.
2. Lecturers in all ICRS doctoral seminars and
courses must teach in English even if all students
in the class speak Indonesian. The reason for
this policy is that ICRS is training doctoral stu-
dents to be effective participants in international
forums. They need as much practice as possible
in using English. The only exception is in using
other original languages such as Arabic or He-
brew in discussing sacred texts.
3. All papers and assignments in ICRS classes must
be written in English. This will help prepare stu-
The administrative staff
24 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 8. ATTENDING DOCTORAL COURSES 53

D. Administrative Chart of ICRS-Yogya reading course and then obtain permission
from their Advisor/Supervisor and from the Di-
rector or Associate Director of ICRS.
7. Even though students are responsible for design-
ing their reading course according to their aca-
demic needs, they must accept the direction and
follow the requirements of the DF member over-
seeing the course.
8. In a reading course the student should schedule
meetings with the responsible faculty member
between 5 to 7 times during the semester. Each
meeting may be 1-2 hours long and are used for
discussing the materials the student has read and
hearing the faculty member’s feedback on what
they have written.
9. At each meeting the student must also turn in
written work, usually critical book reviews.
Normally a reading course also includes one large
final paper but may also include turning in a first
draft of the paper for discussion.
10. Faculty members who lead reading courses
are not expected to prepare presentations or
necessarily read all the material read by the stu-
dent. They must however read and evaluate the
students’ writings.
11. At the end of the course the faculty member
must turn in to the ICRS office the syllabus of
the reading course, a record of the number of
meetings with the student and the final grade.

E. Core Doctoral Faculty of ICRS ICRS. See below,

1. The Core Doctoral Faculty (CDF) consists of
4. Chapter XVI for more information on the re-
those Doctoral Faculty members whose primary
sponsibilities of CDF members.
academic task is to work for ICRS.
5. Most CDF have a joint appointment between
2. CDF members receive between 50% and 100%
ICRS and one of the Departments (Faculties) of
of their salary from ICRS- Yogya, depending on
UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga or UKDW.
their contract.
6. Some CDF members may have full time positions
3. CDF members have offices at ICRS- Yogya and
only at ICRS without any responsibilities in other
spend at least twenty hours per week (depending
departments of UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga or
on the terms of their contract) in work related to
UKDW.
52 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
G. Adding and Dropping Courses
1. Students may add or drop courses without pen-
alty before the end of the 2nd week. If they add a
course, they are responsible to make up all the
work they have missed during the first 2 weeks.
rd th
2. From the 3 week up until the end of the 7 week
of the semester, students may withdraw from
courses or change their status from credit to au-
dit (with permission of the instructor). Adding
and dropping courses, and changes in status be-
tween credit and audit, are free for the first 2
weeks of class and will not be recorded on the
student’s transcript. From the beginning of the
3rd week until the end of the 7th week there is an
administrative fee of Rp.30,000 for each course
that is added, dropped (withdraw), or changed
between audit and credit.
th
3. After the 7 week of the semester, students may
not change their status in a course and all credit
students will eventually receive a grade that will
be recorded on their permanent transcript.
H. Grade Point Average Requirement
1. All students must maintain a Grade Point Aver-
age (GPA or IP) of at least 3.0 in order to remain
in the doctoral program. If a student’s GPA is
below 3.0 at the end of the first semester, they
will be put on probation.
2. If their GPA is still below 3.0 at the end of the
first year they will be dropped from the program,
I. Student Evaluations of Courses and
Instructors
1. ICRS lecturers will be given course evaluation
forms to give to their students at or before the
last class.
2. These forms must be filled out by students and
submitted to the ICRS office. These forms are
fully confidential and may not be given directly
to the lecturer(s).
3. The forms will be read by the Director and Asso-
ciate Director of ICRS, and used for evaluating
the course and its teachers.
4. Constructive criticisms from the course evalua-
tion forms may be passed on to the teacher(s) at
the discretion of the ICRS administration.
5. Lecturers may request to see the course evalua-
tions to help improve their courses.
J. Individual Reading Courses
1. Doctoral students during their first two years may
request an individualized reading course as part
of their 24 credits of minimum required
coursework.
2. The assumption behind a Reading Course is that
the student needs to take a course in preparation
for Comprehensive Examinations that is not of-
fered in any of the three universities.
3. Reading courses are especially important for for-
eign students who do not speak Indonesian and
cannot take most of the courses in the three uni-
versities that are offered in Indonesian.
4. Reading courses are normally for 3 credits and
should include more reading and writing than in
normal courses, in order to compensate for the
lack of lectures.
5. Students are responsible to design their own read-
ing course, with advice from the faculty member
overseeing the course, including suggesting books
that will be read and papers that will be written.
6. Students must find an appropriate faculty mem-
ber of the ICRS DF who agrees to guide the
CHAPTER 3. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACADEMIC STRUCTURES 25
7. CDF members are also members of the Doctoral
Faculty and Academic Council of ICRS.
8. Currently the Core Doctoral Faculty of ICRS in-
cludes:
· Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney- Risakotta, Religion,
Ethics and Social Science
· Dr. Siti Syamsiyatun, M.A. , Islamic Studies,
Gender and Interfaith Relations
· Dr. Wening Udasmoro, DEA, French Literary
& Social Theory, Gender, Religion
· Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D., Islamic Politics, Compara-
tive Politics
6. The Academic Council meets at least twice a year
F. The Doctoral Faculty and the Academic
and is responsible to discuss all matters of aca-
Council (Dewan Akademik)
demic policy and make recommendations to the
1. The Doctoral Faculty members are nominated by Board of Trustees (see the ICRS- Yogya Faculty
the ICRS Board from the three sponsoring uni- Handbook for more details).
versities.
7. The current (2012) Doctoral Faculty of ICRS and
2. Each university provides at least six faculty mem-
their areas of expertise are listed in the next sec-
bers, two for each of the three Academic Areas. tion.
Each Area must have a minimum of six Doc-
toral Faculty members.
G. The Committees
3. These are full time faculty members in their own Committees are normally appointed by the
departments. While their Departments acknowl- Board of Trustees, who are part of the Academic
edge and support their part time work with ICRS Council. There are three committees that meet rou-
(see MOU, Section 4, c,7), their primary respon- tinely and other committees that are formed and dis-
sibilities lies with their home departments. banded for limited times and purposes.
4. The Academic Council of ICRS- Yogya currently
a. The Admissions Committee (AC).
consists of 31 faculty members selected from the
The primary responsibility of the Admissions
three universities. All of the Doctoral Faculty hold
Committee is to make decisions on who is admitted
doctoral degrees from accredited universities and
into the Ph.D. program. The AC determines criteria
demonstrate academic integrity and capability for
and rules and regulations that govern the whole pro-
research.
cess of evaluating and choosing applicants. The AC
5. The ICRS Board of Trustees coordinates the se- also is in charge of the Pre-Ph.D. program and rec-
lection of Doctoral Faculty members to ensure ommends policies for recruitment of students to the
academic, religious, ethnic and gender balance. regular Ph.D. program, the Pre-Ph.D. pro- gram and
26 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
the exchange program with other universities. The
Admissions Committee includes faculty members
from all three universities.
b. The Financial Aid Committee (FAC).
The primary responsibility of the Financial Aid
Committee is to evaluate students’ applications for
financial aid and determine which students are eli-
gible for the various kinds of grants. The FAC also
evaluates special requests from students during the
year and when necessary meets with students who
have special needs.
c. The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC).
The primary responsibility of the AAC is to make
decisions about how to apply academic policy to
individual cases. In some situations the Academic
Affairs Commit- tee makes preliminary decisions be recorded as Inc/F. Students who successfully
that must be later approved by the Academic Coun- finish their Incompletes in time are eligible for
cil or the Board of Trustees. This committee func- any grade (from F to A).
tions like an Executive Committee to carry out the
9. The due date for all assignments must be no later
academic policies of ICRS. Currently the Academic
than the official last day of the semester. Grades
Committee includes all the Core Doctoral Faculty
are due from Instructors three weeks after the
of ICRS, plus the Registrar and faculty members rep-
last day of the semester.
resenting all three broad areas of academic focus
and all three universities. The AAC was appointed
by the Board of Trustees.
D. Class Size Limits
1. The maximum number of students who may en-
d. Other Committees. roll in an ICRS doctoral seminar or course is 20.
Other committees are formed and disbanded for
2. ICRS doctoral faculty members may request a
specific times and purposes. They include, for ex-
smaller limit, for example 10 or 15, for courses
ample, Committees for planning conferences, for
that require intensive interaction between all stu-
research, for Faculty Re- view, for fund raising, for
dents.
curriculum evaluation, for long range planning, etc.
3. If there are more than the maximum limit of stu-
dents who wish to enroll in a course, the students
will be accepted in the following order of prior-
ity:
a. First year, regular ICRS doctoral students
b. ICRS students in their 2nd, 3rd or 4th year
c. Foreign Exchange Students on an exchange
program with a partner institution
d. Doctoral students from other doctoral pro-
grams at UGM, UIN Suka or UKDW
e. Advanced Master’s students from CRCS (with
written approval of the lecturer)11
f. Advanced Master’s students from other pro-
grams at UGM, UIN or UKDW (with written
approval from the lecturer).
1
Advanced CRCS M.A. students may take ICRS-Yogya courses
for credit or audit if there is room in the class and they have
written permission from the lecturer. CRCS students have prior-
ity over students from other M.A. programs because the CRCS
program is in English and attracts more ICRS-Yogya students.
CHAPTER 8. ATTENDING DOCTORAL COURSES 51
4. Auditors are not permitted in classes that have
reached their maximum limit of students taking
the course for credit.
5. ICRS seminars and courses that have two or less
students enrolled for credit will be cancelled. They
may be replaced with a reading course.
6. Classes with only 3-4 students may be cancelled
at the discretion of the lecturer and administra-
tion of ICRS.
E. Auditing Policy
1. Auditors are encouraged to participate fully in
the class and complete all the assignments. Teach-
ers are not required to grade the work of auditors
unless they are willing to for the sake of the stu-
dent. However auditors do not receive a letter
grade and cannot change their status from audit
to credit after the 7th week of class.
2. Auditors are not permitted in classes that have
exceeded the maximum number of students.
F. Non-ICRS Students
1. Doctoral (S3) students from all the different fac-
ulties of UGM, UIN or UKDW are permitted to
enroll in ICRS courses without charge, as long as
the course does not exceed its maximum class
size.
2. Advanced M.A. students from UGM, UIN and
UKDW may also enroll for credit or audit, with-
out charge, as long as they have written permis-
sion from the lecturer and the class does not ex-
ceed its maximum limit.
3. Foreign Exchange Students, both from ICRS and
from other programs (such as CRCS), may also
enroll without charge, subject to the conditions
of permission from the lecturer, class size and
priority listed above.
50 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 27

7. Students should keep in mind that a full load for on their transcript and receive the grade points
a full time student at ICRS is 12 credits (4 courses) indicated. However if it is a required course for Name Chapter 4
per semester. Students who complain about too the student, s/he will have to take it again the Highest Degree

much work may be trying to take more than 4

courses, or they may still have substantial work
following year.
Field
Current Position
Institution
List of Faculty Members
responsibilities outside of ICRS. In that case, they
should probably only take 3 courses per semester
4. A student who receives a grade of C or C+ may,
at the sole option of the teachers, be given an
Department
Primary Research Interests & Their Research Interests
opportunity to revise her/his final paper or turn
and plan to take more courses in the summer or
in other uncompleted assignments. In that case,
in their second year.
the grade will be recorded as ‘Rev’. All revisions
8. Students whose TOEFL scores are still below 550 must be completed within one month of the end
are recommended to take 3 courses per semester of the semester. If the revisions are not com- A. ICRS Doctoral Faculty Members
and may not take more than 4 courses per semes- pleted, or do not raise the grade to the level of a 1. Prof. Dr. H.M. Amin Abdullah 5. Prof. Dr. Heddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra
ter. B- or above, the grade will be recorded on the Ph.D, Middle East Tech University Ph.D, Columbia University, New York
transcript as Rev/F, Rev/C or Rev/C+ (METU), Ankara, Turkey Anthropology
Islamic Philosophy Gadjah Mada University Faculty of Cul-
C. Grading 5. Students who are given an opportunity for revis- Rector State Islamic Univ. tural
1. The two teachers of a doctoral course at ICRS ing their paper or finishing assignments after the Sunan Kalijaga Philosophy, Faculty of Sciences Syncretism
will submit a single grade for each of the stu- end of the semester, usually should not receive a Ushuluddin
dents in the class. Methods of evaluation and Islamic Studies; Islamic Thought
grade higher than a B-, which will be recorded as
how the teachers determine a single grade for each Rev/B-, unless there are extenuating circum- 2. Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah 6. Dr. Syafa atun Almirzanah
student will vary from course to course. Ph.D., University of Amsterdam Social Ph.D., LST, Chicago
stances. Students are required to submit their Islam and Comparative Religion
Anthropology
2. ICRS uses a 4.0 standard for grading as follows: work in adequate academic English before the Head of Comparative Religious Studies
Lecturer of UGM Graduate School
end of the semester. Gadjah Mada University UGM Graduate State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
School Islamic Theology
Letter Grade Number 6. Students who receive a grade of B- or above may Comparative Mysticism
Grade Points Grade Religion & Disaster, gender
not be given a chance to revise their paper for a
higher grade after the end of the semester. Of 7. Dr. Sekar Ayu Aryani
A 4.00 91-100
course if they wish to revise and improve their 3. Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta Ph.D., State Islamic University Sunan
A- 3.70 86-90
Ph.D., GTU & UC Berkeley Kalijaga
B+ 3.30 81-85 paper with advice from the professor, they are Ethics and Social Science Psychology
B 3.00 71-80
welcome to do so, but their grade will remain the ICRS International Representive Vice Rector
B- 2.70 66-70
C+ 2.30 61-65 same. Gadjah Mada University/ UKDW UGM State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
C 2.00 51-60 Graduate School Islamic Theology
F 0.00 50 and below 7. Incompletes must be requested from the teacher/ Religion & Social Change in Indonesia Religious (and Inter-religious) Psychology
Au 0.00 Auditor (Pendengar) s by the last class meeting. Incompletes can only
Inc - Incomplete be granted to students who can demonstrate se- 8. Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir
w/d 0.00 withdrew before 4. Dr. Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta Ph. D, Indiana University, Bloomington,
the 7th week
rious problems that prevent them from complet- Anthropology, Social Science Indiana
Rev - Revision in process ing their work on time, such as serious illness, Head of the Institute for Research and History and Philosophy of Science
death of a loved one, a natural disaster or other Lecturer Duta Wacana Christian University Executive Director
serious circumstances beyond their control. Engineering (Teknik) Gadjah Mada University
Marginal Groups; Peace and Conflict Center for Religious and Cross-cultural
3. Please note that B- is the lowest passing grade. 8. Incompletes must be finished within 4 months Studies
Grades below B- (C+, C and F) will be recorded of the end of the semester. Otherwise they will Religion & Environment; Religion &
Science
28 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
9. Prof. Dr. Banawiratma
Dr., Innsbruck University, Austria
Theology
Lecturer
Duta Wacana Christianity University
Theology
Religion & Society; Contextual Theology
10. Dr. Jeanny Dhewayani
Ph.D., The Australian National University
Anthropology
Director, Int’l Relations & Human Re-
sources Duta Wacana Christian University
International Office, General Studies
Anthropology; Religion and Pop Culture
11. Prof. Dr. Syamsul Hadi
Ph.D., Gadjah Mada University Arabic
Linguistics
Professor
Gadjah Mada University Faculty of Cul-
tural Sciences
Arabic Language and Literature
12. Dr. Fatimah Husein
Ph.D., University of Melbourne Islam and
Inter-religious Dialogue Lecturer
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Islamic Philosophy
Islamic Philosophy; Inter-religious Studies
13. Dr. Moch Nur Ichwan
Ph. D., Tilburg University Theology and
Religious Studies Lecturer
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Qur’anic Studies
Hermeneutics, Issues on State and Politics
14. Dr. P.M. Laksono
Ph. D., Cornell University
Anthropology
Lecturer
Gadjah Mada University
Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Science
Anthropology of Eastern Indonesia
15. Prof. Dr. M. Machasin
Ph.D., University of Leiden Islamic Studies
General Director of Islamic Education,
Dept. of Religion of Indonesia
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga/
DepAg
Islamic History and Civilization
History of Islamic Civilization (Islamic
Thought)
16. Prof. Dr. Akh. Minhaji
Ph.D., McGill University Islamic law
Professor
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Islamic Law
Social History of Islamic Thought
17. Prof. Dr. Achmad Mursyidi
Ph.D., University of New South Wales,
Australia
Pharmacy
Former Director of CRCS Gadjah Mada
University
Center for Religious and Cross-cultural
Studies
Pharmacy; Islamic Studies
18. Prof. Dr.Phil. M. Nur Kholis Setiawan
Ph.D. University of Bunn, the Netherland
Quranic Studies
Lecturer
State Islamic university
Graduate School
Hermeneutics; Quranic Studies
19. Dr. Robert Setio
Ph.D., University of Glasgow, Scotland,
U.K. Biblical Studies
Lecturer
Duta Wacana Christian University
Theology
Biblical Hermeneutics (esp. Post-modern
Theories)
due date. Teachers are strongly recommended to
prepare physical copies of all required readings
and give them to the students at or before the
first class for photocopying. If possible, loose
articles and excerpted chapters from books should
be gathered into a reader for ease of access. One
student in the class should prepare the reader and
may credit the time spent as work study hours.
4. Syllabi for ICRS doctoral courses should include
the following elements:
a. A brief statement of the course objectives.
b. A clear list of course requirements, including
a clear description of the requirement, due
dates, page lengths and how the students will
be graded on each requirement, (e.g. Class
participation 10%, Class Report 20%, Mid-
term Examination 30%, Final Paper 40%).
c. A detailed schedule of classes, including dates,
the topics covered at each class and required
readings that must be read before the class.
d. A list of books and articles that are required
reading for the class (approximately 50-100
pages per week x 13 weeks9= 650 to 1,300
pages total.
e. A bibliography of recommended readings
B. Requirements for Student Assignments
1. Students are expected to spend at least two hours
of preparation for every academic hour of class.
In other words, for a three credit class, they should
spend an average of 6 hours per week in prepara-
tion.
9
This assumes 14 class meetings. There are normally no re-
quired readings before the first class.
10
Doctoral courses in the top universities in other countries
often assign 100-200 pages per week. However, the students are
often overburdened and seldom read all the assignments.
CHAPTER 8. ATTENDING DOCTORAL COURSES 49
2. A rough guide for reading requirements for doc-
toral students at ICRS is: 30 pages of required
reading per credit per week, i.e. 90 pages per week
for a 3 credit course. In light of the different lev-
els of difficulty of the readings, and that most
students are reading in a foreign language, we rec-
ommend that students be assigned 50-100 pages
a week in a 3 credit doctoral seminar or course.10
3. A rough guide for writing assignments for doc-
toral students at ICRS is: 10 pages, double spaced,
of written assignments per credit, per semester,
i.e., a total of 30 pages, double spaced, of writ-
ten assignments per semester for one, 3 credit
doctoral seminar. These might be divided, for
example, into a 5 page in-class report, 10-15 pages
of weekly critical reflections on the required read-
ings, and a 10-15 page final paper.
4. The actual number of pages assigned as required
readings, as well as the number of pages of writ-
ten assignments, is at the discretion of the teacher
and may vary from course to course.
5. Students should remember that reading and writ-
ten assignments are a gift. If a lecturer does not
give sufficient, excellent readings from the very
best authors in the field, students will be cheated
out of learning from the masters (male and fe-
male).
6. Written assignments should always be designed
to develop the students’ critical skills and not just
repeat back information they have read or heard
in class. In a good course, students may learn
more from the process of their own writing, than
they learn from the lectures and readings. When
students write creatively and critically, they inte-
grate what they have heard in class and read in
books, into a form of knowledge that is integrated
with the rest of their knowledge. That does not
happen if they just repeat what the “experts” say.
48 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
20. Prof. Dr. E. Gerrit Singgih
Ph. D., University of Glasgow, Scotland,
Chapter 8 U.K Biblical Interpretation
Lecturer
Attending Doctoral Courses Duta Wacana Christian University
Theology
Theology of Disaster; Indonesian Theol-
ogy
21. Prof. Dr. Siti Chamamah Soeratno
Dr, Gadjah Mada University
Culture Sciences
Lecturer
Gadjah Mada University
Cultural Sciences
Literary Studies; Philology (Arabic); Meth-
odology; Hermeneutics
22. Prof. Dr. Djoko Suryo
Ph.D., Monash University, Australia
History
Head of Faculty Academic Senate
Gadjah Mada University
Cultural Sciences, History of Southeast Asia
23. Siti Syamsiyatun, MA, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Monash University, Australia
Religion and Gender
Director
Indonesian Consortium for Religious
Studies
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Religion and Gender
2. Lecturers will submit their syllabus to the ICRS 24. Dr. Sahiron Syamsuddin
A. The Syllabus and Required Readings
Ph. D, University of Bamberg, Germany
office at least one week before the first week of
1. The two teachers of a doctoral course at ICRS Qur’anic Studies
classes so that students can consult the syllabus
will prepare a single, unified syllabus before the Lecturer
course begins, that is handed out to the students as they choose which courses in which to enroll. State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
The ICRS office will photocopy syllabi for stu- Tafsir & Hadits, Faculty of Ushuluddin
at the first class meeting. Revisions to the sylla-
dents free of charge. Qur’anic Studies; Philosophical Hermeneu-
bus can be made at any time during the semester tics
as long as students are given adequate lead time 3. Lecturers should ensure that all required read-
to adjust to changes. ings are available to the students well before their
CHAPTER 4. LIST OF FACULTY MEMBERS & THEIR RESEARCH INTERESTS 29
25. Dr. Wening Udasmoro
Ph. D., University of Geneva
French Literary and Social Theory, Gender
Lecturer, Head of Area
Associate Director
Indonesian Consortium for Religious
Studies
Gender Studies
26. Dr. Paulus Widjaja
Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary
Peace and Conflict Studies, Disaster
Head of PSPP (Peace Development
Studies) Duta Wacana Christianity Univer-
sity
Theology, Social Ethics and Peace Studies
26. Dr. Yahya Wijaya
Ph. D., the University of Leeds Social and
Professional
Ethics
Lecturer
Duta Wacana Christianity University
Theology
Theology and Economy
27. Prof. Dr. Iskandar Zulkarnain
Ph.D., UIN Syahid, Jakarta
Islamic Studies
Director of the Graduate Program
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Graduate Program
Islamic Theology, Ahmadiyah
28. Dr. Sri Margana
Ph.D. Candidate
Leiden University, Netherland
Lecturer
Gadjah Mada University
History
30 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL COSTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS 47

29. Prof. Dr. Umar Anggara Jenie 5. Contract ition, living allowance, books, etc
Ph.D. Australian National University, a. Applicants who are offered scholarships
Canberra, Australia c. This requirement does not apply to people who
through ICRS must sign a contract that they
Lecturer drop out because:
Gadjah Mada University
intend to study full time and finish the Ph.D.
Farmacy program at ICRS. G
Of a major personal or family crisis

b. Students who drop out voluntarily in order to

G Failure to pass academic requirements such
take a job or enter another program are re- as required courses, language requirements,
quired to repay all of the scholarship funds Comprehensive Examination or Disserta-
30. Prof. Dr. Ratno Lukito
they have received from ICRS, including tu- tion Orals.
Ph.D. Mc Gill University Lecturer
State Islamic University
Islamic Law

31. Dr. Agus Nuryatno

Ph.D. McGill University Lecturer
State Islamic University
Islamic Education

G
Dennis McCann, Social Ethics, Hong Kong Bap-
tist University, Hong Kong
B. Visiting Scholars and Faculty 2007 to 2012
G Elaine Kay Swartzentruber*, Religion & Hospi-
The following is a list of visiting scholars who visited
tality, MCC, USA
ICRS and taught a course or gave a lecture at ICRS- Yogya G Farid Esack*, Islam & HIV/AIDS, Harvard U.,
and CRCS during 2007-2012:
USA & Capetown, S. Africa
G Abdullahi An-Na’im, Human Rights, Islam and Law, G Farish Noor, Radical Islamic Movements in Asia,
Emory University, USA Nanyang Tech. U., Singapore
G Alwi Shihab, Islam & Peace in Indonesia, Presidential G
Florian Pohl*, Islamic Education in Indonesia,
Envoy to Middle East, Jakarta Emory University, USA
G Anthony Reid, History of Indonesia, Aceh, Nat’l Univ. G Frans Huskens, Anthropology of Java, Radboud
of Singapore U. of Nijmegen, Netherlands
G Ariel Heryanto, Religion & Popular Culture, Melbourne G Haidar Bagir, Religion and Media, Mizan Publish-
U., Australia ers, Jakarta
G
Bruce Lawrence*, Islamic Studies, Duke University, G Heidi Hadsell, Social Ethics, Hartford Seminary,
Durham, NC, USA Hartford, CT, USA
G Carolina Lopez, University of Malaya, Malaysia G John Raines*, Inter-Religious Social Ethics,
G Christine Gudorf*, Medical Ethics, Catholic Soc. Temple U, Philadelphia, USA
Thought, Florida Int’l U, USA G
Lawrence Yoder*, History of Christianity in Java,
46 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Indonesian students from Ford Foundation,
IIEF and UB for South-South exchanges
and scholarships from the Henry Luce Foun-
dation for exchanges with universities in the
United States.
G Grants from the Indonesian government (Minis-
try of Education and Culture; and Ministry
of Religion). Students apply directly for
these grants but the application is submit-
ted through ICRS and UGM. These grants
often require a recommendation from the
student’s sponsoring institution.
G Grants from sponsoring educational institu-
4. Student Loan Fund
tions, foundations, governments or private
businesses that students are awarded
through their own initiative. ICRS will pro-
vide advice and letters of support, but stu-
dents apply themselves for these grants.
G Grants from ICRS. ICRS is building an en-
dowment fund for student scholarships,
however at present only small amounts are
available for scholarships.
b. Since the estimated cost of the program for
Indonesian students including living, travel
and sandwich program costs, is approximately
$27,376., this means that students need
supplementary sources of income.
3. Work-Study Funds
a. In response to urgent student needs, ICRS has
established a Work-Study Fund to help stu-
dents who need supplementary monthly sup-
port.
b. Students must work for these funds at a vari-
ety of tasks including:
G Writing articles for local, national and in-
ternational publications
G Writing reports and items for the ICRS
website
G Editing and translating publications for
ICRS
G
Working as a Research Assistant to an ICRS
lecturer
G Working as a Teaching Assistant in an ICRS
class
G Other workstudy that design by ICRS Di-
rectors
c. Students can earn up to Rp. 2,000, 000. per
month under work study
a. ICRS has a modest, revolving Student Loan
Fund. Any student with urgent financial needs
can apply to the FAC for a loan.
b. The most common loans are advances on
scholarship funds. If a student has a sudden
urgent need that s/he cannot pay, s/he may
request a loan that will be paid back by
monthly deductions from his/her scholarship
living allowance.
c. A common example is if a student must pay a
year’s rent at the beginning, it is reasonable to
request a part of their monthly living allow-
ance in a lump sum at the beginning.
d. Students may apply for a loan for any purpose
that is urgently needed to support their Ph.D.
studies, if they can show reasonable ability to
pay it back. Loans are not grants and must be
paid back so that other students can benefit
from the fund.
e. Since the Student Loan Fund is very limited,
the FAC will not approve loans related to fam-
ily support or any matters that are not directly
related to their Ph.D. program.
CHAPTER 4. LIST OF FACULTY MEMBERS & THEIR RESEARCH INTERESTS 31
Eastern Mennonite U., USA cal Seminary, California, USA
G
Lily Zakiah Munir, Islam, Gender & Justice, UIN, G
Miguel De La Torre*, Post-colonial Theology,
Jakarta Tanesse, USA
G Mark Woodward*, Islam on Java, Arizona State G Christoph Stueckelberger, Social and Business
University, USA Ethics, Basel University, Switzerland
G Maznah Mohamad, Social Science researcher, G June McDaniel (The College of Charleston, Vir-
National University of Singapore ginia, USA).
G
Merle Ricklef, History of Religion in SE Asia, G
Gholamreza Avani (Iranian Institute of Philoso-
Nat’l Univ. of Singapore phy, Iran)
G Michael Northcott, Religion and Environment, G Mohsen Javadi (Islamic College for Advanced
University of Edinburgh, UK Studies (ICAS), Jakarta)
G
Munir Jiwa, Islam & Culture in America, GTU, G
Whitney Bouman (Florida International Univer-
Berkeley, USA sity, USA)
G Nasr Hamid Abu-Zayd, Islamic Studies, Univer-
sity of Leiden, Netherlands
* Names with an asterix (*) taught at least one gradu-
G
Nawal Ammar, Islam, Gender & Law, Kent State,
ate course at ICRS/CRCS.
USA
G Nelly van Doorn*, Islam, Gender, Egypt, Indone-
sia, Valparaisa Univ., USA
G
Paul N. Knitter*, Inter-Religious Dialogue, Union
Theol. Sem., New York, USA
G Peter Carey, Oxford University, USA
G Phil Enns, Philosophy and Religion, MCC, USA
G Reuven Firestone, University of Southern Cali-
fornia, USA
G Rita Gross, Buddhism, Gender, Environment,
Wisconsin, USA
G Robert Hefner, Boston University, USA
G
Simon Rae*, Theology & Religion, Indonesia,
University Otago, New Zealand
G Syafi’i Ma’arif, Islam & Multiculturalism,
Muhammadiyah, Yogyakarta
G St. Sunardi, Culture, Postmodernism & Religion,
Sanata Dharma University, Indonesia
G Tavivat Puntarigvivat, Reform Movements in
Buddhism, Mahidol U. Thailand
G Toru Aoyama, History of Southeast Asia, Tokyo
University, Japan
G
Valliamal Baskaran, Lady Doak University, India
G William Dyrness, Religion & Art, Fuller Theologi-
32 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Chapter 5
Academic Freedom, Academic
Responsibility and Code of Ethics
Henry Luce Exchange Students visit the Syailendra Buddhist School in Salatiga, 2009
A. Academic Freedom at ICRS
1. ICRS fully subscribes to the Statements on Aca-
demic Freedom of UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga
and UKDW.
2. Responsible academic freedom is one of the prin-
ciple foundations for academic integrity and ex-
cellence in scientific research.
H. Financial Aid
1. General
a. International quality doctoral education is ex-
pensive and beyond the financial reach of most
Indonesian students. We encourage all quali-
fied students to apply to ICRS regardless of
their financial situation. ICRS seeks excel-
lent students with the assumption that we will
help them find financial support for their edu-
cation.
b. We especially encourage applicants from
women and other under-represented groups.
c. ICRS cannot guarantee funding but works with
students to locate and obtain at least partial
scholarships for all qualified students who are
accepted into the program.
d. In addition, ICRS provides basic funding for
all Indonesian students’ five-month sandwich
program in a foreign university (for those who
qualify).
e. The Ph.D. program at ICRS is very inexpen-
sive by international standards. This makes
the international doctoral program at ICRS
very attractive to international funding agen-
cies. In 2008-12 ICRS provided substantial fi-
nancial support for all Indonesian students
accepted into the program. We were able to
offer full scholarships for a number of Asian
foreign students and partial scholarships for
four other foreign students from America,
Europe and the Middle East.
3. Academic freedom is essentially the freedom to
f. Funding sources that have or may provide
seek the truth, no matter how unpopular it may
scholarships for ICRS doctoral students in-
be, or how much it offends the dominant ortho-
clude:
doxy of the current majority or of those who hold
G Bank Rakyat Indonesia
positions of authority.
G
BPPS (Indonesian Department of Higher
4. Academic freedom is specifically related to the Education -DIKTI)
context of the university and is vitally important
CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL COSTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS 45
G Cheng Ho Multi-culture Trust
G Department of Religion (Depag)
G Duta Wacana Christian University
G
Ford Foundation
G
G
Fullbright
Gadjah Mada University
G The Henry Luce Foundation
G IIEF (Indonesian International Education
Foundation)
G The Tokyo Foundation
G UIN Sunan Kalijaga
G United Board (UBCHEA)
g. There are many other organizations, in addi-
tion to these funding agencies, which provide
grants for students. ICRS applicants are en-
couraged to contact their sponsoring organi-
zation or other funding agencies which can
help support their doctoral studies.
h. All decisions regarding financial aid at ICRS
are made by the Financial Aid Committee
(FAC), chaired by the Associate Director of
ICRS. Requests, questions and other matters
related to Financial Aid should be addressed
to the Financial Aid Committee.
i. There are three kinds of financial aid at ICRS:
scholarship grants, work study funds and stu-
dent loans or advances.
2. Scholarships grants
a. There are four categories of scholarship grants:
G Grants from private, international and na-
tional funding agencies that are adminis-
trated by ICRS. These are generally for a
fixed amount and a specific number of stu-
dents who are either chosen by ICRS or
picked by the funding agency. For the sand-
wich program we provide scholarships for
44 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
G. Estimated Costs for One Foreign Doctoral Program for 4 years
(Assuming no sandwich program)
Item
1. Institutional Expenses
Application fee (non-refundable)
Full Tuition per semester (8semesters)
Student services/health insurance fee
Graduation/Dissertation fee (1 time only)
Subtotal of basic institutional expenses for 4 years of doctoral study:
2. Basic Living Expenses in Yogyakarta
Books (local X 7 semesters)
International books
Living costs in Yogya
8
(Rp. 2,500,000 per month X 48 months)
Subtotal of basic living expenses in Yogya for 4 years:
Grand Total for 4 year Doctorate in Yogyakarta (Foreign tuition): $ 34,823.
Average costs per year: US$ 8,705.
8
Some foreign students may find this amount too little and would be safer to estimate $200 per month.
CHAPTER 5. ACADEMIC FREEDOM, ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY AND CODE OF ETHICS
at the level of doctoral education and research.
Responsible doctoral education and research re-
quires freedom from pressure to conform to a
preconceived orthodoxy such as a particular so-
Rupiah US Dollar $ Total
cial, political, scientific, religious or ideological
Per Sem/6 months Per Sem 4 years
theory.
5. Academic freedom is the freedom for all faculty,
once $ 100. students and staff of ICRS to hold and express
$2,400. $ 19,200. their own opinions on any and all matters, large
Rp. 600,000. $ 67. $ 536. or small, consistent with their own conscience
Rp. 2,000,000. once $ 222. and sincere convictions.
$20,058.
6. Freedom includes freedom from coercion or pres-
sure to change your opinions because they do not
agree with someone else’s opinions. This includes
Rp. 1,200,000 $ 133. $ 931.
freedom from religious, social, economic or po-
$ 500.
litical pressure to conform to the opinions of oth-
Rp. 15, 000,000 $ 1,667. $ 13,334.
ers, especially those who are in positions of
power. For example, students should not be
$ 14,765.
forced to follow the same religious or social sci-
entific approach as their teachers in order to re-
ceive a good grade.
7. Freedom includes intellectual freedom to follow
unpopular theories or explore “forbidden” areas
of inquiry. It includes religious freedom to hold
beliefs that are unapproved or even labeled he-
retical. It includes social freedom to conform or
not conform to a narrow definition of respect-
able behavior.
B. Academic, Social and Political
Responsibility
1. Academic freedom is based on academic, social
and political responsibility. Academic freedom
cannot exist without trust and the mature respon-
sible use of freedom by staff, students and fac-
ulty members. If freedoms are abused, they will
be curtailed. ICRS operates on an honor (hormat)
system based on trust. We do not monitor all the
33
behavior of students, staff or faculty but rather
assume they will meet their academic, social and
political responsibilities, especially as outlined in
this Hand- book.
2. Responsibilities include following the Code of
Ethics outlined below.
3. Social responsibilities include respecting the opin-
ions and practices of people from different cul-
tural, social, religious, ethnic and national back-
ground. Part of respect is to modify your own
behavior and speech to avoid offending the con-
victions or practices of others. It also requires
refraining from harsh criticism of those who of-
fend one’s own convictions or practices.
4. Political responsibility means full participation in
the activities of ICRS- Yogya within the struc-
ture of rules and relationships set up within ICRS-
Yogya. Among other things, that implies respect-
ing the leadership and obeying the rules of ICRS.
C. Code of Ethics
1. ICRS subscribes to the code of ethics of UGM,
UIN Sunan Kalijaga and UKDW.
2. This code of ethics is not intended to replace the
codes of ethics of the three universities, but
rather supplement them. This code of ethics is
not intended to be complete, absolute or exhaus-
tive. It may be supplemented or revised at any
time by the Board of Trustees with input from
the Academic Council.
This code of ethics is summarized in three prin-
ciples: honesty, respect & fairness. Honesty in-
cludes the following:
· Integrity: displaying the qualities of character
of a person who can be trusted
· No toleration for plagiarism. Plagiarism in-
34 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
3. Respect includes respect for structures and rules,
4. Respect, especially in the context of Indonesian
5. Fairness does not necessarily mean treating ev-
cludes, for example, a professor who publishes
an article based on his/her students work with-
out giving credit; or a student who hands in a
paper in which there are sentences, paragraphs,
pages, or even the whole paper, that were not
written by the student but rather copied from
another source.
CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL COSTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS 43
· Honesty requires completing all the work re- F. Estimated Costs2 for One Indonesian Doctoral Program for 4 years
quired for a course without, for example, turn-
ing in a paper that was actually written for an-
Item Rupiah US Dollar $ Total
other course or another context.
Per Sem/6 months Per Sem 4 years
· Not deceiving ones students, teachers or col-
leagues about fulfilling the requirements of a 1. Institutional Expenses
given task. Application fee (non-refundable) Rp. 750,000.once $ 85.
· Not offering or accepting gifts in exchange for Full Tuition per semester (8 semesters) Rp.12,000,000. $ 1,333. $ 10,667.
services that are meant to be free. Student services/health insurance fee Rp. 600,000. $ 67. $ 536.
Graduation/Dissertation fee (1 time only) Rp. 2,000,000. once $ 222.
Subtotal of basic institutional expenses for 4 years of doctoral study: $ 11,510.
and respect for people. Respect and honesty to-
gether prevent all kinds of manipulation and/or 2. Basic Living Expenses in Yogyakarta
corruption, including words or actions that dis- Books (local x 7 semesters) Rp. 1,200,000 $ 133. $ 931.
play negative prejudice against people of a par- Modest Living costs in Yogya Rp. 15,000,000 $ 1,667. $ 11,945.
ticular religion, gender, ideology, race or ethnic (Rp. 2,500,000per month X 43 months)
background. Subtotal of basic living expenses in Yogya for 3 years 7 months: $12,876.
3. Basic Travel and Living Expenses for 5 Months at a Foreign University3
culture, means speaking gently and respectfully
Round Trip Travel Expenses (including visa, taxes, etc.) $ 2,500.
to other people, even when we are expressing dis-
Room and board ($1,200/month X 5 months) $ 6,000.
agreement or criticism.
Local transportation & misc. ($120 per month X 5 months) $ 600.
Health insurance ($200 per month X 5 months) $ 1,000.
eryone the same. But it does require not discrimi- Books $ 500.
nating against people who are different from us. Tuition free
For example, faculty members should avoid giv-
ing higher grades to those who agree with their Subtotal for 6 months at a foreign university: $ 10,600.
own opinion, are from their own race, religion,
gender or political persuasion. Grand Total for 4 year Doctoral Program including 6 months abroad: $34,986.
Average costs per year: US $ 8,746.
1
Some foreign students may find this amount too little and would be safer to estimate $200 per month.
2
The costs of 5 months at a foreign university vary according to the country, the city and the university chosen. They are also affected
by whether the partner university supplies free or subsidized housing. The estimate given here is considered an average. Some places will
be more or less expensive.
42 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
C. Health Care and Insurance
Yogyakarta has excellent health care facilities1
with many good hospitals and doctors in almost ev-
ery area of specialization. ICRS requires all students
to have basic health insurance, the cost of which is
covered by a Student Services/Health Insurance Fee
of IDR 600,000. ($66) per semester). This insur-
ance covers limited hospitalization in Yogyakarta.
It does not cover the cost of medications, long term
hospitalization or first class treatment outside of
Yogyakarta. In addition students have access to
the UKDW clinic which includes free consultation
with a doctor and free common medications.
D. The Sandwich Program
1. The Sandwich program is the most expensive part
of the ICRS doctoral program.
2. ICRS has negotiated tuition waivers with major
foreign universities so that ICRS students can
spend one semester there free of tuition. Doc-
toral tuition in some of these universities is over
US$20,000. for one semester.
3. Even assuming free tuition, the 4-6 months pro-
gram in a foreign country costs almost as much
as the other three and a half years of study in
Yogyakarta.
4. Foreign students who stay in Yogyakarta rather
than go on a sandwich program may use the time
to study Indonesian language and culture, take
further courses in the 3 universities or do reading
courses in preparation for their Comprehensive
Examinations.
5 Health care facilities and doctors in Yogyakarta are excellent
by Indonesian standards. However some people may consider
them inferior to health care available in more wealthy countries.
35
5. Only Students who have passed their Compre-
hensive Examinations may apply to their sand-
wich program. Chapter 6
E. Essential Tools, Field and Library
Research
Student Admission
1. The calculated expenses of the ICRS 4-year doc-
toral program (below) do not include any funds
for essential tools such as a laptop computer, soft-
ware and printer. ICRS provides several comput-
ers for ICRS students to share in the study lounge,
including free internet access. However ICRS
expects doctoral students to find the resources
to purchase their own computers.
2. The calculated expenses below also do not in-
clude any funds for field research or travel to spe-
cial libraries or archives as part of their research,
especially during their third or fourth year.
3. There are a variety of organizations that provide
special funding for research, including doctoral
dissertation research. ICRS will help ICRS stu-
dents locate appropriate funding agencies that are
consonant with the student’s research design.
4. In some cases, ICRS Doctoral Faculty may de-
sign a larger research project that includes fund-
ing for doctoral student research.
5. Some research designs do not require extra ex-
pense. Students are responsible for finding the
funding necessary to complete their research.
ICRS Students Batch 2011
A. Application 2. New students are accepted into ICRS only once
1. To ensure academic quality, the ICRS Ph.D. pro- a year, beginning in the first semester of the aca-
gram will limit enrollment and only accept the demic year that begins at the end of August or
best of students. The admissions committee will early September.
strive for balance based on religion, gender, eth-
3. Applications are accepted all year around.
nic diversity and area of interest. We aim to en-
roll 10-13 students per year. 4. The final deadline for international applicants and
36 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
students with TOEFL score 425-525 is at the
end of March of the year prior to the Semester
that begins in September. The Admissions Com-
mittee will meet to evaluate applications in March.
Applications must include all supporting docu-
ments, including official current TOEFL scores.
5. Applications for BPPS scholarships from DIKTI
must be submitted by April, and for BBP schol-
arships from DIKTIS by May (tentatively). In-
formation may be found at www.dikti.go.id
(BPPS), and www.kemenag.go.id (BS).
6. ICRS especially encourages applications from
minority religious and ethnic groups, students
from conflict area, and from women.
B. Requirements & Procedures for
Admission
1. Applicants must pay a non-refundable applica-
tion fee of IDR 750, 000, 00 for Indonesian Ap-
plicants or USD 100 for Foreign Applicants. Pay-
ments should be transferred as follows:
INDONESIAN APPLICANTS:
Please transfer to BNI Bank by using a code 3333
followed by your date of birth (for example,
333303111980). When your payment is successful,
you will receive a password in the receipt by which
you may then fill in the online application form. If
you are non-BPPS applicant and apply before the
scholarship is open, please pay through: ICRS Yogya
- BNI 46, UGM, 0153293070
2. Applicants (INDONESIAN ONLY) go to
<http://um.ugm.ac.id> and fill out the applica-
tion form by using the password they receive
during the payment of the admission fee (NOTE:
ICRS is listed as INTER-RELIGIOUS STUD-
IES). For foreign applicants, please go directly
to the item (3).
3. To be considered, All Applicants should
a. Fill out in English an ICRS application form
that includes writing a 1-2 page personal state-
ment and a brief research proposal (no more
than 4000 words). See the application form
for more detail, which is downloadable at
<www.icrs.ugm.ac.id>
b. Submit complete validated copies of official
diplomas and transcripts from all institutions
of higher education that you have attended.
For their second degree (S2), applicants should
have a grade point average (GPA or IPK) of
at least 3.40. In light of different grading stan-
dards of different institutions we will consider
applicants whose S2 GPA is 3.25 or above on
a 4.0 scale.
c. Submit Institutional (ITP) or International
TOEFL scores of at least 550 from UGM or
other official language centers (for Indonesian
applicants, please see http://um5.ugm.ac.id/
index.php/page/179). Applicants with scores
FOREIGN APPLICANTS:
Please transfer to:
Account Name: ICRS-Yogya Account
Number: 200329695
Bank : Bank BNI 46, Branch Gadjah
Mada University
Jl. Persatuan No. 1 Bulaksumur,
YogyakartaSWIFT
Code: BNINIDJAXXX
above 500 may be considered. The TOEFL
scores must be less than two years old. If a
student is accepted with a TOEFL of less than
550, they must take intensive English classes
and may not take their Comprehensive Exami-
nations before achieving a TOEFL score of
at least 550. TOEFL requirements may be
41
Chapter 7
Financial Costs and
Scholarships
A. Registration and Tuition
Students apply to and register with DAA UGM
and ICRS. All doctoral students registered with ICRS
will be registered as official doctoral students in the
Graduate School at Universitas Gadjah Mada and
have access to doctoral seminars or classes at all three
universities. An application fee of IDR750,000 (non-
refundable) for Indonesian students is paid to ICRS.
The application fee for foreign students is US$100.
Full tuition for the academic year 2012-2013 is
IDR 12 million per semester, per Indonesian student
and US$2,400 per semester for foreign students.
From their full tuition fees, ICRS pays IDR 3 mil-
lion per student per semester to UGM, UIN and is IDR 2,500,000. (US$275) per month. Housing
UKDW (IDR 1 million to each), as an institutional alone per month ranges from around IDR 300,000
fee. Foreign exchange students do not pay tuition ($33) to around IDR 3,000,000 ($330) per month or
fees, as long as they are paying tuition to their home more. Few students cook for themselves because
institution and there is a written agreement from their very inexpensive, delicious food is available from
institution to grant similar privileges of free tuition numerous food stalls and inexpensive restaurants
to exchange students from ICRS. throughout the city. Sometimes meals are included
with rent. While some dormitory space is avail-
B. Living Costs in Yogyakarta able, most students live in privately rented houses,
Yogyakarta is one of the most inexpensive and rooms rented from local people or with families.
pleasant places to live in the world. Some students Transportation by bicycle, pedicab, horse cart, bus,
in Yogyakarta survive on IDR 2,000,000. per month motorcycle or taxi is also very inexpensive. The liv-
(US$220), including room and board. A reasonable ing costs estimated below are considered adequate
estimate for modest living costs for a single student for simple living in Yogyakarta.
40 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
means of preparing themselves for another substituted with equivalent scores from IELTS
doctoral program or for employment. (6.5 = 550, minimum 6.0 for consideration).
d. (INDONESIAN ONLY) submit a score of
TPA (Tes Potensi Akademik) at least 500 from
E. Deadlines:
a certified center (Bappenas, Puspendik Litbang
Diknas and UGM). If applicants do not have
March 31 Deadline for International applicants & applicants with ITP TOEFL score below 525 the score during the application, they must take
a TPA test conducted by DAA (Directorate
April 21 Deadline for applications to BPPS scholarships* of Academic Administration) of UGM.
April 30 Announcement of those accepted to the Ph.D. program and those invited to the Pre- e. Native English speakers and those who are
Ph.D. Program considered as “Native English Speakers” are
not required to submit TOEFL scores. How-
May 31 Deadline for applications to the Pre-Ph.D. Program
ever, they are encouraged (not required) to
May 31 Deadline for applications to BS scholarships* submit recent scores from the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) or a similar standardized
June 15 Deadline for applicants with ITP TOEFL score above 525 test from their native country.
August 27 Registration & orientation (Ph.D. & Pre-Ph.D. students) f. Submit three letters of recommendation, in-
cluding at least two from professors (dosen)
* Subject to change; www.dikti.go.id (BPPS), and www.kemenag.go.id (BS). In addition to the requirements of each who are qualified to evaluate your academic
scholarship, applicants must fulfill the ICRS requirements and procedures for ICRS Admission.
achievements and potential. The letters must
be on recommendation forms provided by
ICRS and sent directly by the recommenders
to ICRS office or through email:
admission_icrs@ugm.ac.id.
g. Students who intend to focus their study on
textual research must show competence in at
least one of the relevant language(s) of their
chosen research (eg. Arabic, Greek, Hebrew,
Sanskrit, Pali, old Javanese, etc.). Applicants
may petition to have another scriptural lan-
guage included to fulfill this requirement.
h. Applicants for an ICRS scholarship must fill
out a separate financial aid form that must be
submitted along with the application.
4. Submit one hard copy of your application to the
ICRS office: Academic Officer/Registrar ICRS,
a Ph.D. Program in Inter-religious Studies Lt. 3,
CHAPTER 6. STUDENT ADMISSION 37
Gedung Sekolah Pascasarjana UGM Jln. Teknika
Utara Pogung Yogyakarta Telp/fax: +62 274 562
570 and its soft file (pdf. format is preferred) to
admission_icrs@ugm.ac.id
5. Submit two copies of your application to
Administrasi Program Pascasarjana, Direktorat
Administrasi Akademik; Kantor Pusat UGM, lt.
1, Sayap Selatan, Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta –
55281.
6. Late applications will not be considered.
7. Applicant will be notified if an interview is
needed.
C. Acceptance into ICRS
1. All international applicants will be notified of
whether or not they are accepted as soon as pos-
sible after March.
2. Successful applicants must respond in writing as
soon as possible, but no later than one week af-
ter they receive notice of their acceptance, that:
a. They accept or reject the position offered as a
student at ICRS;
b. That their acceptance is, or is not, contingent
on receiving a scholarship of at least
US$18,000.
c. That their acceptance is or is not contingent
on receiving at least a partial scholarship cov-
ering the 4 years of tuition ($7,000 for Indo-
nesians, $12,000 for foreign students).
d. That they understand the ICRS Ph.D. program
requires four years of
full time study including at least two years resi-
dent in Yogyakarta; students must be resident
in Yogyakarta at least until they pass their
Comprehensive Exam.
38 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
e. That (for Indonesians), they must participate
in a sandwich program with a university in
another country for 4-6 months (subject to
funding).
3. Applicants who give conditional acceptance, con-
tingent on a full scholarship, may be dropped and
their position offered to another applicant, if they
are not awarded a full scholarship through ICRS.
Similarly, students whose acceptance is contin-
gent on a partial scholarship may be dropped if
ICRS does not offer them a partial scholarship.
4. On the other hand, applicants who uncondition-
ally accept the position offered to them at ICRS
(not contingent on a scholarship), are still eligible
to be considered for scholarships. In addition to
consideration for ICRS administered scholarships
(such as from Ford, IIEF or United Board), ICRS
will help all students to apply for various other
kinds of scholarships (see below for details).
Unconditional acceptance means the student ac-
cepts full responsibility to find (with help from
ICRS) the resources to cover the cost of their
program.
5. Any student who does not respond in writing
within two weeks may be dropped from the pro-
gram. Notification by email of agreement to at-
tend ICRS is acceptable but must be followed by
sending in a signed acceptance form by mail (or
scanned email attachment).
6. Successful applicants must sign a statement that
they will be full-time students in residence at
ICRS (including 4-6 months at a foreign univer-
sity for Indonesian students) for at least the first
two years, or until they complete their language
requirements and Comprehensive Examinations.
7. Successful applicants are expected to arrive in
Yogyakarta no later than the last week of Au-
gust for Registration and Orientation. They are
encouraged to come earlier to find housing and
get settled. Note: classes at UKDW sometimes
start a week earlier than ICRS and UIN SK classes
start a week later that ICRS. ICRS generally fol-
lows the same schedule as the Graduate School
at UGM.
8. All non-native English speakers, regardless of
their TOEFL scores, must take English classes
before they may have their Comprehensive Ex-
aminations.
D. The Pre-Ph.D. Program
1. Purpose: To prepare applicants to enter the ICRS
Ph.D. Program who are otherwise well qualified,
but do not meet the minimum TOEFL require-
ments.
2. Requirements: Applicants to the ICRS Pre-
Ph.D. program must have already completed full
applications to the ICRS program. They must
have a Master’s degree (S2) in an academic field
related to their intended area of research, an S2
GPA (IP) of at least 3.4 and a TOEFL score (or
its equivalent) between 475 and 525. Subject to
class size limitations, students with TOEFL
scores above 525 may be considered.
3. Status: Pre-Ph.D. program students who obtain
a TOEFL (or equivalent) score of at least 525
before the end of the Pre-Ph.D. program and pass
two ICRS courses with a grade of B or higher are
guaranteed admittance to the Ph.D. program.
Conversely, Pre-Ph.D. program students who do
not reach a TOEFL score of 525 or higher and
pass an ICRS/CRCS graduate course with a grade
of at least B are not guaranteed admission.
4. Duration: May-August of the Academic Year
5. Type of Program: Total emersion, intensive
English. Pre-Ph.D. students must live in an En-
glish-only speaking house and sign a contract to
only speak English with other members of the
house. Program includes daily English classes at
ICRS with trained, native English speaking teach-
ers. The program also includes attending weekly
Wednesday Forums and occasional English lan-
guage social events. Pre-Ph.D. students must also
take (and pass) two graduate courses during each
semester. Because of the intensive nature of the
course, students may not stay with their spouse
unless s/he is enrolled in the same program.
6. Size Limits: Maximum 10 students, minimum 4
students.
7. Cost: Tuition is IDR 8,000,000 for the 16 week
Pre-Ph.D. Program. Housing in the English House
(2011) costs IDR 800,000 per month per person
in a shared, air conditioned room, or IDR
1400,000. per month in a single room. The house
may include native English speakers. Full hous-
ing costs are due in advance for four months (May-
August).
8. Scholarships: Students who wish to take the
Pre-Ph.D. program are encouraged to seek fund-
ing from a sponsoring institution. ICRS has a lim-
ited number of scholarships for the Pre-Ph.D.
program. ICRS will also help Pre-Ph.D. Program
students to apply for scholarships from sources
such as: United Board, IIEF, DIKTI, etc. Stu-
dents who are accepted into the regular doctoral
program of ICRS are likely to receive at least
partial scholarships (including for the sandwich
program abroad).
9. Application:
a. The Admissions Committee of ICRS will in-
vite highly qualified applicants, to apply for
the Pre-Ph.D. program, who were not accepted
CHAPTER 6. STUDENT ADMISSION 39
into the Ph.D. program primarily because of
low English scores (475-525).
b. There is a single page application form that
supplements the materials already submitted
in the application to the Ph.D. program. No
application fee is required.
c. Students accepted into the ICRS doctoral pro-
gram whose TOEFL scores are below 550 may
also apply to the Pre-Ph.D. program without
an application fee.
d. Current ICRS students whose TOEFL scores
are below 550 may also apply to enter the Pre-
Ph.D. program without an application fee.
e. Applicants from previous years who were not
accepted into the Ph.D. program may apply to
the Pre-Ph.D. program upon paying an appli-
cation fee of Rp. 750,000.
f. Preference will be given to applicants from
groups that are under-represented at ICRS
10. Contract:
a. All students who are accepted into the ICRS
Pre-Ph.D. program must sign a contract that
states that, by entering the Pre-Ph.D. program,
they are requesting reconsideration (or con-
sideration) for acceptance into the ICRS Ph.D.
program.
b. If, following the Pre-Ph.D. program they are
accepted into the ICRS Ph.D. program, they
promise to become a full time student at ICRS.
c. Anyone who takes the ICRS Pre-Ph.D. pro-
gram and is subsequently accepted into ICRS,
must enter the program or pay a penalty
equivalent to one semester’s tuition at ICRS
(IDR 12 million).
d. The reason for this contract is to prevent stu-
dents from taking the Pre-Ph.D. program as a
38 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
e. That (for Indonesians), they must participate
in a sandwich program with a university in
another country for 4-6 months (subject to
funding).
3. Applicants who give conditional acceptance, con-
tingent on a full scholarship, may be dropped and
their position offered to another applicant, if they
are not awarded a full scholarship through ICRS.
Similarly, students whose acceptance is contin-
gent on a partial scholarship may be dropped if
ICRS does not offer them a partial scholarship.
4. On the other hand, applicants who uncondition-
ally accept the position offered to them at ICRS
(not contingent on a scholarship), are still eligible
to be considered for scholarships. In addition to
consideration for ICRS administered scholarships
(such as from Ford, IIEF or United Board), ICRS
will help all students to apply for various other
kinds of scholarships (see below for details).
Unconditional acceptance means the student ac-
cepts full responsibility to find (with help from
ICRS) the resources to cover the cost of their
program.
5. Any student who does not respond in writing
within two weeks may be dropped from the pro-
gram. Notification by email of agreement to at-
tend ICRS is acceptable but must be followed by
sending in a signed acceptance form by mail (or
scanned email attachment).
6. Successful applicants must sign a statement that
they will be full-time students in residence at
ICRS (including 4-6 months at a foreign univer-
sity for Indonesian students) for at least the first
two years, or until they complete their language
requirements and Comprehensive Examinations.
7. Successful applicants are expected to arrive in
Yogyakarta no later than the last week of Au-
gust for Registration and Orientation. They are
encouraged to come earlier to find housing and
get settled. Note: classes at UKDW sometimes
start a week earlier than ICRS and UIN SK classes
start a week later that ICRS. ICRS generally fol-
lows the same schedule as the Graduate School
at UGM.
8. All non-native English speakers, regardless of
their TOEFL scores, must take English classes
before they may have their Comprehensive Ex-
aminations.
D. The Pre-Ph.D. Program
1. Purpose: To prepare applicants to enter the ICRS
Ph.D. Program who are otherwise well qualified,
but do not meet the minimum TOEFL require-
ments.
2. Requirements: Applicants to the ICRS Pre-
Ph.D. program must have already completed full
applications to the ICRS program. They must
have a Master’s degree (S2) in an academic field
related to their intended area of research, an S2
GPA (IP) of at least 3.4 and a TOEFL score (or
its equivalent) between 475 and 525. Subject to
class size limitations, students with TOEFL
scores above 525 may be considered.
3. Status: Pre-Ph.D. program students who obtain
a TOEFL (or equivalent) score of at least 525
before the end of the Pre-Ph.D. program and pass
two ICRS courses with a grade of B or higher are
guaranteed admittance to the Ph.D. program.
Conversely, Pre-Ph.D. program students who do
not reach a TOEFL score of 525 or higher and
pass an ICRS/CRCS graduate course with a grade
of at least B are not guaranteed admission.
4. Duration: May-August of the Academic Year
5. Type of Program: Total emersion, intensive
English. Pre-Ph.D. students must live in an En-
glish-only speaking house and sign a contract to
only speak English with other members of the
house. Program includes daily English classes at
ICRS with trained, native English speaking teach-
ers. The program also includes attending weekly
Wednesday Forums and occasional English lan-
guage social events. Pre-Ph.D. students must also
take (and pass) two graduate courses during each
semester. Because of the intensive nature of the
course, students may not stay with their spouse
unless s/he is enrolled in the same program.
6. Size Limits: Maximum 10 students, minimum 4
students.
7. Cost: Tuition is IDR 8,000,000 for the 16 week
Pre-Ph.D. Program. Housing in the English House
(2011) costs IDR 800,000 per month per person
in a shared, air conditioned room, or IDR
1400,000. per month in a single room. The house
may include native English speakers. Full hous-
ing costs are due in advance for four months (May-
August).
8. Scholarships: Students who wish to take the
Pre-Ph.D. program are encouraged to seek fund-
ing from a sponsoring institution. ICRS has a lim-
ited number of scholarships for the Pre-Ph.D.
program. ICRS will also help Pre-Ph.D. Program
students to apply for scholarships from sources
such as: United Board, IIEF, DIKTI, etc. Stu-
dents who are accepted into the regular doctoral
program of ICRS are likely to receive at least
partial scholarships (including for the sandwich
program abroad).
9. Application:
a. The Admissions Committee of ICRS will in-
vite highly qualified applicants, to apply for
the Pre-Ph.D. program, who were not accepted
CHAPTER 6. STUDENT ADMISSION 39
into the Ph.D. program primarily because of
low English scores (475-525).
b. There is a single page application form that
supplements the materials already submitted
in the application to the Ph.D. program. No
application fee is required.
c. Students accepted into the ICRS doctoral pro-
gram whose TOEFL scores are below 550 may
also apply to the Pre-Ph.D. program without
an application fee.
d. Current ICRS students whose TOEFL scores
are below 550 may also apply to enter the Pre-
Ph.D. program without an application fee.
e. Applicants from previous years who were not
accepted into the Ph.D. program may apply to
the Pre-Ph.D. program upon paying an appli-
cation fee of Rp. 750,000.
f. Preference will be given to applicants from
groups that are under-represented at ICRS
10. Contract:
a. All students who are accepted into the ICRS
Pre-Ph.D. program must sign a contract that
states that, by entering the Pre-Ph.D. program,
they are requesting reconsideration (or con-
sideration) for acceptance into the ICRS Ph.D.
program.
b. If, following the Pre-Ph.D. program they are
accepted into the ICRS Ph.D. program, they
promise to become a full time student at ICRS.
c. Anyone who takes the ICRS Pre-Ph.D. pro-
gram and is subsequently accepted into ICRS,
must enter the program or pay a penalty
equivalent to one semester’s tuition at ICRS
(IDR 12 million).
d. The reason for this contract is to prevent stu-
dents from taking the Pre-Ph.D. program as a
40 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
means of preparing themselves for another substituted with equivalent scores from IELTS
doctoral program or for employment. (6.5 = 550, minimum 6.0 for consideration).
d. (INDONESIAN ONLY) submit a score of
TPA (Tes Potensi Akademik) at least 500 from
E. Deadlines:
a certified center (Bappenas, Puspendik Litbang
Diknas and UGM). If applicants do not have
March 31 Deadline for International applicants & applicants with ITP TOEFL score below 525 the score during the application, they must take
a TPA test conducted by DAA (Directorate
April 21 Deadline for applications to BPPS scholarships* of Academic Administration) of UGM.
April 30 Announcement of those accepted to the Ph.D. program and those invited to the Pre- e. Native English speakers and those who are
Ph.D. Program considered as “Native English Speakers” are
not required to submit TOEFL scores. How-
May 31 Deadline for applications to the Pre-Ph.D. Program
ever, they are encouraged (not required) to
May 31 Deadline for applications to BS scholarships* submit recent scores from the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) or a similar standardized
June 15 Deadline for applicants with ITP TOEFL score above 525 test from their native country.
August 27 Registration & orientation (Ph.D. & Pre-Ph.D. students) f. Submit three letters of recommendation, in-
cluding at least two from professors (dosen)
* Subject to change; www.dikti.go.id (BPPS), and www.kemenag.go.id (BS). In addition to the requirements of each who are qualified to evaluate your academic
scholarship, applicants must fulfill the ICRS requirements and procedures for ICRS Admission.
achievements and potential. The letters must
be on recommendation forms provided by
ICRS and sent directly by the recommenders
to ICRS office or through email:
admission_icrs@ugm.ac.id.
g. Students who intend to focus their study on
textual research must show competence in at
least one of the relevant language(s) of their
chosen research (eg. Arabic, Greek, Hebrew,
Sanskrit, Pali, old Javanese, etc.). Applicants
may petition to have another scriptural lan-
guage included to fulfill this requirement.
h. Applicants for an ICRS scholarship must fill
out a separate financial aid form that must be
submitted along with the application.
4. Submit one hard copy of your application to the
ICRS office: Academic Officer/Registrar ICRS,
a Ph.D. Program in Inter-religious Studies Lt. 3,
CHAPTER 6. STUDENT ADMISSION 37
Gedung Sekolah Pascasarjana UGM Jln. Teknika
Utara Pogung Yogyakarta Telp/fax: +62 274 562
570 and its soft file (pdf. format is preferred) to
admission_icrs@ugm.ac.id
5. Submit two copies of your application to
Administrasi Program Pascasarjana, Direktorat
Administrasi Akademik; Kantor Pusat UGM, lt.
1, Sayap Selatan, Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta –
55281.
6. Late applications will not be considered.
7. Applicant will be notified if an interview is
needed.
C. Acceptance into ICRS
1. All international applicants will be notified of
whether or not they are accepted as soon as pos-
sible after March.
2. Successful applicants must respond in writing as
soon as possible, but no later than one week af-
ter they receive notice of their acceptance, that:
a. They accept or reject the position offered as a
student at ICRS;
b. That their acceptance is, or is not, contingent
on receiving a scholarship of at least
US$18,000.
c. That their acceptance is or is not contingent
on receiving at least a partial scholarship cov-
ering the 4 years of tuition ($7,000 for Indo-
nesians, $12,000 for foreign students).
d. That they understand the ICRS Ph.D. program
requires four years of
full time study including at least two years resi-
dent in Yogyakarta; students must be resident
in Yogyakarta at least until they pass their
Comprehensive Exam.
36 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
students with TOEFL score 425-525 is at the
end of March of the year prior to the Semester
that begins in September. The Admissions Com-
mittee will meet to evaluate applications in March.
Applications must include all supporting docu-
ments, including official current TOEFL scores.
5. Applications for BPPS scholarships from DIKTI
must be submitted by April, and for BBP schol-
arships from DIKTIS by May (tentatively). In-
formation may be found at www.dikti.go.id
(BPPS), and www.kemenag.go.id (BS).
6. ICRS especially encourages applications from
minority religious and ethnic groups, students
from conflict area, and from women.
B. Requirements & Procedures for
Admission
1. Applicants must pay a non-refundable applica-
tion fee of IDR 750, 000, 00 for Indonesian Ap-
plicants or USD 100 for Foreign Applicants. Pay-
ments should be transferred as follows:
INDONESIAN APPLICANTS:
Please transfer to BNI Bank by using a code 3333
followed by your date of birth (for example,
333303111980). When your payment is successful,
you will receive a password in the receipt by which
you may then fill in the online application form. If
you are non-BPPS applicant and apply before the
scholarship is open, please pay through: ICRS Yogya
- BNI 46, UGM, 0153293070
2. Applicants (INDONESIAN ONLY) go to
<http://um.ugm.ac.id> and fill out the applica-
tion form by using the password they receive
during the payment of the admission fee (NOTE:
ICRS is listed as INTER-RELIGIOUS STUD-
IES). For foreign applicants, please go directly
to the item (3).
3. To be considered, All Applicants should
a. Fill out in English an ICRS application form
that includes writing a 1-2 page personal state-
ment and a brief research proposal (no more
than 4000 words). See the application form
for more detail, which is downloadable at
<www.icrs.ugm.ac.id>
b. Submit complete validated copies of official
diplomas and transcripts from all institutions
of higher education that you have attended.
For their second degree (S2), applicants should
have a grade point average (GPA or IPK) of
at least 3.40. In light of different grading stan-
dards of different institutions we will consider
applicants whose S2 GPA is 3.25 or above on
a 4.0 scale.
c. Submit Institutional (ITP) or International
TOEFL scores of at least 550 from UGM or
other official language centers (for Indonesian
applicants, please see http://um5.ugm.ac.id/
index.php/page/179). Applicants with scores
FOREIGN APPLICANTS:
Please transfer to:
Account Name: ICRS-Yogya Account
Number: 200329695
Bank : Bank BNI 46, Branch Gadjah
Mada University
Jl. Persatuan No. 1 Bulaksumur,
YogyakartaSWIFT
Code: BNINIDJAXXX
above 500 may be considered. The TOEFL
scores must be less than two years old. If a
student is accepted with a TOEFL of less than
550, they must take intensive English classes
and may not take their Comprehensive Exami-
nations before achieving a TOEFL score of
at least 550. TOEFL requirements may be
41
Chapter 7
Financial Costs and
Scholarships
A. Registration and Tuition
Students apply to and register with DAA UGM
and ICRS. All doctoral students registered with ICRS
will be registered as official doctoral students in the
Graduate School at Universitas Gadjah Mada and
have access to doctoral seminars or classes at all three
universities. An application fee of IDR750,000 (non-
refundable) for Indonesian students is paid to ICRS.
The application fee for foreign students is US$100.
Full tuition for the academic year 2012-2013 is
IDR 12 million per semester, per Indonesian student
and US$2,400 per semester for foreign students.
From their full tuition fees, ICRS pays IDR 3 mil-
lion per student per semester to UGM, UIN and is IDR 2,500,000. (US$275) per month. Housing
UKDW (IDR 1 million to each), as an institutional alone per month ranges from around IDR 300,000
fee. Foreign exchange students do not pay tuition ($33) to around IDR 3,000,000 ($330) per month or
fees, as long as they are paying tuition to their home more. Few students cook for themselves because
institution and there is a written agreement from their very inexpensive, delicious food is available from
institution to grant similar privileges of free tuition numerous food stalls and inexpensive restaurants
to exchange students from ICRS. throughout the city. Sometimes meals are included
with rent. While some dormitory space is avail-
B. Living Costs in Yogyakarta able, most students live in privately rented houses,
Yogyakarta is one of the most inexpensive and rooms rented from local people or with families.
pleasant places to live in the world. Some students Transportation by bicycle, pedicab, horse cart, bus,
in Yogyakarta survive on IDR 2,000,000. per month motorcycle or taxi is also very inexpensive. The liv-
(US$220), including room and board. A reasonable ing costs estimated below are considered adequate
estimate for modest living costs for a single student for simple living in Yogyakarta.
42 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
C. Health Care and Insurance
Yogyakarta has excellent health care facilities1
with many good hospitals and doctors in almost ev-
ery area of specialization. ICRS requires all students
to have basic health insurance, the cost of which is
covered by a Student Services/Health Insurance Fee
of IDR 600,000. ($66) per semester). This insur-
ance covers limited hospitalization in Yogyakarta.
It does not cover the cost of medications, long term
hospitalization or first class treatment outside of
Yogyakarta. In addition students have access to
the UKDW clinic which includes free consultation
with a doctor and free common medications.
D. The Sandwich Program
1. The Sandwich program is the most expensive part
of the ICRS doctoral program.
2. ICRS has negotiated tuition waivers with major
foreign universities so that ICRS students can
spend one semester there free of tuition. Doc-
toral tuition in some of these universities is over
US$20,000. for one semester.
3. Even assuming free tuition, the 4-6 months pro-
gram in a foreign country costs almost as much
as the other three and a half years of study in
Yogyakarta.
4. Foreign students who stay in Yogyakarta rather
than go on a sandwich program may use the time
to study Indonesian language and culture, take
further courses in the 3 universities or do reading
courses in preparation for their Comprehensive
Examinations.
5 Health care facilities and doctors in Yogyakarta are excellent
by Indonesian standards. However some people may consider
them inferior to health care available in more wealthy countries.
35
5. Only Students who have passed their Compre-
hensive Examinations may apply to their sand-
wich program. Chapter 6
E. Essential Tools, Field and Library
Research
Student Admission
1. The calculated expenses of the ICRS 4-year doc-
toral program (below) do not include any funds
for essential tools such as a laptop computer, soft-
ware and printer. ICRS provides several comput-
ers for ICRS students to share in the study lounge,
including free internet access. However ICRS
expects doctoral students to find the resources
to purchase their own computers.
2. The calculated expenses below also do not in-
clude any funds for field research or travel to spe-
cial libraries or archives as part of their research,
especially during their third or fourth year.
3. There are a variety of organizations that provide
special funding for research, including doctoral
dissertation research. ICRS will help ICRS stu-
dents locate appropriate funding agencies that are
consonant with the student’s research design.
4. In some cases, ICRS Doctoral Faculty may de-
sign a larger research project that includes fund-
ing for doctoral student research.
5. Some research designs do not require extra ex-
pense. Students are responsible for finding the
funding necessary to complete their research.
ICRS Students Batch 2011
A. Application 2. New students are accepted into ICRS only once
1. To ensure academic quality, the ICRS Ph.D. pro- a year, beginning in the first semester of the aca-
gram will limit enrollment and only accept the demic year that begins at the end of August or
best of students. The admissions committee will early September.
strive for balance based on religion, gender, eth-
3. Applications are accepted all year around.
nic diversity and area of interest. We aim to en-
roll 10-13 students per year. 4. The final deadline for international applicants and
34 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
3. Respect includes respect for structures and rules,
4. Respect, especially in the context of Indonesian
5. Fairness does not necessarily mean treating ev-
cludes, for example, a professor who publishes
an article based on his/her students work with-
out giving credit; or a student who hands in a
paper in which there are sentences, paragraphs,
pages, or even the whole paper, that were not
written by the student but rather copied from
another source.
CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL COSTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS 43
· Honesty requires completing all the work re- F. Estimated Costs2 for One Indonesian Doctoral Program for 4 years
quired for a course without, for example, turn-
ing in a paper that was actually written for an-
Item Rupiah US Dollar $ Total
other course or another context.
Per Sem/6 months Per Sem 4 years
· Not deceiving ones students, teachers or col-
leagues about fulfilling the requirements of a 1. Institutional Expenses
given task. Application fee (non-refundable) Rp. 750,000.once $ 85.
· Not offering or accepting gifts in exchange for Full Tuition per semester (8 semesters) Rp.12,000,000. $ 1,333. $ 10,667.
services that are meant to be free. Student services/health insurance fee Rp. 600,000. $ 67. $ 536.
Graduation/Dissertation fee (1 time only) Rp. 2,000,000. once $ 222.
Subtotal of basic institutional expenses for 4 years of doctoral study: $ 11,510.
and respect for people. Respect and honesty to-
gether prevent all kinds of manipulation and/or 2. Basic Living Expenses in Yogyakarta
corruption, including words or actions that dis- Books (local x 7 semesters) Rp. 1,200,000 $ 133. $ 931.
play negative prejudice against people of a par- Modest Living costs in Yogya Rp. 15,000,000 $ 1,667. $ 11,945.
ticular religion, gender, ideology, race or ethnic (Rp. 2,500,000per month X 43 months)
background. Subtotal of basic living expenses in Yogya for 3 years 7 months: $12,876.
3. Basic Travel and Living Expenses for 5 Months at a Foreign University3
culture, means speaking gently and respectfully
Round Trip Travel Expenses (including visa, taxes, etc.) $ 2,500.
to other people, even when we are expressing dis-
Room and board ($1,200/month X 5 months) $ 6,000.
agreement or criticism.
Local transportation & misc. ($120 per month X 5 months) $ 600.
Health insurance ($200 per month X 5 months) $ 1,000.
eryone the same. But it does require not discrimi- Books $ 500.
nating against people who are different from us. Tuition free
For example, faculty members should avoid giv-
ing higher grades to those who agree with their Subtotal for 6 months at a foreign university: $ 10,600.
own opinion, are from their own race, religion,
gender or political persuasion. Grand Total for 4 year Doctoral Program including 6 months abroad: $34,986.
Average costs per year: US $ 8,746.
1
Some foreign students may find this amount too little and would be safer to estimate $200 per month.
2
The costs of 5 months at a foreign university vary according to the country, the city and the university chosen. They are also affected
by whether the partner university supplies free or subsidized housing. The estimate given here is considered an average. Some places will
be more or less expensive.
44 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
G. Estimated Costs for One Foreign Doctoral Program for 4 years
(Assuming no sandwich program)
Item
1. Institutional Expenses
Application fee (non-refundable)
Full Tuition per semester (8semesters)
Student services/health insurance fee
Graduation/Dissertation fee (1 time only)
Subtotal of basic institutional expenses for 4 years of doctoral study:
2. Basic Living Expenses in Yogyakarta
Books (local X 7 semesters)
International books
Living costs in Yogya
8
(Rp. 2,500,000 per month X 48 months)
Subtotal of basic living expenses in Yogya for 4 years:
Grand Total for 4 year Doctorate in Yogyakarta (Foreign tuition): $ 34,823.
Average costs per year: US$ 8,705.
8
Some foreign students may find this amount too little and would be safer to estimate $200 per month.
CHAPTER 5. ACADEMIC FREEDOM, ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY AND CODE OF ETHICS
at the level of doctoral education and research.
Responsible doctoral education and research re-
quires freedom from pressure to conform to a
preconceived orthodoxy such as a particular so-
Rupiah US Dollar $ Total
cial, political, scientific, religious or ideological
Per Sem/6 months Per Sem 4 years
theory.
5. Academic freedom is the freedom for all faculty,
once $ 100. students and staff of ICRS to hold and express
$2,400. $ 19,200. their own opinions on any and all matters, large
Rp. 600,000. $ 67. $ 536. or small, consistent with their own conscience
Rp. 2,000,000. once $ 222. and sincere convictions.
$20,058.
6. Freedom includes freedom from coercion or pres-
sure to change your opinions because they do not
agree with someone else’s opinions. This includes
Rp. 1,200,000 $ 133. $ 931.
freedom from religious, social, economic or po-
$ 500.
litical pressure to conform to the opinions of oth-
Rp. 15, 000,000 $ 1,667. $ 13,334.
ers, especially those who are in positions of
power. For example, students should not be
$ 14,765.
forced to follow the same religious or social sci-
entific approach as their teachers in order to re-
ceive a good grade.
7. Freedom includes intellectual freedom to follow
unpopular theories or explore “forbidden” areas
of inquiry. It includes religious freedom to hold
beliefs that are unapproved or even labeled he-
retical. It includes social freedom to conform or
not conform to a narrow definition of respect-
able behavior.
B. Academic, Social and Political
Responsibility
1. Academic freedom is based on academic, social
and political responsibility. Academic freedom
cannot exist without trust and the mature respon-
sible use of freedom by staff, students and fac-
ulty members. If freedoms are abused, they will
be curtailed. ICRS operates on an honor (hormat)
system based on trust. We do not monitor all the
33
behavior of students, staff or faculty but rather
assume they will meet their academic, social and
political responsibilities, especially as outlined in
this Hand- book.
2. Responsibilities include following the Code of
Ethics outlined below.
3. Social responsibilities include respecting the opin-
ions and practices of people from different cul-
tural, social, religious, ethnic and national back-
ground. Part of respect is to modify your own
behavior and speech to avoid offending the con-
victions or practices of others. It also requires
refraining from harsh criticism of those who of-
fend one’s own convictions or practices.
4. Political responsibility means full participation in
the activities of ICRS- Yogya within the struc-
ture of rules and relationships set up within ICRS-
Yogya. Among other things, that implies respect-
ing the leadership and obeying the rules of ICRS.
C. Code of Ethics
1. ICRS subscribes to the code of ethics of UGM,
UIN Sunan Kalijaga and UKDW.
2. This code of ethics is not intended to replace the
codes of ethics of the three universities, but
rather supplement them. This code of ethics is
not intended to be complete, absolute or exhaus-
tive. It may be supplemented or revised at any
time by the Board of Trustees with input from
the Academic Council.
This code of ethics is summarized in three prin-
ciples: honesty, respect & fairness. Honesty in-
cludes the following:
· Integrity: displaying the qualities of character
of a person who can be trusted
· No toleration for plagiarism. Plagiarism in-
32 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Chapter 5
Academic Freedom, Academic
Responsibility and Code of Ethics
Henry Luce Exchange Students visit the Syailendra Buddhist School in Salatiga, 2009
A. Academic Freedom at ICRS
1. ICRS fully subscribes to the Statements on Aca-
demic Freedom of UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga
and UKDW.
2. Responsible academic freedom is one of the prin-
ciple foundations for academic integrity and ex-
cellence in scientific research.
H. Financial Aid
1. General
a. International quality doctoral education is ex-
pensive and beyond the financial reach of most
Indonesian students. We encourage all quali-
fied students to apply to ICRS regardless of
their financial situation. ICRS seeks excel-
lent students with the assumption that we will
help them find financial support for their edu-
cation.
b. We especially encourage applicants from
women and other under-represented groups.
c. ICRS cannot guarantee funding but works with
students to locate and obtain at least partial
scholarships for all qualified students who are
accepted into the program.
d. In addition, ICRS provides basic funding for
all Indonesian students’ five-month sandwich
program in a foreign university (for those who
qualify).
e. The Ph.D. program at ICRS is very inexpen-
sive by international standards. This makes
the international doctoral program at ICRS
very attractive to international funding agen-
cies. In 2008-12 ICRS provided substantial fi-
nancial support for all Indonesian students
accepted into the program. We were able to
offer full scholarships for a number of Asian
foreign students and partial scholarships for
four other foreign students from America,
Europe and the Middle East.
3. Academic freedom is essentially the freedom to
f. Funding sources that have or may provide
seek the truth, no matter how unpopular it may
scholarships for ICRS doctoral students in-
be, or how much it offends the dominant ortho-
clude:
doxy of the current majority or of those who hold
G Bank Rakyat Indonesia
positions of authority.
G
BPPS (Indonesian Department of Higher
4. Academic freedom is specifically related to the Education -DIKTI)
context of the university and is vitally important
CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL COSTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS 45
G Cheng Ho Multi-culture Trust
G Department of Religion (Depag)
G Duta Wacana Christian University
G
Ford Foundation
G
G
Fullbright
Gadjah Mada University
G The Henry Luce Foundation
G IIEF (Indonesian International Education
Foundation)
G The Tokyo Foundation
G UIN Sunan Kalijaga
G United Board (UBCHEA)
g. There are many other organizations, in addi-
tion to these funding agencies, which provide
grants for students. ICRS applicants are en-
couraged to contact their sponsoring organi-
zation or other funding agencies which can
help support their doctoral studies.
h. All decisions regarding financial aid at ICRS
are made by the Financial Aid Committee
(FAC), chaired by the Associate Director of
ICRS. Requests, questions and other matters
related to Financial Aid should be addressed
to the Financial Aid Committee.
i. There are three kinds of financial aid at ICRS:
scholarship grants, work study funds and stu-
dent loans or advances.
2. Scholarships grants
a. There are four categories of scholarship grants:
G Grants from private, international and na-
tional funding agencies that are adminis-
trated by ICRS. These are generally for a
fixed amount and a specific number of stu-
dents who are either chosen by ICRS or
picked by the funding agency. For the sand-
wich program we provide scholarships for
46 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Indonesian students from Ford Foundation,
IIEF and UB for South-South exchanges
and scholarships from the Henry Luce Foun-
dation for exchanges with universities in the
United States.
G Grants from the Indonesian government (Minis-
try of Education and Culture; and Ministry
of Religion). Students apply directly for
these grants but the application is submit-
ted through ICRS and UGM. These grants
often require a recommendation from the
student’s sponsoring institution.
G Grants from sponsoring educational institu-
4. Student Loan Fund
tions, foundations, governments or private
businesses that students are awarded
through their own initiative. ICRS will pro-
vide advice and letters of support, but stu-
dents apply themselves for these grants.
G Grants from ICRS. ICRS is building an en-
dowment fund for student scholarships,
however at present only small amounts are
available for scholarships.
b. Since the estimated cost of the program for
Indonesian students including living, travel
and sandwich program costs, is approximately
$27,376., this means that students need
supplementary sources of income.
3. Work-Study Funds
a. In response to urgent student needs, ICRS has
established a Work-Study Fund to help stu-
dents who need supplementary monthly sup-
port.
b. Students must work for these funds at a vari-
ety of tasks including:
G Writing articles for local, national and in-
ternational publications
G Writing reports and items for the ICRS
website
G Editing and translating publications for
ICRS
G
Working as a Research Assistant to an ICRS
lecturer
G Working as a Teaching Assistant in an ICRS
class
G Other workstudy that design by ICRS Di-
rectors
c. Students can earn up to Rp. 2,000, 000. per
month under work study
a. ICRS has a modest, revolving Student Loan
Fund. Any student with urgent financial needs
can apply to the FAC for a loan.
b. The most common loans are advances on
scholarship funds. If a student has a sudden
urgent need that s/he cannot pay, s/he may
request a loan that will be paid back by
monthly deductions from his/her scholarship
living allowance.
c. A common example is if a student must pay a
year’s rent at the beginning, it is reasonable to
request a part of their monthly living allow-
ance in a lump sum at the beginning.
d. Students may apply for a loan for any purpose
that is urgently needed to support their Ph.D.
studies, if they can show reasonable ability to
pay it back. Loans are not grants and must be
paid back so that other students can benefit
from the fund.
e. Since the Student Loan Fund is very limited,
the FAC will not approve loans related to fam-
ily support or any matters that are not directly
related to their Ph.D. program.
CHAPTER 4. LIST OF FACULTY MEMBERS & THEIR RESEARCH INTERESTS 31
Eastern Mennonite U., USA cal Seminary, California, USA
G
Lily Zakiah Munir, Islam, Gender & Justice, UIN, G
Miguel De La Torre*, Post-colonial Theology,
Jakarta Tanesse, USA
G Mark Woodward*, Islam on Java, Arizona State G Christoph Stueckelberger, Social and Business
University, USA Ethics, Basel University, Switzerland
G Maznah Mohamad, Social Science researcher, G June McDaniel (The College of Charleston, Vir-
National University of Singapore ginia, USA).
G
Merle Ricklef, History of Religion in SE Asia, G
Gholamreza Avani (Iranian Institute of Philoso-
Nat’l Univ. of Singapore phy, Iran)
G Michael Northcott, Religion and Environment, G Mohsen Javadi (Islamic College for Advanced
University of Edinburgh, UK Studies (ICAS), Jakarta)
G
Munir Jiwa, Islam & Culture in America, GTU, G
Whitney Bouman (Florida International Univer-
Berkeley, USA sity, USA)
G Nasr Hamid Abu-Zayd, Islamic Studies, Univer-
sity of Leiden, Netherlands
* Names with an asterix (*) taught at least one gradu-
G
Nawal Ammar, Islam, Gender & Law, Kent State,
ate course at ICRS/CRCS.
USA
G Nelly van Doorn*, Islam, Gender, Egypt, Indone-
sia, Valparaisa Univ., USA
G
Paul N. Knitter*, Inter-Religious Dialogue, Union
Theol. Sem., New York, USA
G Peter Carey, Oxford University, USA
G Phil Enns, Philosophy and Religion, MCC, USA
G Reuven Firestone, University of Southern Cali-
fornia, USA
G Rita Gross, Buddhism, Gender, Environment,
Wisconsin, USA
G Robert Hefner, Boston University, USA
G
Simon Rae*, Theology & Religion, Indonesia,
University Otago, New Zealand
G Syafi’i Ma’arif, Islam & Multiculturalism,
Muhammadiyah, Yogyakarta
G St. Sunardi, Culture, Postmodernism & Religion,
Sanata Dharma University, Indonesia
G Tavivat Puntarigvivat, Reform Movements in
Buddhism, Mahidol U. Thailand
G Toru Aoyama, History of Southeast Asia, Tokyo
University, Japan
G
Valliamal Baskaran, Lady Doak University, India
G William Dyrness, Religion & Art, Fuller Theologi-
30 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 7. FINANCIAL COSTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS 47

29. Prof. Dr. Umar Anggara Jenie 5. Contract ition, living allowance, books, etc
Ph.D. Australian National University, a. Applicants who are offered scholarships
Canberra, Australia c. This requirement does not apply to people who
through ICRS must sign a contract that they
Lecturer drop out because:
Gadjah Mada University
intend to study full time and finish the Ph.D.
Farmacy program at ICRS. G
Of a major personal or family crisis

b. Students who drop out voluntarily in order to

G Failure to pass academic requirements such
take a job or enter another program are re- as required courses, language requirements,
quired to repay all of the scholarship funds Comprehensive Examination or Disserta-
30. Prof. Dr. Ratno Lukito
they have received from ICRS, including tu- tion Orals.
Ph.D. Mc Gill University Lecturer
State Islamic University
Islamic Law

31. Dr. Agus Nuryatno

Ph.D. McGill University Lecturer
State Islamic University
Islamic Education

G
Dennis McCann, Social Ethics, Hong Kong Bap-
tist University, Hong Kong
B. Visiting Scholars and Faculty 2007 to 2012
G Elaine Kay Swartzentruber*, Religion & Hospi-
The following is a list of visiting scholars who visited
tality, MCC, USA
ICRS and taught a course or gave a lecture at ICRS- Yogya G Farid Esack*, Islam & HIV/AIDS, Harvard U.,
and CRCS during 2007-2012:
USA & Capetown, S. Africa
G Abdullahi An-Na’im, Human Rights, Islam and Law, G Farish Noor, Radical Islamic Movements in Asia,
Emory University, USA Nanyang Tech. U., Singapore
G Alwi Shihab, Islam & Peace in Indonesia, Presidential G
Florian Pohl*, Islamic Education in Indonesia,
Envoy to Middle East, Jakarta Emory University, USA
G Anthony Reid, History of Indonesia, Aceh, Nat’l Univ. G Frans Huskens, Anthropology of Java, Radboud
of Singapore U. of Nijmegen, Netherlands
G Ariel Heryanto, Religion & Popular Culture, Melbourne G Haidar Bagir, Religion and Media, Mizan Publish-
U., Australia ers, Jakarta
G
Bruce Lawrence*, Islamic Studies, Duke University, G Heidi Hadsell, Social Ethics, Hartford Seminary,
Durham, NC, USA Hartford, CT, USA
G Carolina Lopez, University of Malaya, Malaysia G John Raines*, Inter-Religious Social Ethics,
G Christine Gudorf*, Medical Ethics, Catholic Soc. Temple U, Philadelphia, USA
Thought, Florida Int’l U, USA G
Lawrence Yoder*, History of Christianity in Java,
48 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
20. Prof. Dr. E. Gerrit Singgih
Ph. D., University of Glasgow, Scotland,
Chapter 8 U.K Biblical Interpretation
Lecturer
Attending Doctoral Courses Duta Wacana Christian University
Theology
Theology of Disaster; Indonesian Theol-
ogy
21. Prof. Dr. Siti Chamamah Soeratno
Dr, Gadjah Mada University
Culture Sciences
Lecturer
Gadjah Mada University
Cultural Sciences
Literary Studies; Philology (Arabic); Meth-
odology; Hermeneutics
22. Prof. Dr. Djoko Suryo
Ph.D., Monash University, Australia
History
Head of Faculty Academic Senate
Gadjah Mada University
Cultural Sciences, History of Southeast Asia
23. Siti Syamsiyatun, MA, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Monash University, Australia
Religion and Gender
Director
Indonesian Consortium for Religious
Studies
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Religion and Gender
2. Lecturers will submit their syllabus to the ICRS 24. Dr. Sahiron Syamsuddin
A. The Syllabus and Required Readings
Ph. D, University of Bamberg, Germany
office at least one week before the first week of
1. The two teachers of a doctoral course at ICRS Qur’anic Studies
classes so that students can consult the syllabus
will prepare a single, unified syllabus before the Lecturer
course begins, that is handed out to the students as they choose which courses in which to enroll. State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
The ICRS office will photocopy syllabi for stu- Tafsir & Hadits, Faculty of Ushuluddin
at the first class meeting. Revisions to the sylla-
dents free of charge. Qur’anic Studies; Philosophical Hermeneu-
bus can be made at any time during the semester tics
as long as students are given adequate lead time 3. Lecturers should ensure that all required read-
to adjust to changes. ings are available to the students well before their
CHAPTER 4. LIST OF FACULTY MEMBERS & THEIR RESEARCH INTERESTS 29
25. Dr. Wening Udasmoro
Ph. D., University of Geneva
French Literary and Social Theory, Gender
Lecturer, Head of Area
Associate Director
Indonesian Consortium for Religious
Studies
Gender Studies
26. Dr. Paulus Widjaja
Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary
Peace and Conflict Studies, Disaster
Head of PSPP (Peace Development
Studies) Duta Wacana Christianity Univer-
sity
Theology, Social Ethics and Peace Studies
26. Dr. Yahya Wijaya
Ph. D., the University of Leeds Social and
Professional
Ethics
Lecturer
Duta Wacana Christianity University
Theology
Theology and Economy
27. Prof. Dr. Iskandar Zulkarnain
Ph.D., UIN Syahid, Jakarta
Islamic Studies
Director of the Graduate Program
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Graduate Program
Islamic Theology, Ahmadiyah
28. Dr. Sri Margana
Ph.D. Candidate
Leiden University, Netherland
Lecturer
Gadjah Mada University
History
28 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
9. Prof. Dr. Banawiratma
Dr., Innsbruck University, Austria
Theology
Lecturer
Duta Wacana Christianity University
Theology
Religion & Society; Contextual Theology
10. Dr. Jeanny Dhewayani
Ph.D., The Australian National University
Anthropology
Director, Int’l Relations & Human Re-
sources Duta Wacana Christian University
International Office, General Studies
Anthropology; Religion and Pop Culture
11. Prof. Dr. Syamsul Hadi
Ph.D., Gadjah Mada University Arabic
Linguistics
Professor
Gadjah Mada University Faculty of Cul-
tural Sciences
Arabic Language and Literature
12. Dr. Fatimah Husein
Ph.D., University of Melbourne Islam and
Inter-religious Dialogue Lecturer
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Islamic Philosophy
Islamic Philosophy; Inter-religious Studies
13. Dr. Moch Nur Ichwan
Ph. D., Tilburg University Theology and
Religious Studies Lecturer
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Qur’anic Studies
Hermeneutics, Issues on State and Politics
14. Dr. P.M. Laksono
Ph. D., Cornell University
Anthropology
Lecturer
Gadjah Mada University
Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Science
Anthropology of Eastern Indonesia
15. Prof. Dr. M. Machasin
Ph.D., University of Leiden Islamic Studies
General Director of Islamic Education,
Dept. of Religion of Indonesia
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga/
DepAg
Islamic History and Civilization
History of Islamic Civilization (Islamic
Thought)
16. Prof. Dr. Akh. Minhaji
Ph.D., McGill University Islamic law
Professor
State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Islamic Law
Social History of Islamic Thought
17. Prof. Dr. Achmad Mursyidi
Ph.D., University of New South Wales,
Australia
Pharmacy
Former Director of CRCS Gadjah Mada
University
Center for Religious and Cross-cultural
Studies
Pharmacy; Islamic Studies
18. Prof. Dr.Phil. M. Nur Kholis Setiawan
Ph.D. University of Bunn, the Netherland
Quranic Studies
Lecturer
State Islamic university
Graduate School
Hermeneutics; Quranic Studies
19. Dr. Robert Setio
Ph.D., University of Glasgow, Scotland,
U.K. Biblical Studies
Lecturer
Duta Wacana Christian University
Theology
Biblical Hermeneutics (esp. Post-modern
Theories)
due date. Teachers are strongly recommended to
prepare physical copies of all required readings
and give them to the students at or before the
first class for photocopying. If possible, loose
articles and excerpted chapters from books should
be gathered into a reader for ease of access. One
student in the class should prepare the reader and
may credit the time spent as work study hours.
4. Syllabi for ICRS doctoral courses should include
the following elements:
a. A brief statement of the course objectives.
b. A clear list of course requirements, including
a clear description of the requirement, due
dates, page lengths and how the students will
be graded on each requirement, (e.g. Class
participation 10%, Class Report 20%, Mid-
term Examination 30%, Final Paper 40%).
c. A detailed schedule of classes, including dates,
the topics covered at each class and required
readings that must be read before the class.
d. A list of books and articles that are required
reading for the class (approximately 50-100
pages per week x 13 weeks9= 650 to 1,300
pages total.
e. A bibliography of recommended readings
B. Requirements for Student Assignments
1. Students are expected to spend at least two hours
of preparation for every academic hour of class.
In other words, for a three credit class, they should
spend an average of 6 hours per week in prepara-
tion.
9
This assumes 14 class meetings. There are normally no re-
quired readings before the first class.
10
Doctoral courses in the top universities in other countries
often assign 100-200 pages per week. However, the students are
often overburdened and seldom read all the assignments.
CHAPTER 8. ATTENDING DOCTORAL COURSES 49
2. A rough guide for reading requirements for doc-
toral students at ICRS is: 30 pages of required
reading per credit per week, i.e. 90 pages per week
for a 3 credit course. In light of the different lev-
els of difficulty of the readings, and that most
students are reading in a foreign language, we rec-
ommend that students be assigned 50-100 pages
a week in a 3 credit doctoral seminar or course.10
3. A rough guide for writing assignments for doc-
toral students at ICRS is: 10 pages, double spaced,
of written assignments per credit, per semester,
i.e., a total of 30 pages, double spaced, of writ-
ten assignments per semester for one, 3 credit
doctoral seminar. These might be divided, for
example, into a 5 page in-class report, 10-15 pages
of weekly critical reflections on the required read-
ings, and a 10-15 page final paper.
4. The actual number of pages assigned as required
readings, as well as the number of pages of writ-
ten assignments, is at the discretion of the teacher
and may vary from course to course.
5. Students should remember that reading and writ-
ten assignments are a gift. If a lecturer does not
give sufficient, excellent readings from the very
best authors in the field, students will be cheated
out of learning from the masters (male and fe-
male).
6. Written assignments should always be designed
to develop the students’ critical skills and not just
repeat back information they have read or heard
in class. In a good course, students may learn
more from the process of their own writing, than
they learn from the lectures and readings. When
students write creatively and critically, they inte-
grate what they have heard in class and read in
books, into a form of knowledge that is integrated
with the rest of their knowledge. That does not
happen if they just repeat what the “experts” say.
50 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 27

7. Students should keep in mind that a full load for on their transcript and receive the grade points
a full time student at ICRS is 12 credits (4 courses) indicated. However if it is a required course for Name Chapter 4
per semester. Students who complain about too the student, s/he will have to take it again the Highest Degree

much work may be trying to take more than 4

courses, or they may still have substantial work
following year.
Field
Current Position
Institution
List of Faculty Members
responsibilities outside of ICRS. In that case, they
should probably only take 3 courses per semester
4. A student who receives a grade of C or C+ may,
at the sole option of the teachers, be given an
Department
Primary Research Interests & Their Research Interests
opportunity to revise her/his final paper or turn
and plan to take more courses in the summer or
in other uncompleted assignments. In that case,
in their second year.
the grade will be recorded as ‘Rev’. All revisions
8. Students whose TOEFL scores are still below 550 must be completed within one month of the end
are recommended to take 3 courses per semester of the semester. If the revisions are not com- A. ICRS Doctoral Faculty Members
and may not take more than 4 courses per semes- pleted, or do not raise the grade to the level of a 1. Prof. Dr. H.M. Amin Abdullah 5. Prof. Dr. Heddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra
ter. B- or above, the grade will be recorded on the Ph.D, Middle East Tech University Ph.D, Columbia University, New York
transcript as Rev/F, Rev/C or Rev/C+ (METU), Ankara, Turkey Anthropology
Islamic Philosophy Gadjah Mada University Faculty of Cul-
C. Grading 5. Students who are given an opportunity for revis- Rector State Islamic Univ. tural
1. The two teachers of a doctoral course at ICRS ing their paper or finishing assignments after the Sunan Kalijaga Philosophy, Faculty of Sciences Syncretism
will submit a single grade for each of the stu- end of the semester, usually should not receive a Ushuluddin
dents in the class. Methods of evaluation and Islamic Studies; Islamic Thought
grade higher than a B-, which will be recorded as
how the teachers determine a single grade for each Rev/B-, unless there are extenuating circum- 2. Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah 6. Dr. Syafa atun Almirzanah
student will vary from course to course. Ph.D., University of Amsterdam Social Ph.D., LST, Chicago
stances. Students are required to submit their Islam and Comparative Religion
Anthropology
2. ICRS uses a 4.0 standard for grading as follows: work in adequate academic English before the Head of Comparative Religious Studies
Lecturer of UGM Graduate School
end of the semester. Gadjah Mada University UGM Graduate State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
School Islamic Theology
Letter Grade Number 6. Students who receive a grade of B- or above may Comparative Mysticism
Grade Points Grade Religion & Disaster, gender
not be given a chance to revise their paper for a
higher grade after the end of the semester. Of 7. Dr. Sekar Ayu Aryani
A 4.00 91-100
course if they wish to revise and improve their 3. Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta Ph.D., State Islamic University Sunan
A- 3.70 86-90
Ph.D., GTU & UC Berkeley Kalijaga
B+ 3.30 81-85 paper with advice from the professor, they are Ethics and Social Science Psychology
B 3.00 71-80
welcome to do so, but their grade will remain the ICRS International Representive Vice Rector
B- 2.70 66-70
C+ 2.30 61-65 same. Gadjah Mada University/ UKDW UGM State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
C 2.00 51-60 Graduate School Islamic Theology
F 0.00 50 and below 7. Incompletes must be requested from the teacher/ Religion & Social Change in Indonesia Religious (and Inter-religious) Psychology
Au 0.00 Auditor (Pendengar) s by the last class meeting. Incompletes can only
Inc - Incomplete be granted to students who can demonstrate se- 8. Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir
w/d 0.00 withdrew before 4. Dr. Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta Ph. D, Indiana University, Bloomington,
the 7th week
rious problems that prevent them from complet- Anthropology, Social Science Indiana
Rev - Revision in process ing their work on time, such as serious illness, Head of the Institute for Research and History and Philosophy of Science
death of a loved one, a natural disaster or other Lecturer Duta Wacana Christian University Executive Director
serious circumstances beyond their control. Engineering (Teknik) Gadjah Mada University
Marginal Groups; Peace and Conflict Center for Religious and Cross-cultural
3. Please note that B- is the lowest passing grade. 8. Incompletes must be finished within 4 months Studies
Grades below B- (C+, C and F) will be recorded of the end of the semester. Otherwise they will Religion & Environment; Religion &
Science
26 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
the exchange program with other universities. The
Admissions Committee includes faculty members
from all three universities.
b. The Financial Aid Committee (FAC).
The primary responsibility of the Financial Aid
Committee is to evaluate students’ applications for
financial aid and determine which students are eli-
gible for the various kinds of grants. The FAC also
evaluates special requests from students during the
year and when necessary meets with students who
have special needs.
c. The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC).
The primary responsibility of the AAC is to make
decisions about how to apply academic policy to
individual cases. In some situations the Academic
Affairs Commit- tee makes preliminary decisions be recorded as Inc/F. Students who successfully
that must be later approved by the Academic Coun- finish their Incompletes in time are eligible for
cil or the Board of Trustees. This committee func- any grade (from F to A).
tions like an Executive Committee to carry out the
9. The due date for all assignments must be no later
academic policies of ICRS. Currently the Academic
than the official last day of the semester. Grades
Committee includes all the Core Doctoral Faculty
are due from Instructors three weeks after the
of ICRS, plus the Registrar and faculty members rep-
last day of the semester.
resenting all three broad areas of academic focus
and all three universities. The AAC was appointed
by the Board of Trustees.
D. Class Size Limits
1. The maximum number of students who may en-
d. Other Committees. roll in an ICRS doctoral seminar or course is 20.
Other committees are formed and disbanded for
2. ICRS doctoral faculty members may request a
specific times and purposes. They include, for ex-
smaller limit, for example 10 or 15, for courses
ample, Committees for planning conferences, for
that require intensive interaction between all stu-
research, for Faculty Re- view, for fund raising, for
dents.
curriculum evaluation, for long range planning, etc.
3. If there are more than the maximum limit of stu-
dents who wish to enroll in a course, the students
will be accepted in the following order of prior-
ity:
a. First year, regular ICRS doctoral students
b. ICRS students in their 2nd, 3rd or 4th year
c. Foreign Exchange Students on an exchange
program with a partner institution
d. Doctoral students from other doctoral pro-
grams at UGM, UIN Suka or UKDW
e. Advanced Master’s students from CRCS (with
written approval of the lecturer)11
f. Advanced Master’s students from other pro-
grams at UGM, UIN or UKDW (with written
approval from the lecturer).
1
Advanced CRCS M.A. students may take ICRS-Yogya courses
for credit or audit if there is room in the class and they have
written permission from the lecturer. CRCS students have prior-
ity over students from other M.A. programs because the CRCS
program is in English and attracts more ICRS-Yogya students.
CHAPTER 8. ATTENDING DOCTORAL COURSES 51
4. Auditors are not permitted in classes that have
reached their maximum limit of students taking
the course for credit.
5. ICRS seminars and courses that have two or less
students enrolled for credit will be cancelled. They
may be replaced with a reading course.
6. Classes with only 3-4 students may be cancelled
at the discretion of the lecturer and administra-
tion of ICRS.
E. Auditing Policy
1. Auditors are encouraged to participate fully in
the class and complete all the assignments. Teach-
ers are not required to grade the work of auditors
unless they are willing to for the sake of the stu-
dent. However auditors do not receive a letter
grade and cannot change their status from audit
to credit after the 7th week of class.
2. Auditors are not permitted in classes that have
exceeded the maximum number of students.
F. Non-ICRS Students
1. Doctoral (S3) students from all the different fac-
ulties of UGM, UIN or UKDW are permitted to
enroll in ICRS courses without charge, as long as
the course does not exceed its maximum class
size.
2. Advanced M.A. students from UGM, UIN and
UKDW may also enroll for credit or audit, with-
out charge, as long as they have written permis-
sion from the lecturer and the class does not ex-
ceed its maximum limit.
3. Foreign Exchange Students, both from ICRS and
from other programs (such as CRCS), may also
enroll without charge, subject to the conditions
of permission from the lecturer, class size and
priority listed above.
52 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
G. Adding and Dropping Courses
1. Students may add or drop courses without pen-
alty before the end of the 2nd week. If they add a
course, they are responsible to make up all the
work they have missed during the first 2 weeks.
rd th
2. From the 3 week up until the end of the 7 week
of the semester, students may withdraw from
courses or change their status from credit to au-
dit (with permission of the instructor). Adding
and dropping courses, and changes in status be-
tween credit and audit, are free for the first 2
weeks of class and will not be recorded on the
student’s transcript. From the beginning of the
3rd week until the end of the 7th week there is an
administrative fee of Rp.30,000 for each course
that is added, dropped (withdraw), or changed
between audit and credit.
th
3. After the 7 week of the semester, students may
not change their status in a course and all credit
students will eventually receive a grade that will
be recorded on their permanent transcript.
H. Grade Point Average Requirement
1. All students must maintain a Grade Point Aver-
age (GPA or IP) of at least 3.0 in order to remain
in the doctoral program. If a student’s GPA is
below 3.0 at the end of the first semester, they
will be put on probation.
2. If their GPA is still below 3.0 at the end of the
first year they will be dropped from the program,
I. Student Evaluations of Courses and
Instructors
1. ICRS lecturers will be given course evaluation
forms to give to their students at or before the
last class.
2. These forms must be filled out by students and
submitted to the ICRS office. These forms are
fully confidential and may not be given directly
to the lecturer(s).
3. The forms will be read by the Director and Asso-
ciate Director of ICRS, and used for evaluating
the course and its teachers.
4. Constructive criticisms from the course evalua-
tion forms may be passed on to the teacher(s) at
the discretion of the ICRS administration.
5. Lecturers may request to see the course evalua-
tions to help improve their courses.
J. Individual Reading Courses
1. Doctoral students during their first two years may
request an individualized reading course as part
of their 24 credits of minimum required
coursework.
2. The assumption behind a Reading Course is that
the student needs to take a course in preparation
for Comprehensive Examinations that is not of-
fered in any of the three universities.
3. Reading courses are especially important for for-
eign students who do not speak Indonesian and
cannot take most of the courses in the three uni-
versities that are offered in Indonesian.
4. Reading courses are normally for 3 credits and
should include more reading and writing than in
normal courses, in order to compensate for the
lack of lectures.
5. Students are responsible to design their own read-
ing course, with advice from the faculty member
overseeing the course, including suggesting books
that will be read and papers that will be written.
6. Students must find an appropriate faculty mem-
ber of the ICRS DF who agrees to guide the
CHAPTER 3. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACADEMIC STRUCTURES 25
7. CDF members are also members of the Doctoral
Faculty and Academic Council of ICRS.
8. Currently the Core Doctoral Faculty of ICRS in-
cludes:
· Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney- Risakotta, Religion,
Ethics and Social Science
· Dr. Siti Syamsiyatun, M.A. , Islamic Studies,
Gender and Interfaith Relations
· Dr. Wening Udasmoro, DEA, French Literary
& Social Theory, Gender, Religion
· Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D., Islamic Politics, Compara-
tive Politics
6. The Academic Council meets at least twice a year
F. The Doctoral Faculty and the Academic
and is responsible to discuss all matters of aca-
Council (Dewan Akademik)
demic policy and make recommendations to the
1. The Doctoral Faculty members are nominated by Board of Trustees (see the ICRS- Yogya Faculty
the ICRS Board from the three sponsoring uni- Handbook for more details).
versities.
7. The current (2012) Doctoral Faculty of ICRS and
2. Each university provides at least six faculty mem-
their areas of expertise are listed in the next sec-
bers, two for each of the three Academic Areas. tion.
Each Area must have a minimum of six Doc-
toral Faculty members.
G. The Committees
3. These are full time faculty members in their own Committees are normally appointed by the
departments. While their Departments acknowl- Board of Trustees, who are part of the Academic
edge and support their part time work with ICRS Council. There are three committees that meet rou-
(see MOU, Section 4, c,7), their primary respon- tinely and other committees that are formed and dis-
sibilities lies with their home departments. banded for limited times and purposes.
4. The Academic Council of ICRS- Yogya currently
a. The Admissions Committee (AC).
consists of 31 faculty members selected from the
The primary responsibility of the Admissions
three universities. All of the Doctoral Faculty hold
Committee is to make decisions on who is admitted
doctoral degrees from accredited universities and
into the Ph.D. program. The AC determines criteria
demonstrate academic integrity and capability for
and rules and regulations that govern the whole pro-
research.
cess of evaluating and choosing applicants. The AC
5. The ICRS Board of Trustees coordinates the se- also is in charge of the Pre-Ph.D. program and rec-
lection of Doctoral Faculty members to ensure ommends policies for recruitment of students to the
academic, religious, ethnic and gender balance. regular Ph.D. program, the Pre-Ph.D. pro- gram and
24 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 8. ATTENDING DOCTORAL COURSES 53

D. Administrative Chart of ICRS-Yogya reading course and then obtain permission
from their Advisor/Supervisor and from the Di-
rector or Associate Director of ICRS.
7. Even though students are responsible for design-
ing their reading course according to their aca-
demic needs, they must accept the direction and
follow the requirements of the DF member over-
seeing the course.
8. In a reading course the student should schedule
meetings with the responsible faculty member
between 5 to 7 times during the semester. Each
meeting may be 1-2 hours long and are used for
discussing the materials the student has read and
hearing the faculty member’s feedback on what
they have written.
9. At each meeting the student must also turn in
written work, usually critical book reviews.
Normally a reading course also includes one large
final paper but may also include turning in a first
draft of the paper for discussion.
10. Faculty members who lead reading courses
are not expected to prepare presentations or
necessarily read all the material read by the stu-
dent. They must however read and evaluate the
students’ writings.
11. At the end of the course the faculty member
must turn in to the ICRS office the syllabus of
the reading course, a record of the number of
meetings with the student and the final grade.

E. Core Doctoral Faculty of ICRS ICRS. See below,

1. The Core Doctoral Faculty (CDF) consists of
4. Chapter XVI for more information on the re-
those Doctoral Faculty members whose primary
sponsibilities of CDF members.
academic task is to work for ICRS.
5. Most CDF have a joint appointment between
2. CDF members receive between 50% and 100%
ICRS and one of the Departments (Faculties) of
of their salary from ICRS- Yogya, depending on
UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga or UKDW.
their contract.
6. Some CDF members may have full time positions
3. CDF members have offices at ICRS- Yogya and
only at ICRS without any responsibilities in other
spend at least twenty hours per week (depending
departments of UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga or
on the terms of their contract) in work related to
UKDW.
54 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 3. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACADEMIC STRUCTURES 23

4. Dra. Siti Syamsiyatun, M. A., Ph. D was appointed pointed by the Director and Associate Director
as the Associate Director of ICRS for an initial in keeping with the budget of ICRS that is ap-
Chapter 9 period of two years. On August 2010, the Board proved by the Board of Trustees. See the Staff
of Trustees replaced her with Dr. Wening Handbook for more details.
Language Policy Udasmoro, DEA.
6. The administrative staff (2012-2013) of ICRS
5. All administrative staff of ICRS-Yog- ya are ap- includes:

Director : Dr. Siti Syamsiyatun, MA.

Associate Director
ICRS International Representative
Financial Development Officer
Financial Development Officer Ass.
Chief Financial Officer
Academic Affairs
International Scholar Host
International Scholar Host Ass.
Media and Communication Officer
Secretary
Office Helper
English Teacher
: Dr. Wening Udasmoro, DEA
: Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta
: Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D.
: Elis Zuliati Anis, MA.
: M. Kuncara Budi Santosa, M.Akt., MM.
: Maufur, MA.
: Faishol Adib, MA
: Ramang Nurdiyansah
: Hendrikus Paulus Kaunang, MA
: Cendy Vebriana, A.Md.
: Triatmoko
: Jessica Peng

A. All instruction at ICRS is held in English
1. Some foreign ICRS doctoral students do not
speak Indonesian. Classes will also be attended
by visiting exchange students who do not speak
Indonesian.
2. Lecturers in all ICRS doctoral seminars and
courses must teach in English even if all students
in the class speak Indonesian. The reason for
this policy is that ICRS is training doctoral stu-
dents to be effective participants in international
forums. They need as much practice as possible
in using English. The only exception is in using
other original languages such as Arabic or He-
brew in discussing sacred texts.
3. All papers and assignments in ICRS classes must
be written in English. This will help prepare stu-
The administrative staff
 22 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
ICRS Board of Trustees
B. Board of Trustees
The highest governing body of ICRS is the ICRS
Board of Trustees (Majelis Konsorsium).4 The Board
of Trustees is directly appointed by the Rectors of
the three universities. The Board provides a written
report to the three Rectors once a year. The ICRS
Board of Trustees consists of 13-16 members, in-
cluding 3-6 representatives of each university who
are appointed by the Rectors of their universities.
The Director of ICRS is a member of the Board ex-
officio. The Board of Trustees holds monthly meet-
ings from September to June and has a two day work-
ing retreat each year. ICRS Board meetings are also
usually attended by the Associate Director, Regis-
trar, Secretary, and the Finance Officer of ICRS. A quo-
rum for official decisions of the ICRS Board requires at
least 7 members, including at least one representative
from each university and the Director.
C. Director, Associate Director and
Administrative Staff
1. The Director of ICRS is nominated by the Board
of Trustees of ICRS for a period of 4 years. S/he
is then appointed in a letter of appointment (Surat
4
The Board of Trustees was originally called the Executive
Board or Dewan Eksekutif.
Keputusan or SK) by the Rectors of all three uni-
versities.
2. Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta was chosen
as the founding Director of ICRS for a special
period of three years (1 July 2006 till 30 June
2009). Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta is
loaned or assigned (ditugaskan) from UKDW to
UGM for a period of three years and can be re-
newed, to serve as the full-time Director of ICRS.
He remains on the faculty of UKDW and will
continue to teach in the Graduate Programs of
all three universities (UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga
and UKDW). On 7 August 2010, The Board of
Trustees has elected Dra. Siti Syamsiyatun, M.A.,
Ph. D as the new Director of ICRS for the period
from September 2010 to August 2014.
3. The Associate Director is nominated by the Board
of Trustees of ICRS- Yogya for an initial period
of 2-4 years. S/he is then appointed in a letter of
appointment (Surat Keputusan) by the Rector of
his/her university and then by the Rectors of all
three universities.
The Current Board of Trustees of ICRS
Prof. Dr. Banawiratma (UKDW)
Prof. Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta (ICRS)*
Prof. Dr. E. Gerrit Singgih (UKDW)*
Dr. Fatimah Husein (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)*
Prof. Dr. Hartono, DEA, DESS (UGM)
Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah (UGM)*
Prof. Dr. Iskandar Zulkarnain (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)
Dr. Jeanny Dhewayani (UKDW)
Prof. Dr. Khoiruddin Nasution (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)
Prof. Dr. M. Machasin (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)*
Dr. Sekar Ayu Aryani (UIN Sunan Kalijaga)
Dra. Siti Syamsiyatun, M.A., Ph.D. (Director, ICRS)
Prof. Dr. Umar Anggara Jenie (UGM)
Dr. Wening Udasmoro, DEA (UGM)
Dr. Yahya Wijaya (UKDW)*
Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir (UGM)*
*Founding Board members
dents for writing their Comprehensive Examina-
tions and Dissertations in English.
4. Comprehensive Examinations and Dissertations
must be written in English. The Examining Com-
mittees for these examinations will (if possible)
include a foreign examiner who may not speak
Indonesian.
5. ICRS provides native speaking English teachers
who will help students improve their English
writing. Students should prepare papers well
ahead of time so that they can receive editorial
help from the English teachers for improving their
final draft.
6. Most required reading assignments should be from
published materials in English. Indonesian lan-
guage reading assignments may also be given, but
alternative English materials should be indicated
for those who do not read Indonesian. Recom-
mended reading assignments may be in any lan-
guage.
7. The decision to use English as the primary lan-
guage of ICRS was painful to decide since we are
aware of the “imperialism” of English. Most
people from any nation, including Indonesia, com-
municate most effectively in their mother tongue.
However, English is now the single most
effective language of universal communication.
Indonesians must master English in order to par-
ticipate in international discourse, including dis-
course with other Asian, African and Latin
American scholars.
B. Language Requirements
1. The basic, minimum language requirements for
ICRS doctoral students is defined as fluency in
English (demonstrated by a TOEFL score of 550
or above), and one other modern language (such
CHAPTER 9. LANGUAGE POLICY 55
as Indonesian, French, Tagalog, Chinese, etc.)
2. Students whose research involves textual study
in sacred texts are required to demonstrate com-
petency in at least one scriptural language before
starting the program. They may be required to
study another scriptural language if it is consid-
ered necessary for their research.
3. Students in any of the three areas may be required
by their Primary Academic Supervisor to study a
language or other skill (such as statistics) if it is
considered necessary to their proposed research.
4. Students whose TOEFL scores are below 550
are required to take an approved English Course.
They are encouraged to take only 3 courses in
addition to English. They may not take more than
4 courses (12 credits), in addition to studying
English, until their TOEFL scores are at or above
550.
5. Students with TOEFL scores below 550 must
raise their scores to 550 before they go on an in-
ternational sandwich program.
6. Before students may have their Written Compre-
hensive Examinations, they should pass any En-
glish classes conducted by ICRS.
7. In any case, ICRS doctoral students are not per-
mitted to take their Oral Comprehensive Exami-
nation before they achieve a TOEFL score above
550 (or its equivalent).
56 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Chapter 10
Photocopying Policy
A. Free Photocopying for Short, Required
Materials
1. This includes required materials for a course, such
as syllabi, tests/examinations, short bibliogra-
phies (1-2 pages), brief charts or outlines, etc.
Materials such as this should be submitted to the
ICRS office for photocopying before the class
where they are required.
2. ICRS will not pay for photocopying required or
recommended readings for classes. Required and
recommended readings must be purchased by the
21
Chapter 3
Administrative and
Academic Structures
students. It is the lecturer’s responsibility to make A. Organizational Chart of ICRS
sure students have access to required readings well
before they are due.
3. ICRS will not pay for photocopying students’
papers or reports.
4. ICRS will pay for one or two photocopied read-
ers and/or books to be placed in the library.
5. ICRS lecturers are expected to pay for their own
readers or photocopied reading materials.
6. At the discretion of the staff, ICRS may photo-
copy papers and other student materials for a stan-
dard charge per page.
B. No Photocopying Copyright Materials
Available for Sale in Indonesia
1. ICRS does not condone photocopying of books
that are available for sale in Indonesia. Books
that are published in Indonesia and still in print
should be ordered through a bookstore so that
they are available to students before the first class.
2. Photocopying materials available in Indonesia is
unnecessary because the cost of Indonesian books
is reasonable. Photocopying cheats both the
publishers and the authors of payment for their
costs and labor.
20 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 57

H. ICRS Ph.D. Program Chart

Chapter 11
Advising, Supervising, and
Promoting Doctoral Students

A. Primary Academic Supervision

1. Primary Academic Supervisor. When new stu-
dents arrive for their first year at ICRS, the Aca-
demic Committee will assign all students a Pri-
mary Academic Supervisor. The Primary Aca-
demic Supervisor is responsible for guiding the
students to prepare for their Comprehensive Ex-
aminations.

2. Promoter. Upon completion of their language

requirements and Comprehensive Examinations
(at the end of their 2nd year), the Academic Com-
mittee appoints a Promoter for the successful
Ph.D. Candidate. The Promoter, who is normally
the same person as the Primary Academic Super- demic Supervisor occasionally. However, their
visor, is responsible for guiding the student’s re- primary academic supervision should come from
search and writing until they successfully com- their Primary Academic Supervisor.
plete their dissertation and receive the Ph.D. de-
gree (at the end of their 4th year). 2. Foreign Academic Advisor. If possible12, before
the end of their second semester, the Academic
B. Secondary Supervision Committee will assign each student a Foreign
Academic Advisor who will provide guidance for
1. Secondary Academic Supervisor. When new stu-
them during their sandwich program. The For-
dents arrive for their first year at ICRS, the Aca-
eign Academic Advisor will also be an outside
demic Committee also appoints a Secondary Aca-
demic Supervisor. The Secondary Academic Su-
pervisor will serve on their Comprehensive Ex- 12
In some cases a student may only locate and obtain the
amination Committee and be one of their exam- agreement of a Foreign Supervisor while they are on their sand-
iners. Students may consult their Secondary Aca- wich program
58 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
reader for their Comprehensive Examinations.
3. Co-Promoters. Upon successful completion of
their Comprehensive Examinations, the Academic
Committee will appoint (along with the Promoter)
two Co-Promoters, one based in Indonesia and
one based in a foreign university. The Co-Pro-
moters are ideally the same persons as the Sec-
ondary Supervisor and the Foreign Supervisor.
The Co-Promoters should provide occasional
advice and direction as needed. They will be on
the Oral Examination Committee for Examina-
tion of the completed Ph.D. dissertation.
C. Appointment of the Primary and
Secondary Academic Supervisors
1. New students are encouraged to state in their
application to ICRS if there is a particular mem-
ber of the ICRS DF whom they would like to
request as their Academic Supervisors.
2. The Associate Director will take into consider-
ation student requests of this nature and if pos-
sible appoint the persons requested as the
student’s Academic Supervisors.
3. However, students are not guaranteed that their
request will be fulfilled. Choice of Academic
Supervisors depends, among other things, on the
availability and willingness of the DF members.
4. By August 15 before their first semester, the Aca-
demic Committee will choose Primary and Sec-
ondary Academic Supervisors for each student
based on each student’s application materials.
5. ICRS doctoral students should ask the appointed
Academic Supervisors if they are willing and
available to become their Academic Supervisors.
6. If the appointed Academic Supervisors are will-
ing and available, the student
should ask them to sign a
“Willingness to Serve as an
Academic Supervisor” form
(available from the
ICRSYogya office).
7. If the student is unhappy
with the DF member ap-
pointed as their Academic
Supervisor, they may ap-
peal the decision in writing
within one month of the
appointment, requesting re-
consideration based on co-
gent reasons.
8. The Academic Committee will attempt to fulfill
the students’ requests but must consider other
factors (such as workload, academic competency,
balance, health considerations, sabbatical leaves,
etc.), of which the student may not be aware.
ICRS must also protect the well-being of DF
members who may find it difficult to say no to a
direct request from a student. Some lecturers may
already have too many students.
9. The Primary Academic Supervisor of an ICRS doc-
toral student must be a member of the ICRS DF.
dents may make contacts that open the possibil-
ity for returning to their host university for fur-
ther research.
9. All sandwich programs are subject to funding.
Since ICRS is committed to sandwich programs
for all Indonesian students, ICRS will do its best
to find funding to al- low all Indonesian students
to spend at least 5 months (one semester) at a
foreign educational institution. ICRS provides
funding for the sandwich program in most
scholar- ships administered by ICRS. However in
the final analysis, responsibility for funding of the
sandwich program, as well as other aspects of
the Ph.D. program, lies with the student. ICRS
cannot guarantee to provide funding for the sand-
wich program for every Indonesian doctoral stu-
dent. Rather we will work with students to help
them find the necessary support for all aspects
of their program.
10. In the first five years of ICRS- Yogya we have
negotiated student exchanges with the following
universities:
G Cape Town University, Cape Town, South Af-
rica
G Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
G Florida International University, Florida, USA
G Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
G
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA,
USA
G Ondokuz Mayis, Turkey
G Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CN, USA
G Melbourne University, Australia
G
National University of Singapore, Asia Research
Institute, Singapore
G Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
G Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY,
USA
11. In addition to the above, the following uni-
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 19
versities have expressed interest in having stu-
dent and faculty exchanges with ICRS:
G Arizona State University, USA
G
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong,
China
G
Fudan University, Shanghai, China
G Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
G Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
G Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
G Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
G
Oxford University, Oxford, UK
G Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands
G Ren Min University, Beijing, China
G Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
G Shaanxi Normal University, Xian, China·
University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
G. CRCS-ICRS Inter- Session During June
and July
1. During the months of June and July, CRCS and
ICRS jointly offer an intersession that includes 2
or 3 intensive courses.
2. These are elective courses of 3 graduate credits
each, which are open to M.A. and Ph.D. students
and open also to outside visitors.
3. There is an extra fee for these courses and stu-
dents may not take more than 2 courses during
the 2 month period.
4. Usually two of the courses are taught by visiting
faculty from other countries and one is taught by
an Indonesian lecturer.
5. A special program is also arranged for visiting
exchange students from other countries (or other
parts of Indonesia) that includes cultural orien-
tation and visits to places of interest around
Yogyakarta and Central Java.
18 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
willing to work with the student during their
sandwich program and possibly become an
outside reader for their Comprehensive Exami-
nation and Dissertation.
5. ICRS requires a sandwich for all Indonesian doc-
toral students for the following reasons:
a. All Indonesian Ph.D. students must have some
international experience to enable them to
view their religion and culture from another
perspective.
b. Ph.D. students, who will be top religious and
academic leaders in Indonesia, should see how
outstanding educational institutions operate in
another country.
c. Living in an English speaking environment is
very important for improving Indonesian
students’ language and writing skills.
d. The sandwich program provides access to out-
standing library resources that are necessary
for doctoral studies but unavailable in Indo-
nesia.
e. Ph.D. students develop international net-
works, both for ongoing partnerships and so
that their voices are heard in international fo-
rums.
f. The partner institutions in the exchange pro-
gram include the finest scholars in religious
studies. Students will be sent to study with an
expert in their chosen field of research.
g. The exchange program attracts outstanding
foreign faculty to be involved in ICRS as aca-
demic supervisors, visiting professors and out-
side readers.
h. The structured involvement of international
institutions and scholars provides international
legitimacy and academic accountability for
ICRSYogya.
i. The exchange program will bring many foreign
students (and faculty) to Indonesia. This will
expose them to the problems and perspectives
of the largest and most dynamic Muslim coun-
try in the world and enable them to share their
perspectives with Indonesians.
j. The exchange program will stimulate interna-
tional research on the religions of Indonesia.
6. Sandwich Program can be proposed after the stu-
dents completed their Comprehensive Examina-
tions. Depending on other circumstantial factors,
the sandwich program can be arranged for the
fourth semester or for their dissertation research.
7. They should also be aware that students must pay
full tuition until they pass their Comprehensive
Exams, whereas most scholarships only pay half
tuition after the second year.
8. Students may consider having two “sandwich
programs”, a second sandwich program requires
finding special funding, as most ICRS scholar-
ships only include funding for one sandwich pro-
gram. During their initial sandwich program, stu-
CHAPTER 11. ADVISING, SUPERVISING, AND PROMOTING DOCTORAL STUDENTS
10. The Secondary Academic Supervisor should be
a locally resident member of the DF as well.
However, a student may request a Secondary
Academic Supervisor from outside the DF of
ICRS if there are cogent academic reasons to sup-
port the request. The Secondary Academic Su-
pervisor must be resident in Indonesia.
D. Changing the Primary or Secondary
Supervisor
1. The Primary and Secondary Supervisor are nor-
mally not changed except for very strong reasons.
2. Either the Primary or Secondary Supervisor may
withdraw. If so, they must write a letter explain-
ing in detail why they can no longer supervise
the student.
3. If the student wishes to change her/his Primary
or Secondary Supervisor, s/he must approach an
alternative Supervisor and ask them to sign the
“Willingness to serve as an Academic Supervi-
sor” form.
4. S/he must then talk with the current Supervisor
and ask them if they will support changing the
Supervisor.
5. The student then must write a detailed letter to
the Associate Director explaining why it is in the
student’s best academic interests to change their
Supervisor. The letter should explain who they
wish to become their Supervisor and why. It
should also explain whether their current Super-
visor agrees or not and should include the signed
agreement of the proposed Supervisor.
6. The Associate Director will then bring the request
to a meeting of the Academic Committee to de-
cide whether or not to appoint a new Supervisor
for the student.
59
E. Responsibilities of the Primary and
Secondary Academic Supervisors:
Preparing Students for Successful
Completion of Their Comprehensive
Examinations
1. The first task of the Primary Academic Supervi-
sor is to help the student, by the end of their sec-
ond semester, to define the general topic of their
anticipated dissertation research. Initially, this
does not require writing a dissertation proposal,
but it does require limiting the general topic of
their anticipated dissertation.
2. Secondly, the Primary Supervisor should help the
student outline the fields of study (including
methods, theories, particular authors or books,
historical periods, etc.), and academic skills (lan-
guages, statistics, field research techniques, etc.),
which are necessary for the student to master
before s/he writes the dissertation.
3. Thirdly, the Supervisor should help the student
realistically assess their strengths and weaknesses
with regard to readiness to write a doctoral dis-
sertation in their chosen area. This could lead the
student to change her/his topic if s/he does not
appear qualified to write on that topic.
4. Fourthly, the Supervisor should help the student
to plan how they can overcome deficiencies and
prepare themselves to master the necessary fields
of studies and academic skills to do their research.
This plan may include independent reading and
library research and/or additional courses, either
in Yogyakarta or during their sandwich program.
Students may not write their Comprehensive
Examination before they have fulfilled their lan-
guage requirements, including having a TOEFL
score of at least 550.
5. The Supervisor should discuss with the student
where they expect to spend their third and fourth
 60 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
7. The Supervisor should also explain the contents
8. The Supervisor should then help the student for-
9. The student will then prepare, with advice from
Student Orientation
semesters and how it will help them prepare for
their Comprehensives.
a. This includes their choice or hopes for the lo-
10. After the Primary Academic Supervisor has ap-
cation of their sandwich program.
b. The timing and place of their sandwich pro-
gram should not interfere with their ability to
complete the Comprehensive Examination
during their second year.
c. The Supervisor should remind the student that
if they do not complete their Comprehensive
Examination in the second year it may be dif-
11. Comprehensive Examination Proposals that are
ficult to finish the program in four years.
d. They should also be reminded that they must
pay full tuition until they pass their Compre-
hensive Examination, whereas their scholar-
ship may only cover full tuition for two years.
6. If the Supervisor determines that the student
must obtain additional academic skills, such as
another language, statistics, or empirical research
methods, the Supervisor is responsible for requir-
ing the student to take and pass courses in the
required subject.
and form of the one, required, General Compre-
hensive Examination.
mulate the content of their two, required, Pre-
liminary Papers. The contents of these Prelimi-
nary Papers are specially tailored to the needs and
interests of the student.
their Primary Academic Supervisor, a Compre-
hensive Examination Proposal that outlines the
scope and content of their two Preliminary Pa-
pers and how they, along with the general Com-
prehensive Examination, will help prepare the
student to do their research and write their dis-
sertation. The proposal should include bibliog-
raphies for the two Preliminary Papers.
proved the student’s Comprehensive Examina-
tion Proposal, it should be given to the Second-
ary Academic Supervisor, and if possible the
Foreign Advisor, for approval or revision as nec-
essary. After it is approved by both Supervisors
it should be presented at a meeting of the Aca-
demic Committee for final approval.
approved by two Supervisors and the Academic
Committee do not need further approval. How-
ever, a student’s Comprehensive Examination
Proposal should be presented to their Foreign
Academic Advisor as soon as s/he is appointed.
The Foreign Advisor may suggest helpful im-
provements or modifications. After approval by
the Academic Committee, changes to the Com-
prehensive Examination Proposal may only be
made if agreed upon by the student and both
Academic Supervisors.
library and other needed resources available in
that location to continue with full time research
f. Students who do not go to a fieldwork or special
library location are strongly encouraged to stay
in Yogyakarta where they can receive support and
direct, regular feedback on their research.
g. If they have not already done so, students must
present their research during one of the Wednes-
day Forums.
h. In addition, all third and fourth year students lo-
cated in Yogyakarta will form a “Promotion
Club” that meets once a month. At each meet-
ing, one of the students will present either a re-
search progress report or a chapter from their dis-
sertation. The promotion club is required for ICRS
Ph.D. Candidates who are located in Yogyakarta.
All ICRS Doctoral Faculty (DF) members are also
invited to the promotion club meetings. The Pro-
moter and Co-Promoter of the student present-
ing his/her work
i. Students must present their research papers in the
Dissertation Promotion Club at least once, and
attend twice before they undertake their closed,
and Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
j. Students, together with their promoters, must
publish their research (part of it) in an accredited
journal, or a referred, edited book.
4. Fourth Year: Completing the Dissertation
Fourth year students who are in Yogyakarta
should continue to attend the Promotion Club and
Wednesday Forums. Most importantly they should
meet frequently with their Primary Promoter to dis-
cuss drafts of each chapter of the dissertation as
they are completed. ICRSYogya students are not
required to be resident in Yogyakarta during their
third and fourth years. However, writing a disserta-
tion is very hard and lonely work. For some students,
the choice of whether or not to stay in Yogyakarta,
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 17
where there is academic stimulation and encourage-
ment available, may make the difference between
success or failure in completing the Ph.D. Even those
who stay in Yogyakarta must show initiative in seek-
ing the support and help they need to complete their
work on time.
F. The Sandwich Program
1. ICRS requires all Indonesian doctoral students to
participate in a four to six month “sandwich pro-
gram”. Foreign ICRS students are not required to
go to another country. They may stay in Indone-
sia or arrange a sandwich program appropriate to
their area of research, subject to funding.
2. Approximately half of the ICRS Indonesian stu-
dents will be sent to a university in Asia or the
Southern hemisphere and the other half will be
sent to a university in North America or Europe.
3. Students are encouraged to show initiative in
choosing a university that is best for their research
interests, and establishing a relationship with a
foreign professor who may become their Foreign
Advisor.
4. ICRS chooses a university for each student based
on three main considerations:
a. It must be a university or educational institu-
tion that has an agreement with ICRS- Yogya
for student and faculty exchanges. Such an
agreement, or MOU normally includes an
agreement for reciprocal tuition waivers for
student exchanges and may also include pro-
visions for reciprocal provision of housing
and/or faculty exchanges.
b. It should be a university with general resources
for research that are appropriate to the
student’s area of research.
c. It should be a university that has a professor
16 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
from other graduate courses at UGM, UIN Sunan
Kalijaga and UKDW. Doctoral students have access
to selected courses from the combined offerings of
CRCS at UGM, the Masters and Doctoral Programs
of UIN Sunan Kalijaga and the Graduate Programs
in Theology at UKDW. Students must complete at
least 24 credits of coursework in Yogyakarta. Stu-
dents who do not complete 24 credits by the end of
their second semester may take further courses dur-
ing the summer or in their second year.
2. The Second Year: Comprehensive
Examinations & Dissertation Proposal
Seminar
During their second year, students spend their
time preparing for their Comprehensive Examina-
tions under the supervision of their Primary Aca-
demic Supervisor. During their third or fourth se-
mester student should:
a. Prepare for and write their one General Compre-
hensive Examination. This is a take home exami-
nation. The questions will be handed out in April
and November each year, and students will have
one week to complete their answers.
b. Publish an article about their research in consul-
tation with their supervisors.
c. Write two preliminary papers in preparation for
their dissertation research
d. Hold their Oral Comprehensive Examination
e. Prepare and have their dissertation proposal semi-
nar in consultation with their Promoter.
f. Attend the weekly Wednesday Forum, and if
possible make a presentation of their
g. Write and present their dissertation proposal
Indonesian Students who have completed their Com-
prehensive Examinations may apply for their
sandwich program at the same year, or they may
do their sandwich program in the third year. This
may include taking courses for credit or audit,
doing library research or carrying out other forms
of research approved by their Foreign Academic
Advisor. At the end of the semester abroad the
student should arrange for a transcript of his/her
grades for courses taken, and/or a report from
the Foreign Academic Advisor concerning re-
search activities carried out, to be sent to the
Associate Director of ICRS. The student should
also write a frank personal evaluation of strengths
and weaknesses of their sandwich program. Fur-
ther details about the sandwich program are in
the next section, below.
3. Third Year: Sandwich Program, Research
and Writing Dissertation
During their third year, students who have
passed their Comprehensive Examinations should
either:
a. Do their sandwich program
b. Go to the place of their fieldwork research,
c. Stay in Yogyakarta, or
d. Go to a place that offers outstanding library or
other resources for their research.
e. If they return to their home outside Yogyakarta
they must demonstrate that they have sufficient
CHAPTER 11. ADVISING, SUPERVISING, AND PROMOTING DOCTORAL STUDENTS
12. ICRS Ph.D. students are responsible for keeping
in close touch with their Primary Supervisor from
the time they are appointed (in August) until the
students complete their Comprehensive Exams
approximately one year later. They should meet
or communicate by email with their Supervisor
at least once a month, both to receive encour-
agement and to ensure that they are making ap-
propriate progress towards writing their
Comprehensives. If a Primary Supervisor is not
available for meetings and does not respond to
email communication, students should inform
ICRS of their difficulty.
13. The Primary Academic Supervisor will arrange
with the student appropriate deadlines for taking
and completing their Comprehensive Examina-
tion and two Preliminary Papers in a timely man-
ner.13
14. The Primary and Secondary Academic Supervi-
sors serve as the student’s Comprehensive Ex-
amination Committee, along with one additional
Examiner who is appointed by the Associate Di-
rector of ICRS. They are responsible for reading
and evaluating the Comprehensive Examination
and the two Preliminary Papers.
15. The Primary Academic Supervisor, in consulta-
tion with the Associate Director of ICRS will then
schedule the date for an Oral Examination of the
Comprehensive Examination and two Preliminary
Papers.
16. The Foreign Advisor is invited to the Oral Com-
prehensive Examination but may submit com-
ments and questions in writing if s/he is unable
to attend. If unable to attend, the Foreign Advi-
sor need not be replaced.
17. The Oral Comprehensive Examination must be
attended by either the Primary or Secondary Aca-
61
demic Supervisor. If either of them cannot at-
tend, s/he may be replaced by an Examiner des-
ignated by the Associate Director.
18. The Oral Comprehensive Examination is con-
ducted by 3 or 4 Examiners, and chaired by a
Core Doctoral Faculty member who may or may
not be one of the Examiners.
19. At least one of the three or four Examiners should
be a Professor.
F. Appointment of the Promoter and Co-
Promoters
1. Unless there are strong and cogent reasons for a
change, the Academic Committee of ICRS will
appoint the Primary and Secondary Supervisors
and the Foreign Advisor as the Promoter and as
the two Co-Promoters. This is to ensure conti-
nuity and consistency in academic supervision.
2. If a change is needed, for example, because one
of the Supervisors is unable or unwilling to serve
as Promoter or Co-Promoter, or because the stu-
dent or one of the Supervisors can offer good
reasons for suggesting that another DF member
is more appropriate, then the reasons for the
change should be communicated in writing to the
Academic Committee of ICRS, as soon as pos-
sible after the Comprehensive Examinations and
before the Promoter and Co-Promoters are ap-
pointed.
3. The Academic Committee of ICRS will appoint
the Promoter and two Co-Promoters (including
one Foreign Co-Promoter), not less than one week
and not more than one month after the success-
13
Comprehensive Examinations should be completed by the
end of the second year in order to finish the Ph.D. Dissertation
in 4 years.
62 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
ful completion of the Comprehensive Examina-
tions. This is to give the student and the faculty
time to consider and make suggestions about who
are the most appropriate persons to serve as Pro-
moter and Co-Promoters.
3. The first step is to help the student prepare a
4. If the student does not agree with the persons
chosen as Promoter or Co-Promoters, s/he may
appeal in writing to the Academic Committee
(within two weeks).
5. The Academic Committee will make a decision,
in consultation with other appropriate DF mem-
bers, about who are the most appropriate Pro-
moter and Co-Promoters, after considering the
students appeal. The decision about the Promoter
and Co-Promoters will then be considered final,
unless significant new information is received.
6. Once the Promoter and Co-Promoters have been
appointed, they may not be changed except for
very strong and clear reasons.
G. Changing the Promoter or Co-
Promoters
Procedures for changing the Promoter and Co-
Promoter are the same as the procedures for chang-
ing the Primary and Secondary Academic Supervi-
sors (see above).
H. Responsibilities of the Promoter and
Co-Promoters
1. As was the case with the Primary Academic Su-
pervisor in relation to the Comprehensive Exami-
nations, the Promoter is the main person respon-
sible for overseeing, guiding and encouraging the
student to complete their dissertation.
2. The two Co-Promoters should not give advice
that contradicts the advice of the Promoter. If
there is a difference of opinion between the Co-
Promoters and the Promoter, the student should
follow the direction of the Promoter. The two
Co-Promoters should adjust their advice to the
primary direction of the Promoter.
Dissertation Proposal as follows:
a. After the Promoter has approved the Disser-
tation Proposal, it should be given to the two
Co-Promoters for input, revision and their
approval.
b. Advice from the Foreign Co-Promoter can be
by email.
c. After the Promoter & Co-Promoters have ap-
proved the Dissertation Proposal, the student
will present the proposal at a Dissertation Pro-
posal Seminar.
d. All ICRS DF and students will be invited to
this meeting, but only DF members who are
present at the seminar have the right to de-
cide if the Dissertation Proposal passes or not.
e. DF members present, including the Promoter
and Co-Promoters, will reach a consensus de-
cision on whether the proposal receives an
evaluation of:
Pass Pass with Minor Major
Revisions (which Revisions
can be approved Required
by the
Promoter)
f. The DF Members will decide on the evalua-
tion in an open discussion with the student
out of the room.
g. If the DF Members cannot reach a consen-
sus, then they will vote.
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 15
Doctoral students must understand the tensions pers, for critical discussion and suggestions. Some-
between different hermeneutical and exegetical times the Wednesday Forum will be led by a distin-
(tafsir) methods and how they are influenced by dif- guished Visiting Professor. ICRS doctoral students
ferent theological, cultural and historical contexts. are required to attend these Forums during their first
All the major religions have rich interpretive tradi- two years if they are in Yogyakarta, and as often as
tions that usually developed in isolation from any possible throughout the other two years of their pro-
other religious tradition. In Indonesia, one of the gram. Doctoral students should make presentations
most significant political movements is for the imple- at the Wednesday Forums 2-3 times during their four
mentation of Syari’ah (Islamic Law). Among other year program.
things, students in textual studies are encouraged to
do inter-religious research on the interpretation of
religious law and its role in social life.
While Muslim and Christian methods of inter-
pretation are the primary focus of this area, students
may elect to do research on other religious interpre-
tive traditions.2 During the first semester ICRS of-
fers a doctoral on philosophical hermeneutics with
special attention to how different religious traditions
(and streams within the traditions), interpret their
sacred texts. A second semester seminar includes
detailed comparative study of selected texts from
the Al Qur’an and the Bible. Students should be able
to read least one of the texts in the original language;
however the other may be in a translation. Students
who want to do textual research are required to show
E. The Program of Study
competence in at least one ancient scriptural lan-
guage before being accepted into the program. A 1. The First Year: Coursework
student’s Academic Supervisor will determine, in Doctoral students take 12 graduate credits
consultation with the student, whether or not addi- (SKS) each semester for their first year. These in-
tional languages are required for the student’s re- clude the 3 credits of required doctoral seminars on
search.3 the History of Religions each semester, plus at least
one other ICRS seminar (3 credits) per semester for
D. The Wednesday Forum a total of 6 ICRS doctoral credits. The other 6 elec-
On every Wednesday during the first three tive units may be selected from ICRS seminars or
months of the regular semester, there is a weekly
2
Of course the choice of another religious tradition depends
Wednesday Forum from 12:30-2:30 PM, including
on whether or not there is an academic supervisor available who
free light refreshment. Students, faculty members and is expert in the interpretive tradition of the chosen religion.
staff of ICRS and CRCS present research propos-
3
If necessary, additional language(s) may be studied after en-
als, reports of work in progress or completed pa- tering the Ph.D. program
14 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
are expected to develop competence in one of the
relevant social sciences (e.g. sociology, political sci-
ence, psychology or economics). Students with a
background in social science should show compe-
tence in the moral and social teaching of at least
one religion.
During their first two semesters, students with
these interests may take two ICRS doctoral semi-
nars on Religion and Contemporary Issues (3 cred-
its). In each semester the course focuses on one or
two particular contemporary issues or topics. The
topics change each semester and from year to year.
During the first semester the course examines the
topics with special attention to how different social
theories help us to understand structural causes of
the problems raised by the contemporary issue in
question. The approach is not to present one cor-
rect theory, but rather to present different perspec-
tives on social problems based on different theoreti-
cal ways of conceptualizing contemporary issues.
The goal is to understand the social realities that
give rise to the problem, as illuminated by the social
sciences.
Social scientific understanding of contemporary
issues is intended to illuminate the response of reli-
gious communities to these issues. Religious com-
munities are not outside, autonomous actors who
can intervene at will. Rather they are themselves a
part of the contemporary issues in question. They
help create, defend, change and destroy the social
structures that give rise to social problems. In this
regard, the doctoral seminars also examine religious
responses to contemporary issues, not primarily as
normative teaching or revelation, but rather as hu-
man communities who are both part of the problem
and part of the solution. Both semester seminars
consider moral and ethical teachings of different
religions (especially
Islam and Christianity) that is relevant to a par-
ticular contemporary issue with particular attention
to the actual practices and influence of religious
communities (past, present and future) on the issues
in question. However during the second semester
greater focus is on the ethical teaching and response
of different communities to the contemporary
issue(s) chosen.
3. Comparative Interpretation of Sacred
Texts
Students whose research interests lie in tafsir Al
Qur’an, Biblical Interpretation, or textual studies in
any other religious tradition are also encouraged to
study at ICRS.
Textual studies are enriched by exposure to other
religious traditions of textual knowledge. Both UIN
Sunan Kalijaga and UKDW have strong graduate
programs in scriptural studies (tafsir Al Qur’an and
Biblical Studies), while UGM is strong in Linguis-
tics, Literature and Arabic studies. ICRS encourages
inter-religious dialogue in the interpretation of sa-
cred texts. Students in textual studies are expected
to demonstrate competence in the interpretative
methodologies of two different religious traditions,
one primary and one secondary.
CHAPTER 11. ADVISING, SUPERVISING, AND PROMOTING DOCTORAL STUDENTS 63
h. Both the DF Members and the student should Promoters.
be aware that passing a Dissertation Proposal
9. When the Promoter and Co-Promoters have all
that is insufficiently focused and clear, is not
agreed that the dissertation is ready for Disserta-
a favor to the student as it can cause many
tion Qualification Assessment (Penilaian Kelayakan
months of difficulties latter on, or even result
Disertasi), then they will sign a “Oral Defense
in the failure of the dissertation.
Readiness Assessment” form and submit it to the
4. After the Dissertation Proposal is approved, the Associate Director of ICRS, who will then re-
Promoter will be the primary advisor to the stu- check if the student has fulfilled all other
dent until s/he finishes the first draft of the dis- academic and administrative requirements (in-
sertation. The Co-Promoters should only be cluding language, financial, library fines, etc.) and
consulted on matters or chapters on which they then appoint, with coordination with Director of
have special expertise. Of course the student may the UGM Graduate School, a Dissertation Quali-
consult her/his Co-Promoters at any time, but it fication Team (see below).
is generally easier for the student if only one pro-
10. It is very important that the Promoter and Co-
fessor provides the primary direction during re-
Promoter do not approve a dissertation unless they
search and writing.
are convinced that the student is capable of de-
5. The student is responsible for making appoint- fending the dissertation and that it can pass the
ments to see their Promoter regularly, through- Oral Defense of Dissertation.
out the process of research and writing. Stu-
11. The Promoter and Co-Promoters must partici-
dents should meet with their Promoter at least
pate in the Oral Defense of Dissertation. Con-
once a month and submit each chapter in draft
tingent on funding, the Foreign Promoter is ex-
form when it is completed.
pected to also participate. If, because of funding
6. Every chapter may require multiple revisions. or other constraints the Foreign Promoter cannot
Promoters should not accept a completed disser- participate in the Oral Defense, then he/she may
tation if they have not helped the student through submit questions and comments in written form
the long process of writing and revising each chap- and be replaced in the Oral Defense examina-
ter. tion.
7. The Promoter should help the student make, and
keep to, a realistic schedule for finishing the dis-
sertation in a timely manner, including deadlines
for finishing a draft of each chapter.
8. When the student has finished an acceptable first
draft of the entire dissertation, it should be given
to the Co-Promoters to read and offer criticisms.
Students should also expect to have further revi-
sions to write after their work is read by the Co-
 64 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
Chapter 12
The Comprehensive Examinations
The Oral Comprehensive Examination
A. Standardized, General, Comprehensive
Examination
1. This is a limited-time, take home examination
required for all students.
2. This Comprehensive Examination is based upon
a list of 20 Required Books that all ICRS stu-
dents must read. The books are drawn from
(though not limited to) the required texts used in
the doctoral seminars offered by ICRS in the last
two semesters.
3. A list of Recommended Books may also be sub-
mitted, but it is for reference only. None of the
questions on the exam should require knowledge
of the recommended books.
4. The Required Books, themes and content cov-
ered in the Comprehensive Examination are pro-
posed by the students, Supervisors and Academic
Committee in consultation with DF faculty mem-
bers who taught at ICRS during the past two se-
mesters.
5. The Comprehensive Examination list of books
can change from year to year, determined by the
interests of the DF and the current students.
6. The proposed Comprehensive Examination is
presented to the Academic Board. Approval by
the Academic Board is final. It does not require
approval from the Board of Trustees.
7. The list of Required Books and general descrip-
tion of Comprehensive Examination for any given
academic year is passed out to all students dur-
ing the last week of September or earlier.
8. The ICRS Comprehensive Examination is a take-
home, open book examination that consists of
4-10 questions which must be answered within
one week (10.000 words, typed, double spaced,
with footnotes).
9. Students do not know beforehand the specific
b. Gender analysis of applications of Syari’ah in
Aceh and Malaysia
c. Comparative analysis of Christian and Muslim
economic ethics, international law and the glo-
bal market
d. The role of Jews in Indonesian Islamic Imagina-
tion and discourse
e. Religious psychology and trauma healing in a di-
saster situation
f. History of Muslim and Christian controversies
regarding religion and political power with spe-
cial attention to Augustine and Al Hall’aj
g. Religious identity and ethnicity among Chinese
Buddhists in Java and Hong Kong
h. Comparative research on the influence of reli-
gion on the environmental movements in Indo-
nesian and Brazil
i. The attitude of persons living with HIV/AIDS
towards religion(s) in South Africa and Indone-
sia
j. Comparative interpretations of Holy War ideas
in the Old Testament and Jihad in the Alqur’an
Even though there are no strictly defined or lim-
ited areas of specialization, the academic program
of ICRS includes the following broad areas of re-
search:
1. Cultural and Historical Studies of Religion
Cultural and historical studies of religion include
anthropological, historical and phenomenological
approaches to the study of religions. Traditions avail-
able for study include Islam in Indonesia, Indone-
sian Christianity, Balinese Hinduism, Indonesian
Buddhism, Indonesian Chinese Religion and Indig-
enous Indonesian religions. Students may focus on
one religion, or two religions in relation to each other.
Religions are studied within particular cultural and
historical contexts, including the context of their
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 13
relation to other religions. Students are expected to
demonstrate competence in at least one religious tra-
dition, a historical period and geo- graphical con-
text, and the academic methodology most relevant
to their projected research. Students with an aca-
demic background in one religion may choose to
focus on the same religion or on a different religion.
If a student studies only one religion, they must dem-
onstrate mastery of social scientific methods for the
study of the religion. In other words, at ICRS a stu-
dent may not just study a single religion using the
traditional methodologies of that religion. They must
also learn methodologies used in other traditions,
including the intellectual tradition of the social sci-
ences and humanities.
During a student’s first and second semesters,
ICRS offers two doctoral seminars that compare
competing paradigms in historical and cultural stud-
ies of religion These seminars also examine major
themes in historical and cultural studies of religion.
The themes studied may change from year to year
and the religions and topics covered vary according
to the research interests of the students and lectur-
ers. During these seminars, students are encouraged
to present papers on topics that are close to their
research interests and help prepare them for their
Preliminary Papers and/or dissertation.
2. Religion and Contemporary Issues
Some students do research on the interaction
between religion and contemporary issues. This may
include sociological, political and economic analy-
sis of the role of religion in society, with special at-
tention to the social ethics of different religious tra-
ditions. Themes of particular interest include post-
colonialism, globalization, justice, inter-religious dia-
logue, human rights, ecology, religion and science,
gender, democracy, civil society, community devel-
opment, conflict, violence, trauma healing and pov-
erty. Students with a background in religious studies
12 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
spectives. For example, the courses will listen to the diversity of students’ academic and religious
Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist, perspectives backgrounds our goal is a productive conversa-
on Indonesian religious history, as well as hear for- tion, based on some shared understandings of
gotten voices such as those of indigenous Indone- religion and society.
sian religions (agama suku) and forbidden groups.
2. The courses help students understand different
The doctoral seminars develop students’ re- narratives of the experience of religions in Indo-
search and theoretical skills. Religious histories are nesia. We assume that different religious commu-
studied in light of theories of the relationship be- nities have different assumptions about their
tween religion and society that are drawn from soci- place in Indonesian history that give rise to dif-
ology, anthropology, philosophical hermeneutics and ferent, sometimes complementary and sometimes
religious studies. In other words, theories and meth- conflicting narratives about their community as
ods of research on religions will be applied in the part of Indonesian identity.
context of studying the history of Indonesian reli-
3. The courses help students define what are their
gions. As the “flagship courses” required for all Ph.D.
questions about religions in Indonesia and then
students, these courses help establish the identity
choose and apply appropriate theories and meth-
and character of ICRS.
ods for finding out what they want to understand.
There are three primary goals of these required The success of this doctoral seminar depends on
doctoral seminars: active, critical and respectful interaction between
the students regarding their research interests.
1. The seminars aim to develop a common discourse
between all ICRS doctoral students about the re-
lations between religious communities and Indo-
C. Areas of Specialization in Inter-
Religious Studies
nesian society. A common discourse is not the
After an initial experiment with three formally
same as agreement or a “master narrative”. Given
delineated areas of specialization, ICRS Board of
Trustees decided that all students would be accepted
into a single broad area of Inter- Religious Studies.
This is not to deny the necessity of specialization
within the broad rubric of religious studies. Rather,
each student will be free to define their own area(s)
of specialization. There are potentially hundreds of
areas of specialization for students at ICRS. The only
limitations are the interests and competencies of the
faculty and students.
Some hypothetical or actual examples of ICRS
research interests include:
a. Anthropological study of a marginalized religious
group in South Sulawesi
questions of this examination, which are changed
every year. The questions are composed by the
Primary and Secondary Academic Supervisors of
the students who are taking the Comprehensive
Examinations. Foreign Advisors may also suggest
questions.
10. The Registrar is responsible for contacting the
faculty members involved, making sure they are
aware of the contents of this year’s Comprehen-
sive Examination and reminding them to submit
one or two questions at least two weeks before
the date of the Comprehensive Exam.
11. The Registrar compiles all the questions and gives
them to the Academic Committee, who then
chooses which questions to submit and the final
format of the Comprehensive Examination.
12. The ICRS Comprehensive Examination is of-
fered twice a year, in November and April. The
list of books is the same for these two Examina-
tions, but the list of questions will be different.
13. Each student’s Comprehensive Examination is
read and evaluated by her/his Primary and Sec-
ondary Academic Supervisor, by the Foreign
Advisor and by two other examiners, normally
members of the ICRS DF.
14. Actual grading of the General Comprehensive
Examination takes place after the Oral Exami-
nation.
B. The Comprehensive Examination
Proposal
1. The student will prepare, with advice from their
Primary Academic Supervisor, a Comprehensive
Examination Proposal that outlines the scope and
content of their two Preliminary Papers and how
they, along with the general Comprehensive Ex-
amination, will help prepare the student to do their
CHAPTER 12. THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS 65
research and write their dissertation. The pro-
posal should include bibliographies for the two
Preliminary Papers.
2. After the Primary Academic Supervisor has ap-
proved the student’s Comprehensive Examina-
tion Proposal, it should be given to the Second-
ary Academic Supervisor, and if possible the
Foreign Advisor, for approval or revision as nec-
essary.
3. After it is approved by both Supervisors, it is pre-
sented at a meeting of the Academic Committee
for final approval.
4. Comprehensive Examination Proposals that are
approved by two Supervisors and the Academic
Committee do not need further approval. How-
ever, a student’s Comprehensive Examination
Proposal should be presented to their Foreign
Academic Advisor as soon as s/he is appointed.
The Foreign Advisor may suggest helpful im-
provements or modifications. After approval by
the Academic Committee, changes to the Com-
prehensive Examination Proposal may only be
made if agreed upon by the student and both
Academic Supervisors.
5. The student and the Primary Academic Supervi-
sor should agree on a time-table with realistic
deadlines for the student to complete the Com-
prehensive Examinations. If all possible, it should
be completed before the end of the student’s
fourth semester.
C. Two Specialized Preliminary Papers
Tailored to the Needs of Each Student
1. The two Preliminary Papers are designed by the
student with advice from her/his Primary Aca-
demic Supervisor.
2. Each of these papers should be 30-50 pages long
66 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
(double-spaced 12 pt. font).
3. One of the papers should focus on theories and
methods that are relevant to the type of research
the student intends to carry out in preparing their
dissertation.
4. One of the papers may focus on major figures or
schools of thought that are important to under-
stand in connection with the student’s proposed
research.
5. One of the examinations may focus on the rela-
tion between religions in a particular historical
period, or on a particular contemporary issue or
on a particular set of texts.
6. The primary purposes of the Comprehensive
Examinations are to:
· Test whether the student is adequately prepared
to write a doctoral dissertation in their chosen
area of research
· Prepare the student for writing their dissertation
by providing a structured means for them to study
the most important literature related to their area
of research.
D. The Oral Comprehensive Examination
1. After the student and their Primary Academic
Supervisor determine that the student has com-
pleted their Comprehensive Examination and
Preliminary Papers to the best of his or her abil-
ity, then all three written papers are given to the
four Examiners, including the Secondary Super-
visor, the Foreign Advisor and two other Exam-
iners appointed by the Associate Director of
ICRS.
2. The Primary Supervisor may then schedule the
Oral Comprehensive Examination, not less than
three weeks and not more than 6 weeks after all
Examiners have receive the Examination. Stu-
dents should not expect to schedule Comprehen-
sive Examinations during the months of June, July
and August unless all four examiners agree.
3. The foreign Academic Advisor is expected to read
the Comprehensive Examinations and is invited
to attend the Oral Comprehensive Examination
after all the written work is complete. However,
ICRS is unable to pay for the travel of Foreign
Advisors to attend Comprehensive Examinations.
4. If unable to attend, the Foreign Advisor will sub-
mit written comments and a grade of: Pass,
Requires Substantial Revision, or Fail for each
of the written papers and examination. If the
Foreign Academic Advisor does not attend the
Oral Comprehensive Examination, her or his com-
ments will be taken as advisory and not binding.
5. If either the Primary or Secondary Advisor are
unable to attend, for example because they are
out of the country, one of them (but not both)
may be replaced by another member of the DF.
6. The Oral Examination is moderated by one of
the Core Doctoral Faculty of ICRS.
7. The Oral Comprehensive Examination is closed
to the public and only includes the student, the
three or four examiners and the moderator (who
may be one of the examiners).
8. The Oral Comprehensive Examination lasts for
2-3 hours. Each of the Examiners may question
the student on any aspect of their three examina-
tions for 30-40 minutes.
9. The Oral Comprehensive Examiners test the stu-
dent on the General Comprehensive Examina-
tion and the two Preliminary Papers and assign
an overall grade of:
For example a student may compare a religious move-
ment in Indonesia with a similar or different reli-
gious movement in another country. Students are
drawn from many different religious, academic, cul-
tural and national backgrounds. Ph.D. students in
this inter-university, inter-religious and interdiscipli-
nary program may not have extensive academic back-
grounds in some of the areas they are expected to
master.1 The ICRS Ph.D. program assumes that many
doctoral students still have to master the broader
grounding necessary to locate their specialized re-
search in a field of knowledge. Therefore Ph.D. stu-
dents do not proceed directly to the dissertation but
rather begin with courses designed to prepare them
for Preliminary Papers and a Comprehensive Exami-
nation. We have chosen a highly structured doctoral
program for three main reasons:
1. There is too much diversity in our student’s aca-
demic backgrounds to assume they can proceed
directly to the dissertation without proving mas-
tery of certain fields crucial to their disciplines.
2. An interdisciplinary and inter-religious approach
requires students to master a new academic dis-
cipline and/or religious tradition. We have de-
vised structures to ensure that they have at least
a basic grasp of the broader disciplines they need
to write their dissertation.
3. A doctoral program that includes Preliminary
Papers and a Comprehensive Examination helps
ensure that this program exemplifies international
standards of academic excellence.
4. Both Indonesian and international scholar par-
ticipate in the comprehensive examination pro-
cess. The Preliminary Papers and Comprehensive
Examination give students additional experience
in academic writing and ensure that students who
cannot pass their comprehensives will not pro-
ceed into the dissertation proposal.
CHAPTER 2. ACADEMIC PROGRAM 11
The Comprehensive Examination process is as
follows:
1. There is one, written “General Comprehensive
Examination” that is the same for all students. It
is a limited time examination based on a set of
20 books and themes/topics that are determined
by the Academic Council.
2. Students must also write two “Preliminary Pa-
pers” that are specifically designed by each stu-
dent and her/his Supervisor to prepare the stu-
dent for his/her specific dissertation research.
These papers or parts of them may even become
part of the dissertation.
3. There is one “Oral Comprehensive Examination”
that examines students on their general prepared-
ness and includes discussion/questions related to
the students General Comprehensive Examina-
tion and two Preliminary Papers.
B. Flagship Courses: The Theory and
History of Religions in Indonesia
During their first year, all Ph.D. students take
two integrative doctoral seminars on social scien-
tific theories of religion and the history of religions
in Indonesia. The first semester examines the classi-
cal and contemporary theories for the study of reli-
gions in Indonesia. The second semester examines
critical perspectives on the history of religions in
Indonesia. These required seminars are interdisci-
plinary, inter-religious, team-taught courses that de-
velop the students’ capacity and tolerance for view-
ing Indonesian religious history from multiple per-
1
Someone with first and second degrees in Islamic studies or
theology may not have sufficient background in a relevant social
science, or in another religious tradition. Similarly, someone with
first and second degrees in social science, or inter-religious stud-
ies may not have sufficient background in a particular religious
tradition.
10 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 12. THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS 67

Pass with Pass Pass with Fail but may retake the Fail, may not
Distinction Revisions oral exam after rewriting repeat the
Chapter 2 one or more of the exam
and preliminary papers
examination

Academic Program
A. Academic Focus
have an academic background in one religious tradi-
ICRS is the name of the consortium of three
tion are expected to demonstrate competent under-
universities. ICRS offers a Ph.D. program in Inter-
standing of either another religious tradition or a
Religious Studies. The Ph.D. program includes a wide
particular social scientific approach to religious stud-
range of possibilities for specialization within the
ies. Students are encouraged to study religions in the
study of religions. Each requires an element of dia-
context of Indonesia, using interdisciplinary and
logue between at least two religions, academic dis-
cross-cultural approaches. The program also encour-
ciplines and/or geographical areas. Students who
ages comparative international research on religion.
10. If a student fails their Oral Exam, the Compre-
hension Examination Committee may recom-
mend that they: be dropped from the program,
retake their exams within one year.
11. If their grade is “Requires Substantial Revision”,
then the student has a maximum of 3 months to
revise the relevant comprehensive examinations.
They do not have to have another Oral Exami-
nation, but their revisions must be approved by
both their Primary and Secondary Supervisors.
12. Please note that at ICRS it is possible for intelli-
gent students to fail their Comprehensive Exami-
nations. In other words, these are not just a for-
mality. Students must be willing to work hard to
pass. It is much better for a student to fail their
Comprehensive Examinations and drop out after
2 years, than to work for 4 or 5 years but be un-
able to successfully defend their dissertation.
13. Under normal circumstances, the Comprehen-
sive Examinations should be finished by the end
of the student’s fourth semester (second year).
Unless the student receives a leave of absence,
the final deadline for completing the Comprehen-
sive Examinations is the end of the eighth se-
mester (fourth year). Students who have not fin-
ished all language and other requirements, and
the Comprehensive Examinations, by the end of
their fourth year of study at ICRS, will be dropped
from the program.
14. Students who take more than two years to com-
plete their Comprehensives, or more than 4 years
to complete the Ph.D., must find their own re-
sources to pay for the difference between their
scholarship and the added costs of the program.
15. After passing the Comprehensive Examinations
and completing all required revisions, the student
is declared a Candidate for the Ph.D. This may
be written after their name as follows, Name,
Ph.D. (Cand.).
68 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 9

religions in Indonesia and the world. To tell a true
story of the interactions between religious com-
Chapter 13 munities and cultures in Indonesia that will help
10. Strengthening Methods of Interpretation that
Indonesians understand their religious identities
The Ph.D. Dissertation and face the challenge of globalization.
9. Inter-Religious Scholarship in the Service of Jus-
tice: To foster ongoing research on the interac-
tion between religion, culture and social change
in Indonesia. To discover resources in all the reli-
gious traditions for addressing the profound chal-
lenges of globalization, environmental destruc-
tion, injustice, social conflict and poverty.
Result in a Positive Contribution of Religion to
Public Life: To stimulate dialogue between reli-
gious leaders on hermeneutics and comparative
religious methods for interpretation of sacred
texts and to encourage research on the relation
between interpretation of sacred texts and the
role of religion in the public sphere.

Leonard C. Epafras on Closed Oral Defense of The Dissertation

A. The Dissertation Proposal 3. The Proposal should also state clearly a thesis
1. The Dissertation Proposal should be between five that the dissertation will attempt to prove, and/
(5) and ten (10) pages long, double-spaced, plus or the student’s own hypotheses that the thesis
bibliography. will test.

2. It should include a clear statement of the central 4. The Proposal should include a very brief discus-
problem(s) and/or question(s) of the dissertation. sion of the most important literature on the sub-
8 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
To promote North-South and South-South ex-
changes which empower cooperation between
good universities in different parts of the world.
2. Religious Leaders Working for Peace: To educate
religious, academic and community leaders who
are deeply rooted in their own religious traditions
and have learned to appreciate other religions
through research and sustained exposure to the
rich scholarship of other religions. To have a posi-
tive influence on Indonesian society by reducing
suspicions and prejudices and providing a frame-
work for religious communities to work together
for the same goals.
3. Institutional Cooperation: To develop institu-
tional structures that facilitates a common doc-
toral program in the study of religions, between
religiously neutral, Muslim and Christian univer-
sities in Yogyakarta. To strengthen the relation-
ship between UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga and
UKDW by ensuring that the structures are fair
and beneficial to all three. To eventually draw in
other religious institutions to increase religious
diversity.
4. Positive Influence on International Religious Com-
munities: To provide international, institutional
avenues for Indonesian religious scholars to help
redefine the perceived meaning of Islam, Chris-
tianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions,
especially in relation to each other and to the
pressing problems of Indonesian society and the
international community.
5. Administrative Excellence, Financial Transpar-
ency and Long Term Sustainability: To develop a
Ph.D. Program of world class academic quality
that also models administrative excellence,
sustainability and integrity. To practice short and
long term planning and avoid all structures and
practices that encourage corruption. To operate
at a surplus and raise the financial resources to
ensure the long term sustainability of ICRS.
6. Institutional Structures that Empower Excellent
Scholarship, Teaching and Research: To create
incentive and disincentive systems that empower
faculty members to read books and journals, en-
gage in critical, life-long learning, keep up with
the cutting edge of their disciplines, spend time
preparing new lectures, engage in nationally and
internationally significant research projects and
write high quality academic and popular articles
and books.
7. Interdisciplinary Dialogue between Religious and
Academic Communities: To empower fruitful
dialogue between secular, Islamic and Christian
traditions of scholarship that developed over
many centuries: in social science, religious stud-
ies and theology. To train scholars and teachers
who are proficient in social scientific methods and
familiar with international academic discourse in
religious studies.
8. A True Story of the History of Religions in Indo-
nesia: To develop an inter-religious community
of academic research and discourse that contrib-
utes to a deeper understanding of the history of
ject of the thesis, showing how this dissertation
builds on and differs from previous research.
5. The Proposal should explain how it will use a
theory or theories to help resolve the central
problem(s) of the dissertation or answer the cen-
tral question(s).
6. The Proposal will show the methods the student
intends to use for resolving the problem or an-
swering the main questions of the dissertation.
7. The Dissertation Proposal must include a bibli-
ography. There is no limitation on the length of
the bibliography; however, the student should
only include books, articles and other materials
that are clearly relevant to the topic of the dis-
sertation.
8. After the Dissertation Proposal has been ap-
proved by all three Promoters, a Dissertation Pro-
posal Seminar will be held as follows:
G
Dissertation Proposal Seminars may be held at
any time during term time (September through
May) after a student has fulfilled all prior re-
quirements
G The student submits a proposal that has been
already approved in writing by his or her two
local and one foreign Promoters.
G
Students must submit the approved Disserta-
tion Proposal at least 2 weeks before the Dis-
sertation Proposal Seminar.
G
The Dissertation Proposal Seminar must be held
within one month after the student submits his
approved proposal (but not in June, July or
August).
G The Dissertation Proposal Seminar must be at-
tended by the resident Promoter and Co-Pro-
moter.
G All ICRS doctoral students who are resident in
CHAPTER 13. THE PH.D. DISSERTATION 69
Yogyakarta are required to attend Dissertation
Proposal Seminars.
G All ICRS DF are invited and encouraged to at-
tend Dissertation Proposal Seminars.
G The Purpose of the Dissertation Proposal Semi-
nar is to:
- Provide critical feedback to the student
from ICRS faculty and students
- Test the students ability to defend their dis-
sertation proposal from criticism
- Provide constructive suggestions on how to
improve the proposal
- Determine whether or not the dissertation
proposal should be approved or needs fur-
ther revision.
G All ICRS DF and students are invited to this
seminar, but only DF members have the right
to decide if the Dissertation Proposal passes
or not.
G DF members present, including the Promoter
and Co-Promoters, will reach a consensus de-
cision on whether the proposal receives an
evaluation of:
Pass Pass with Minor Major
Revisions (which Revisions
can be Required
approved by the
Promoter)
The DF Members will decide on the evalua-
G
tion in an open discussion with the student out
of the room.
G If the DF Members cannot reach a consensus,
then they will vote.
G Both the DF Members and the student should
be aware that passing a Dissertation Proposal
that is insufficiently focused and clear, is not a
70 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
favor to the student as it can cause many months
of difficulties latter on, or even result in the
failure of the dissertation.
B. Dissertation Research
1. Dissertation research necessarily includes library
research.
2. Some dissertations also include field research.
3. Methods of research appropriate to a given dis-
sertation depend on the academic discipline and
problem or question that is central to the research
project.
4. Some students, during their sandwich program,
may have made plans for dissertation research in
another country, either because of superior library
resources or because their research involves com-
parative international research.
5. If a student’s research includes the need to travel,
visit foreign libraries, employ research assistants,
or incur other research costs, the student is re-
sponsible for finding funding to make this pos-
sible.
6. Some students spend their sandwich program
during their period of dissertation research..
C. Writing and Completing the
Dissertation
1. Students are encouraged to write their disserta-
tions in Yogyakarta, where they can easily meet
with their Promoter and other faculty.
2. Since the residency requirement for ICRS is only
two years, students may choose to write their dis-
sertation either at the site of their field research,
at the location of a good library appropriate to
their topic, or at their home away from
Yogyakarta.
3. Students should not return to full time work be-
fore finishing writing their dissertation. Complet-
ing a Ph.D. at ICRS requires at least four years of
full time work. Students who return to their
home institution should be careful not to take on
a full-time workload, since that is one of the most
common reasons why some students never finish
their dissertation.
D Monitoring and Evaluation of the
Dissertation
1. At the end of each semester, students should
submit a research progress report that must be
approved by their Promoters.
2. If the Promoters consider students incapable to
complete their studies on time, they should write
a statement explaining students’ failure to con-
tinue their studies.
3. The dissertation will be evaluated and assessed
by a Dissertation Qualification Team who will
decide whether the dissertation is ready for a
Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
4. If students pass their Closed Dissertation Oral
Defense, they may choose either to take the sched-
uled Graduation Ceremony or an Open Oral
Defense of the Dissertation.
E. Dissertation Qualification Assessment
(Penilaian Kelayakan Disertasi)
1. Submission of the dissertation for qualification
assessment requires one article that has been pub-
lished in an accredited journal or a proceeding
that has been reviewed. The article should include
the Promoters’ names.
2. Students must submit their dissertations to the
promoters.
tains, lawns and an old growth forest. ICRS also has
access, in the same building, to offices, large and
small classrooms and a conference room for inter-
national seminars.
ICRS and CRCS students are building together
the UGM Graduate School Common Library in Re-
ligious Studies and have on-line access to many jour-
nals. Doctoral and Master’s students also share in
many common activities such as the Wednesday
Forum and special lectures by visiting professors.
Since CRCS is the only English language religious
studies program in the three universities, its course
offerings are also a very important part of the ICRS
program, especially for foreign students who do not
speak Indonesian. Advanced CRCS M.A. students
can also take ICRS seminars with permission from
the instructor.
In addition to the ICRS/CRCS library in the
UGM Graduate School, ICRS doctoral students are
expected to use the main libraries of all three uni-
versities. Periodic ICRS events are held at UIN Sunan
Kalijaga and UKDW. ICRS students are encouraged
to take at least one graduate course from UGM, UIN
Sunan
Kalijaga, and UKDW. The fourty ICRS doctoral
faculty members from all three universities are our
most precious resource, representing many different
disciplines related to religious studies. There are very
few universities in the world which can match the
number and quality of faculty members related to
religious studies who have agreed to serve in our
program. ICRS accepts students with very different
research interests because of the breadth of our fac-
ulty. ICRS students have the opportunity to study,
not only with fine Indonesian scholars but also with
well known scholars from around the world. These
resources give us hope that ICRS may one day be-
come the best place in the world to do research on
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 7
religious communities in Indonesia and throughout
Southeast Asia.
K. Vision, Missions, Goals and Objectives
of ICRS
a. Vision
To be an outstanding, internationally respected
graduate program and research center in inter-reli-
gious studies.
b. Missions
G To create and interdisciplinary and inter-religious
dialogue between scholars from different religious,
academic and cultural backgrounds in the study
of religion.
G To educate Indonesian and international teachers,
leaders and scholars of religion who are skilled in
cross disciplinary and inter-religious communica-
tion.
G To produce outstanding research and publications
that promote inter-religious understanding of the
role of religions in the world.
G To promote international cooperation between
universities and maintain international standards
of academic excellence and fiscal responsibility.
To develop Indonesian resources that support
national and international reconciliation, justice and
peace.
c. Goals and Objectives
1. Indonesian, International Study of Religions: To
provide a setting for Ph.D. research on religions
that is rooted in Indonesian culture and religious
beliefs, but in dialogue with the international aca-
demic community. To produce a Ph.D. program
in Inter-Religious Studies that maintains interna-
tional standards of academic excellence but is
controlled and directed by Indonesian scholars.
6 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
ICRS share a common commitment to inter-religious
dialogue and the promotion of peace in Indonesia
and the world. However they are not uniform but
rather extremely diverse, representing not only dif-
ferent religions but different traditions and theologi-
cal perspectives within the same religion.
H. Indonesian and International
ICRS preserves a unique Indonesian character.
Indonesia enjoys a rich context for research on reli-
gious communities. Scholars come from all over the
world to study not only the largest and most diverse
Muslim community in the world, but also to study a
variety of religious movements throughout Asia and
the world. Prior to the founding of ICRS, there were
many religious studies programs in Indonesia, but
all of them are in religiously based institutions with
normatively focused faculties that are relatively cut
off from other academic disciplines and from the
perspectives of other religious groups. ICRS is gov-
erned by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Rec-
tors of all three universities, and an Academic Coun-
cil including faculty members from a wide variety
of religious and academic backgrounds.
I. Inter-Religious Academic Study of
Religions
ICRS is the first to offer an Indonesian inter-
religious studies program that is based in a multi-
religious university. Like many foreign Religious
Studies departments, ICRS studies religions descrip-
tively using tools from the social sciences and hu-
manities. However
ICRS has not simply copied the kind of religious
studies available in foreign secular universities.
Rather it has built a new structure for a doctorate in
religious studies premised on a different approach.
It is not a secular program that studies religions “ob-
jectively” or focuses on deconstruction of religious
beliefs as purely social phenomena. Nor is it a mono-
religious approach that studies religions from a par-
ticular Muslim or Christian perspective. Nor is it a
multi-religious, comparative religious studies pro-
gram that focuses on the differences and similarities
between religions. ICRS makes no attempt to find
the lowest common denominator that unites all reli-
gions. Nor does it aim to subtly show the superiority
of one particular religion.
Rather, ICRS is interreligious. Sincere believers
of different faiths study religions together. Doctoral
seminars are taught by professors from different re-
ligious and academic backgrounds. They share their
different perspectives and try to understand each
other. They use social and human sciences to re-
search the impact of religious communities in the
world. But they also take divine revelation and the
normative teachings of their different religions seri-
ously. The goal of ICRS is to study religions by cre-
ating dialogue, not only between people from differ-
ent religious communities, but also between dispar-
ate disciplines such as anthropology, Quranic and
Hadith studies, sociology, Christian ethics, history,
Islamic law, philosophy, Islamic mysticism and bib-
lical studies. In time ICRS and CRCS will add fac-
ulty members who are expert in other religious tra-
ditions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.
J. Interdisciplinary, Rich in Resources
Including three universities and many depart-
ments is not only to ensure religious diversity and
dialogue between different traditions of scholarship,
but also to dramatically increase the available re-
sources for an excellent doctoral program. ICRS en-
joys world-class campus infrastructure through its
location in the Graduate School of UGM. The cen-
tral offices and campus of ICRS includes a study
lounge with computers and free internet access on
the third floor of a lovely building overlooking foun-
3. The promoters will then submit the approved dis-
sertation to the Director of ICRS who will then
write to the Director of UGM Graduate School.
4. Under consultation with the Director of ICRS,
the Director of UGM Graduate School will ap-
point a Dissertation Qualification Team.
5. The Director of UGM Graduate School will is-
sue a Letter of Decree (Surat Keputusan) and dis-
tribute the copies of the Dissertation to the ap-
pointed Dissertation Qualification Team.
6. The Dissertation Qualification Team includes
three members of doctoral faculties whose disci-
plines are related to the dissertation.
7. The Dissertation Qualification Assessment is to
test the dissertation’s contents, reasoning and
analytical abilities, methodology, styles of writ-
ing, and consistency.
8. The process of Dissertation Assessment and re-
vision is as follows:
a. At least within one month after their appoint-
ment, the Dissertation Qualification Team
must meet to evaluate the dissertation based
on the information from the invited students’
promoter and co-promoters.
b. The Dissertation Qualification Team will write
to the Director of UGM Graduate School on
the result of the meeting, including revisions
(if any).
c. Revisions should not be done by no longer than
one year.
d. After revision is approved, students should
submit ten (10) copies of the their disserta-
tions and fifteen (15) copies of dissertation
summary to the UGM Graduate School.
CHAPTER 13. THE PH.D. DISSERTATION 71
F. Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation
1. The Director of UGM Graduate School will in-
vite the management of ICRS, the Dissertation
Qualification Team, and the Promoter and co-
Promoter to determine the qualification, the mem-
ber of examiners, and the date of the Closed Oral
Defense of the Dissertation.
2. The member of Examiners consists of the Di-
rector of UGM Graduate School as the chair, the
Promoter and co-Promoter, the Dissertation
Qualification Team, and other members of Ex-
aminers whose academic expertise are relevant
with the topic of the Dissertation. The members
of Examiners should have professorship and at
least a doctoral degree.
3. The members of examiners consist of up to nine
doctoral faculties appointed by the Director of
UGM Graduate School. One of the examiners
should be a doctoral faculty at Gadjah Mada
University if the members of the Dissertation
Qualification Team and the Promoters are none
from UGM.
4. If the Director of UGM Graduate School is not
able to attend the Closed Oral Defense of the
Dissertation, s/he may be replaced consecutively
by the Vice Director for Academic Affairs of
UGM or the Director of ICRS.
5. The dissertation should reach the members of
examiners at least 10 (ten) days before the Closed
Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
6. The Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation takes
place 150 minutes, inclusive of a 30-minutes pre-
sentation by the student.
7. The Closed Oral Defense of the Dissertation will
examine students at least on the following as-
pects:
72 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
a. Comprehension of the contents
b. Reasoning or argumentation underlying the
conclusion
c. Methodology
d. Style of writing and its consistency
8. The result of the Closed Oral Defense of the
Dissertation may be:
Pass without Pass with Revisions (the revisions should
be done by no later than 3 (three)
months after the Oral Defense, otherwise
the student should retake the Oral
Defense. Revisions should be approved by
the members of the Examiners.
9. Students who pass without revision or pass with revi-
sion may choose either to take a graduation cer-
emony or an Open Oral Defense of the Disser-
tation.
10. B is the passing grade in the Closed Oral De-
fense of the Dissertation.
G. Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation
1. The members of the Examiners in the Closed Oral
Defense of the Dissertation will also serve as the
members of examiners in the Open Oral Defense
of the Dissertation.
2. Students who Pass with Revisions in their Closed
Oral Defense of the Dissertation should receive
written approvals from the members of the ex-
aminers.
3. Students must submit 10 (ten) copies of the dis-
sertation and 20 (twenty) copies of the disserta-
tion summary and at least 20 (twenty) copies of
dissertation press release for media publication.
4. The date of the Open Oral Defense of the Dis-
sertation is determined by the members of the
Examiners.
5. The revised dissertation should reach the mem-
bers of the Examiners at least 10 (ten) days be-
fore the Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
6. The Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation is to
determine whether students pass with either Cum
Laude, Very Satisfactory, or Satisfactory.
7. The Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation takes
Fail (the student will be given 1
(one) year to retake the Oral
Defense
place around 60 (sixty) minutes.
8. After the Open Oral Defense of the Disserta-
tion, the members of the Examiners will conduct
a Judicium Meeting to determine the Ph.D. Cand.’s
grade: Cum Laude, Very Satisfactory, or Sat-
isfactory
9. The members of Examiners will consult the
student’s Promoters on the final grade of the
Open Oral Defense of the Dissertation.
10. The final grade should take the Ph.D. Cand.’s
academic transcript, examinations, and other re-
lated assignments into account.
11. The Ph.D. Cand. will graduate from the UGM
Graduate School with the grading system:
- 3.75 < GPA < 4.00 : Cum Laude
- 3.50 < GPA < 3.75 : Very Satisfactory
- 3.25 < GPA < 3.50 : Satisfactory
12. The grade Cum Laude will be only awarded to a
Ph.D. Cand. who finishes their studies no more
than 5 (five) years since his or her first enrolment.
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 5
other’s rich traditions of scholarship. Often igno-
rance is a pretext for distain or even active hostility
towards other religious or secular groups. In West-
ern and Middle Eastern countries a joint academic
program in religious studies between secular, Mus-
lim and Christian universities is unthinkable. Indo-
nesia is proud of a tradition of tolerance and dia-
logue between Islam and other religions. However
even in Indonesia, Yogyakarta is the only place
where universities from different religious traditions
have developed enough trust in each other to open
an interuniversity Ph.D. program in inter-religious
studies. During several years of preparation the lead-
ers of these three universities built the academic
structures necessary to open this joint doctoral pro-
F. Focus on Religions in Asia
gram together in September 2007.
The primary strength of ICRS is the study of
Asian religions, especially Indonesian Islam. Indo-
E. International, Conducted in English
nesia includes the largest and most dynamic Muslim
The doctoral program initiated by ICRS is inter-
population in the world. ICRS also has strong re-
national and conducted in English. All Indonesian
sources for the study of Indonesian and Asian Chris-
students are required to spend at least one semester
tianity, and can facilitate study of Balinese Hindu-
in another country and have a foreign academic ad-
ism, Indonesian Buddhism, Indonesian Chinese re-
visor. Now in its fifth year, ICRS Ph.D. students are
ligions and local religious communities connected
already accepted for sandwich programs at Capetown
with specific ethnic groups such as Javanese mysti-
(South Africa), Duke (North Carolina), Georgetown
cism. Indonesia has hundreds of unique tribal reli-
(Washington, DC), GTU (Berkeley), Hartford (Con-
gions, some of whose practices may date back thou-
necticut), NUS (Singapore), Ondokuz Mayis (Tur-
sands of years.
key), Temple (Philadelphia), and Union (New York).
ICRS is exploring partnerships with other leading
G. Mutual Respect and Trust
Asian universities in China, Hong Kong, India, Ja-
pan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri A unique feature of these three universities is
Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. In addition to students their strong commitment to their respective religious
from Indonesia, ICRS has accepted applicants from traditions, combined with openness and tolerance
Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Myanmar, Pakistan, Phil- to learn from other religious and secular traditions.
ippines, Poland, Serbia, India, Sierra Lione, Gambia With their combined human and library resources,
they provide the basis for a truly outstanding research
and the USA. Most Indonesian students who are
accepted receive scholarship help, not only for setting in which the difficulties of dialogue between
tuition but also for their living costs and sand- different traditions add to the value of the challenge.
wich program. The whole project requires inter-religious dialogue
at a very substantial level. The faculty members of
4 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK
religious people who can talk to each other more
easily than they can talk with conservative mem-
bers of their own respective religions. What happens
when traditional boundaries break down and Mus-
lims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists find them-
selves colleagues rather than opposing sides in a
“dialogue”? In Yogyakarta, Indonesia a new consor-
tium between “secular” (in the sense of religiously
neutral or multi-religious), Muslim and Christian in-
stitutions is attracting international attention and
support.
B. Inter-Institutional
Yogyakarta is one of the most fascinating cities
in the world in which to study religions, especially
Islam. It is a city of universities including some of
the best public and private universities in Indone-
sia. Muslim, Christian and state universities in
Yogyakarta have demonstrated a unique ability to
work together across religious boundaries in the field
of religious studies. Three of these universities,
Universitas of Gadjah Mada (UGM), the State Is-
lamic University Sunan Kalijaga (Universitas Islam
Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, UIN Sunan Kalijaga) and
Duta Wacana Christian University (Universitas
Kristen Duta Wacana, UKDW), have formed the
Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS).
UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga and UKDW, cooperate
with each other in many informal ways. Now, these
three universities, with support from international
partners, have founded an integrative Ph.D. program
in Inter-Religious Studies (IRS) with internationally
recognized standards of academic excellence. The
program cooperates with partner institutions in
America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
C. Quality and Accreditation
The Inter-Religious Studies (IRS) Program
founded by ICRS is legally located in the Graduate
CHAPTER 13. THE PH.D. DISSERTATION 73
School of UGM, which is the oldest and largest na- 13. The chair of the members of examiners will an- a. He or she should have published part or the whole
tional university in Indonesia, and has been accred- nounce the result of the Judicium and award the of her dissertation in an accredited national or
ited by BAN-PT since 2011. ICRSYogya has a very student a Ph.D. Degree in Inter-Religious Stud- international journal, or other highly qualified
close relationship with the Graduate Program in ies. journals.
Religious and Cross-cultural Studies at UGM that
14. The result of the Judicium should be signed by b. The Promoters and the Director of ICRS will
includes an M.A. program called CRCS (Center for
the Director of the UGM Graduate School, while conduct a Judicium Meeting by one month at the
Religious and Cross Cultural Studies) that was
the Ph.D. Diploma by the Rector of UGM and latest before the date of the Graduation Cer-
founded in the year 2000. In 2007, ICRS and CRCS
the Director of UGM Graduate School. emony. The Meeting will be chaired by the Di-
were selected by the Indonesian Department of
rector of UGM Graduate School.
Higher Education (DIKTI) as a Center of Academic 15. The Ph.D. Diploma will be awarded during the
Excellence in Indonesia. UGM is rated as Indonesia’s Graduation Ceremony or the Open Oral Defense
top university in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the Dissertation.
and has been listed as one of the 10 best universi-
ties in Asia. It has about 56,000 students. UIN Sunan H. Graduation Ceremony
Kalijaga was the oldest State Institute for Islamic 1. The Ph.D. Cand. who passes the Closed Oral
Studies (IAIN) in Indonesia and recently became a Defense of the Dissertation may participate in
full university (UIN). It has about 12,000 students the joint Graduation Ceremony held by the UGM
and is one the leading Islamic centers of higher edu- Graduate School.
cation in Indonesia. UKDW is one of the finest
Christian universities in Indonesia with about 5,000 2. To participate in the Graduation Ceremony, the
students and a highly respected Faculty of Theo- Ph.D. Cand. should meet the following require-
logy. ments:
D. A Unique Program
These three universities represent different in-
tellectual and religious traditions that seldom com-
municate with each other, let alone cooperate in a
joint academic program. A single integrative and in-
terdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Inter-religious stud-
ies between Muslim, Christian and “secular” univer-
sities is unique. This is the world’s first and only
Ph.D. program in inter-religious studies, co-spon-
sored by Muslim, Christian and religiously neutral
institutions.
In a world of polarization, suspicion and mis-
understanding there are very few places where a joint
venture between major universities with such dif-
ferent religious traditions could succeed. Different
religions build their institutions in ignorance of each
74 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 3

Chapter 14
Chapter 1
Academic Calendar
Introduction

March 30 : Deadline for International applicants & applicants with ITP TOEFL score below 525

May 10 : Deadline for applications to BPPS scholarships*

(please visit http://beasiswa.dikti.go.id/bpps)

April 15 : Announcement of those accepted to the Ph.D. Program and those accepted to
the Pre-Ph.D. Program

May 16 : Beginning of the Pre-Ph.D. Program

May 31 : Deadline for applications to DIKTIS scholarship*

June 14 : Deadline for applications with TOEFL score above 525

July 31 : Announcement of those accepted to the Ph.D. Program

End of August : Orientation for the new Ph.D. Program students

Early September - Mid of December

: The first semester

End of December - January

: Break seasons

End of January - Mid of May

The Speakers of International Conference and Research on The Resurgence of Religions in Southeast Asia,
: Second Semester
Jogjakarta, January 4-8, 2011
End of June - July : Intersession Semester
A. Inter-Religious
People of different religions often talk about
dialogue and frequently hold conferences together
in which they exchange perspectives and talk about
differences and similarities between their religious
teachings. But rarely do they form institutional struc-
tures that create a space for them to work together
day in and day out, working towards the same goals.
Even more rarely do such structures engage Chris-
tians, Muslims and other religious believers from a
wide variety of theological and social commitments.
Usually “inter-religious dialogue” is between liberal
2 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 75

REVISED
October, 2011
Notes:
Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Note: This is a revision based on a draft of the

ICRS-Yogya Doctoral Faculty and Student Handbook that
was approved by the Board of Trustees of ICRS-Yogya on
__________________

Revisions are based on new policies established by the

Board of Trustees.

Comments and criticisms are welcome.

Signature

Prof. Dr. Banawiratma

Chair, Board of Trustees

For further information please contact:

ICRS-Yogya
UGM Graduate School, 3rd Floor
Jl. Teknika Utara, Pogung
Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

Tel./Fax.: +62 274 562570

http://www.icrs.ugm.ac.id
icrs@ugm.ac.id

Cover design + layout by: isgradesign@yahoo.com

Cover photograph by: Elis Zuliati Anis

76 ICRS DOCTORAL HANDBOOK 1

Notes:
Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction 5
Chapter 2. Academic Program 12
Chapter 3. Administrative and Academic Structures 23
Chapter 4. List of Faculty Members & Their Research Interests 29
Chapter 5. Academic Freedom, Academic Responsibility and Code of Ethics 34
Chapter 6. Student Admission 37
Chapter 7. Financial Costs and Scholarships 43
Chapter 8. Attending Doctoral Courses 50
Chapter 9. Language Policy 56
Chapter 10. Photocopying Policy 58
Chapter 11. Advising, Supervising, and Promoting Doctoral Students 59
Chapter 12. The Comprehensive Examinations 66
Chapter 13. The Ph.D. Dissertation 70
Chapter 14. Academic Calendar 76
 Universitas Gadjah Mada

State Islamic University 'Sunan Kalijaga'

Duta Wacana Christian University