A Partial List of Graduates from the M.A. Program in Religious Studies

• David Embree – (M.A. 1994) Per Course Instructor at Missouri State Department of Religious Studies
• Ray Adams – (M.A. 1996) Dean of Students, Baptist Bible College, Springfield, Missouri
• Robin Anderson – (M.A. 1997) Special Education Teacher in Liberty, Missouri
• Jeffrey Ruff – (M.A. 1997) Thesis: Rituals of Power in Southern Africa: An Investigation of the Healing Dance of the !Kung in the Context of African Rituals of Power. (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara); Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Marshall University
• Scott S. Elliot – (M.A. 1999) Ph.D. program in Religion at Drew University
• Leslie E. Smith – (M.A. 1999) Thesis: Divine Order, Divine Myth: The Necessity of Gender Paradigms in the Study of Protestant Fundamentalism. Ph.D. program in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara
• Joby S. Taylor  -- (M.A. 1999) Ph.D. program in Language, Literacy, and Culture at University of Maryland at Baltimore
• Matthew S. Waggoner – (M.A. 1999) Thesis: The Making of American Religious Experience: A Socio-Political Critique of ‘Experience” in American Religious History. Ph.D. program in History of Consciousness at University of California, Santa Cruz
• Patrick Scott Smith – (M.A. 2000) Owner of construction company in Springfield
• Clinton Hammock – (M.A. 2001) Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at University of Missouri—Kansas City
• Arthur James Murphy – (M.A. 2001) Thesis: Family Values: Anti-familial Rhetoric and Counterculture in the Sayings of Jesus: A Social-Structural Study. Assistant Professor of History, Evangel University
• Shirley I. Wood – (M.A. 2001) Joint Ph.D. program at the University of Denver and Iliff Theological Seminary
• Michael Dean Fisher – (M.A. 2002) Thesis: “…As in All the Churches of the Saints…”What to Do with 1 Corinthians 14:33B? Ph.D. program in the Department of Religious Studies at Florida State University
• Jacob L. Harris – (M.A. 2002) Thesis: Here Comes The “Bride”: A Discursive Analysis of of the Twelve Tribes Messianic Kingdom’s Eschatological Wedding Ritual.
• Lora J. Hobbs – (M.A. 2002) Senior Instructor at Missouri State Department of Religious Studies
• Erin Kuhns – (M.A. 2002) Thesis: Death Cult in Ancient Israel and Modern Scholarship: Practical and Theoretical Issues in Old Testament Studies. Ph.D. program in Religion at Duke University
• Rita Moore -- (M.A. 2003) Director of Lay Ministries of United Methodist Church, Springfield, Missouri
• John R. Kennedy – (M.A. 2003) Thesis: Food, Flesh, and Fervor: Perfecting the Ascetic Body in Tertullian’s De Ieiunio.
• Matt Cardin – (M.A. 2003) Writer. Author of The God of Foulness (Delirium Books, 2004). High School English teacher in Hartsville, Missouri.
• Shelia Priest – (M.A. 2003) Per course faculty at Missouri State-West Plains Campus.
• Brian Doak—(M.A. 2004) Thesis: Patriarch as Trickster: The Social and Literary Function of the Jacob Cycle in Genesis 25-33. Currently working on his Ph.D. at Harvard University.
• Jared Fields—(M.A. 2004) M.Div. program at Anderson Theological Seminary
• Mary Brune - (M.A. 2005) Thesis: Religion and Politics: Adding a Definition of Religion to John Rawls and Richard Rorty.
• Joe Moore - (M.A. 2005) Thesis: Gamla: A Question of Ultimate Sacrifice.
• Jean Stalhood - (M.A. 2005) Thesis: "War Continued By Other Means": The Politics of Religion and Violence.
• Martha L. Smith - (M.A. 2005) Thesis: Creating the Exotic East: Romantic Literature, Orientalist Scholarship and the Colonial Construction of the East. Accepted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working on her Ph.D.
• Cynthia J. Berry - (M.A. 2007) Currently works for Watts Radiant in Springfield, Missouri
• Rosalie T. Gorecki - (M.A. 2007) - Currently working for CAR (Center for Archaeology Research) on a dig in Kansas on the high plains.
• Jessica (Campbell) Ollis - Assistant Branch Manager for U.S. Bank in Springfield, MO
• Jane Terry - (M.A. 2009) - Administrative Secretary for Religious Studies at Missouri State University.  Will begin publishing and continue drawing and painting.
• Tyson Putthoff - (M.A. 2009) - Working on his Ph.D. at Durham University (Englad) in New Testament and Jewish Studies and plans to teach in those areas when completed.
• Mary Chiles - (M.A. 2009) - Would like to lead retreats, write and do volunteer work.  Will also be starting a Sustainable Tree Farm on the family farm with her husband.
• Kim Clark - (M.A. 2009) - Plans to establish the Opus 30 school of music for underprivileged elementary school children and developing her own website design business.
• Adam Park - (M.A. 2009) - Has been admitted to the doctoral program at Florida State University.