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trinitymatthew

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  1. The UK-based QS World University Rankings has issued subject rankings for "Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies" for the first time. It may be of interest to readers of this forum. There are some limitations in that this ranking only includes universities, so standalone seminaries are not included. Thus, major institutions like Union Theological Seminary and Fuller Seminary are not included. Even so, it provides an interesting international perspective, with some definite surprises. Link here: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2017/theology-divinity-religious-studies
  2. You should consider the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. There are two Anglican theological colleges within TST: Wycliffe (evangelical and more conservative in ethos) and Trinity (high church and liberal in ethos). In fact, the two are directly across the street from each other. Both offer graduate-level courses in Anglicanism and share a library, with full access to the wider academic resources of the University of Toronto. TST administers a joint PhD program among the 6 theological colleges (Wycliffe--Anglican, Trinity--Anglican, St Michael's--Basilian, Catholic, Regis--Jesuit, Catholic, Knox--Presbyterian), one of the largest and most diverse ecumenical graduate programs in theology in North America. Students enrolling now will receive the PhD from both their college and the University of Toronto, ranked one of the top universities in the world. McGill is a good choice if your focus is specifically 16th century, with Torrance Kirby. The faculty and PhD program are much smaller than Toronto's, but there's considerable cache that comes with a McGill degree. The Graduate Theological Union might also be an option, with CDSP a constituent member. Harvard Divinity School has several Anglican faculty members. Historically, University of Chicago has been strong in 16th century/Reformation studies.
  3. Some considering theological and religious studies doctoral programs might be interested in this recent study of Association of Theological Schools (ATS) faculty. Using 2014-2015 ATS faculty data, it lists the top 25 universities and schools that have conferred doctoral degrees on current ATS faculty. There's no commentary on the strengths of the various programs, simply a ranking by numbers of ATS faculty. But these figures do provide some useful insight into where the majority of faculty have studied, and thus which programs see its graduates hired. Included for comparison are the top 25 from 2001. The current 25 schools account for 51% of earned doctorates among ATS faculty. The remaining 49% (not listed) come from 395 additional schools. Here's the top 15: 1 Princeton Theological Seminary 2 Harvard University 3 University of Toronto (including TST schools) 4 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 5 University of Chicago 6 Fuller Theological Seminary 7 Yale University 8 Emory University and Candler School of Theology 9 Roman Schools (Pontifical Gregorian has most with 35) 10 Union Theological Seminary (53) and Columbia University (31) 11 Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary 12 Vanderbilt University 13 Duke University and Divinity School 14 Catholic University of America 15 Drew University The whole report is here: http://www.ats.edu/uploads/resources/publications-presentations/documents/tenure-and-other-faculty-facts-part-2.pdf
  4. There are some religious studies PhD programs that make a sharp distinction between an MA from a university RS program and the MTS or MDiv from a divinity school or seminary, even those with a strong university connection, as Vanderbilt Divinity School certainly is. So, that is a fact you should consider. But other PhD programs are less particular that way, especially those blend religious studies and theology. The MTS from Vanderbilt would be no barrier to a great number of top PhD programs in American religious history, assuming you write a thesis and focus your studies carefully.
  5. The process of graduate education necessarily is one of narrowing focus. As an undergrad, one takes four years of courses in a broad diversity of subjects--math, science, language and culture, art, philosophy, sociology, political science, music, and often religion. Mine even required phys ed. You major in one or two things--I double majored in religion and a modern foreign language and culture, with a minor in poly sci, and was two courses shy of a minor in yet another language--with a lot of general education courses as well, such as astronomy, finite math, modern philosophy. As a master's student, whether M.Div., MTS, or MA, your focus narrows. For an MDiv you take courses in both testaments, theology, church history, ethics. liturgy, pastoral care, and practical ministry training. It is still broad, but with a focus on theology and ministry, so no more math or astronomy for that program, but maybe you're still interested in them, and you might still play violin or do tai chi, just not for credit. As a PhD student you definitely have to narrow even further out of necessity. In my case, there were 9 courses for the PhD, plus three comps, unlike 24 for the MDiv, or 36 for the BA. So in theology there wasn't really space to take courses in Bible or ethics. However, there were still breadth requirements. 2 courses had to be taken in each of the following areas, with a third in an area of specialization: doctrines in historical development, doctrines in contemporary exposition, major theologians, and methods, norms, and sources in religion/theology. So, I took courses in such diverse areas as feminist theology; readings in Augustine; readings in Bonhoeffer; modernity, post-modernity, and the future of religion (I jokingly called it "All Habermas all the time"); Anglican theology; soteriology; and liturgical theology, among others. When you start working on the dissertation you necessarily narrow further, but draw on whatever you know and have learned, plus all the new research you do. And it's also, I would hope, the case that all the previous years of education doesn't go out the window. I am still able to remember (sometimes) my previous training in biblical studies as an undergrad and as an MDiv student, which I utilize all the time, as well as undergrad courses in Zen and Japanese Religion, political philosophy, and modern Scandinavian history, to say nothing of Ibsen and Norwegian literature. Sometimes when I read job postings I feel like my dissertation focus is awfully specialized on a subject that no one could possibly care about, but then I also remember that the dissertation is not the whole of my education or knowledge--it's just one really long 300 page paper (which takes years to write). So, whenever we teach courses we all have to do a lot of behind the scenes extra learning, even when it is directly related to our specializations. What the PhD assures, I suppose, is that one is capable of doing that critical work, not that one is an expert in all fields, esp. at first. But in time one's areas of knowledge will necessarily expand as one continues to read and reflect and develop new interests. So that years later, we end up teaching and writing on subjects that we may know not that much about today, but institutions trust that we have the skills to learn what's necessary.
  6. EDS's endowment is actually quite strong now (having sold several buildings). It's actually the third largest among Episcopal seminaries at $66 million. So it's not the finances that are so much at issue there these days, but more the interpersonal, which is a challenge. By comparison, GTS's is only $27 million, with loads of debt still. I have known several Americans who got their MDivs at Trinity College in Toronto and didn't have trouble being ordained or face extra requirements. But every bishop is different. Preparing for and passing the GOEs is the main issue, as Canada doesn't have them. The BAS is largely the same as the US BCP. It just requires planning and attention. More conservative US students have also attended Wycliffe and done fine. Both try to ensure students' needs are met.
  7. If you are looking for an Anglican MDiv there are a few options, all equidistant, besides the closer Colgate Rochester. General Theological Seminary in NYC, unfortunately, is having a dramatically bad time right now--80% of the faculty are on strike, or quit, or were fired, depending on whom you ask--all as of last week. Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. might be an option. They have a strong "Distributive Learning" program in which you could earn an MDiv via a low-residency model--January and June terms on campus in Cambridge and the rest distance ed online. The online courses are real-time, hybrid, such that students in the classroom and students online hear the same lectures and interact, taught by regular EDS faculty. It has it's challenges, but many students seem to like it, EDS is having something of a tough time faculty-wise, too, but there are still some big names there--Kwok Pui Lan, Gale Yee, Larry Wills--who have not gone on strike, despite some public grievances with the administration. Plus, it's in Harvard Square and part of the BTI, and they seem to be giving decent financial aid--averaging 70% of tuition. Another option would be either Trinity College or Wycliffe College in the Toronto School of Theology. They are both Anglican theological schools. Trinity is liberal and high church, Wycliffe is conservative and low church. They are literally across the street from each other, and all the rest of the TST colleges are within walking distance on the University of Toronto campus. An advantage of Toronto is that if you were interested in doctoral study you'd have a good sense for their program. Union in NYC might be another option, taking Anglican courses at General--still a distance, though
  8. The program I know best is the Toronto School of Theology's. It is diverse and very rich (not financially but in terms of the faculty, offerings, and context). The PhD is being retooled and should be launched for new admissions this year. It will be a lot the same as the older program, but more streamlined with some new features and requirements (and some older requirements eliminated--fewer courses and comps, but now some required courses and tighter time limits). It is said that the admissions standards also will be tighter, since there will be fewer new admissions each year. 24 is the stated total number, inclusive of all six colleges (St Michael's, Trinity, Emmanuel, Wycliffe, Knox, and Regis) and all four departments (Bible, Theology, History, and Pastoral). Is your seminary ATS accredited? This is key, and will determine whether your degree qualifies. Assuming it is, your MDiv gpa should meet the requirement for TST admissions (depending on who else applies). But your undergrad gpa will be considered as well, as you would expect. TST doesn't require GRE scores. However, it does require a thesis or a major research paper. Language requirements are fluid, but generally two languages are required for all students and more in the biblical field. I'd work on German as well as the Biblical languages if NT is your field of specialization. If you don't have it mastered at the time of admissions you'll have to learn it and it can be a pain to do while also undertaking your regular course work. You can't move on to comps until all language requirements are met and the new TST standards have comps in the 4th semester. Funding can be a challenge for US students. Because most TST students are Canadian, who pay far lower tuition, the aid given is also lower than most Americans would hope for. Canadian students also often receive generous state funded grants that aren't available to int'l students. However, the colleges are working to improve this and most have a few packages that are attractive. But unlike some programs and universities it won't be equal for all students, ie, some students will get "full funding" and others won't.
  9. Having the ordination credential can be very helpful, both while you are a PhD student and after. Of course, one shouldn't pursue ordination just to be able to broaden your job prospects. You should do it because it's right for you, because you are "called" to it, to use religious language. Otherwise, you'll be unhappy as will any congregation you find yourself in. And in many denominations the process for getting there is laborious, a lot like pursuing the PhD, involving years of "formation." Having done both, I wouldn't recommend pursuing them at the same time, though it has been done. The smarter and more traditional course, if you felt called to ordination would be to pursue that first. Then go into the PhD program. That way you would have the benefit of A) potentially being able to do some clergy work on the side while pursuing your grad program, and when you finish the PhD you would have two sectors within which to search immediately, with some clergy experience under your belt. And, many seminaries might be more likely to consider you for faculty positions if you are ordained. Of course, this might require an MDiv or other program to augment any master's degree you already have. In my area of the Episcopal Church I can quickly think of at least 10 priests with PhDs who are engaged primarily in pastoral ministries, perhaps with a little adjunct teaching on the side, so it's definitely being done.
  10. At some schools, though not all, doctoral fellowships include TAships. This is sometimes true, even in the first year (it was for me) and often in the later years. So the free money isn't always free. In addition to being a TA, I was made an adjunct in my fifth year, which was great in terms of money and experience, but A LOT of work the first time (designing and teaching my own new course). It's also the case that teaching or any other job that you might have on the side can feel more pressing or even rewarding, as compared to sitting in front of your computer or alone in the library, which can always wait. So, there's a great lure to do these more immediately rewarding/extroverted tasks. After the fifth year (when the fellowship was done) I also took a more substantial job and moved from the university which also slowed things down. So, it really is a combination of factors. I knew one guy who finished in 3.5 or 4 years, but it was practically unheard of. He was married and his wife was working, so her support freed him from other responsibilities beyond his studies.
  11. The doctoral program in the Toronto School of Theology is in a state of flux and reorganization. Historically, the way it worked was that one applied simultaneously to the Toronto School of Theology, the college of one's choice (Trinity, Wycliffe. Regis, St Michael's, Emmanuel, or Knox), and to a department of specialization (theology, Bible, history, or pastoral). One also chose a degree: ThD or PhD, which had the exact same requirements. The ThD is awarded by one's college and the University of Toronto. The PhD is awarded by the University of St Michael's College alone (as distinct from the PhD offered by the Centre for the Study of Religion in U of T's School of Graduate Studies). The debate among students has long been: is it preferable to have a ThD that comes from U of T, or a PhD from St Michael's? Each has its advantages; however, most students, especially recently, have chosen the St. Michael's PhD, as the ThD is considered a less desirable degree today than in decades past (when it was actually thought better/higher because it required a more than a BA, as opposed to some PhDs--but those days are past). So, if you see that someone has a PhD from St. Michael's in Toronto, you won't always know which college s/he was actually registered at. Often, one chooses that which most closely allies with her/his own denominational or theological sensibilities (ie, Jesuit for Regis, liberal Protestant for Emmanuel, evangelical or low Anglican for Wycliffe, liberal or high Anglican for Trinity, Presbyterian for Knox, RC for St Mike's; though, this is not universally true by any means). The change is that the ThD is being phased out and a new PhD program has been developed and approved by TST and by U of T. It will again be jointly administered and common across the various colleges, but one will now be able to graduate with a PhD in Theological Studies (broadly understood) from one's college and the University of Toronto. This change has been a long time in coming and the answer of many prayers. Ironically, the requirements of the new degree will be fewer than the old program (fewer courses, fewer languages, fewer comps, but stricter time limits). The new program will start admitting students in Fall 2015, though those admitted to the ThD program this next year will be eligible to transfer in to the new program, too. They expect to admit fewer students than in years past. TST has had one of the largest theological doctoral programs in North America, certainly in terms of numbers of students, also in terms of numbers of faculty, access to library resources, etc. It is one of the top 20 "feeder" programs for theological school faculty positions. But it can't match the financial aid of the other top programs. Some students will receive a full ride, while others won't. I was an American PhD student at TST and had tuition covered by a fellowship for 4 years, plus a bursary (grant) that gave a modest stipend and a TAship every year. My fifth year I was appointed an adjunct faculty instead of a fellowship. All financial aid comes from one's college and is determined by it (rather than by TST as a whole). Canadian students have significantly lower tuition and are encouraged to apply for generous Canadian government scholarship awards. Finally, a word about the relationship of the colleges and TST to U of T. Three of the colleges are historic universities that were originally denominational competitors to the intentionally secular University of Toronto. They are the University of St Michael's College (Basilian Roman Catholic), the University of Trinity College (high church Anglican), and Victoria University (of which Emmanuel College is part--originally Methodist, now United Church of Canada). In the late 19th and early 20th century they each federated with the secular University of Toronto and suspended their right to grant degrees in subjects other than divinity/theology, though they continued to admit undergraduate students in conjunction with the wider University. St Michael's has exercised that autonomous right to grant degrees with the MA and PhD (the other two haven't, but could if they wanted). On the other hand, Wycliffe, Regis, and Knox were all established as theological colleges alone. The various schools came together to form the Toronto School of Theology in the 60s and 70s and established a relationship with the University of Toronto through which most degrees (such as the MDiv and MTS, as well as the ThM, ThD and DMin) are awarded conjointly by one's college and the University of Toronto. TST itself does not award degrees but coordinates programs, most especially at the doctoral level. MDivs and MTS programs are more college-based. Hope this helps. It doesn't say much about rankings, but gives an idea of how it all works and is evolving. In some lists TST is included as "top tier" in others not (but then some lists only include US programs). I would say that the access to resources and diversity of faculty is certainly top tier. Access to money, not so much. TST doctoral grads are found teaching on the faculties of Boston College, GTU, Marquette, Notre Dame, TST, Loyola Chicago, McMaster, Queen's (Canada), Vancouver School of Theology, Atlantic School of Theology, Bethel University, University of the South, Episcopal Divinity School, Emmanuel College (Boston), lots of other liberal arts colleges and seminaries.
  12. Joseph45: In response to your much earlier question. No, I don't think the Auburn Study takes into consideration percentages of graduates from the programs. The study is based on "real numbers" of faculty in theological schools, and lists the 24 top programs represented. The study itself is concerned with issues like admissions and recruitment policies, funding, training for teaching, time to completion, etc. For those not able or interested in reading the whole document, here are the top 20 "feeder" programs (determined by numbers of alumni faculty members teaching in theological schools and consolidated when institution is listed twice--Duke, Toronto, BU), listed alphabetically (*Program offer full-tuition funding (and in most cases, stipends as well) to all of most of its students): Boston University (Division of Religious Studies & School of Theology) Catholic University of America Columbia University* Dallas Theological Seminary Drew University* Duke Divinity School*/Duke University* Emory University* Fuller Theological Seminary The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) Harvard University,* (Faculty of Arts & Science and Divinity School) Princeton Theological Seminary* Toronto School of Theology (TST)/ University of St. Michael’s College Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) Union Theological Seminary* The University of Chicago Divinity School* The University of Notre Dame,* Vanderbilt University* Yale University*
  13. Rankings are always subjective, but data is a little more objective. Auburn Theological Seminary in NY has studied which graduate programs in theology (broadly speaking) have contributed the most faculty to theological schools in North America. The linked document (from 2010) lists the top 20+ programs and notes which offer full funding and which don't, how that impacts admissions, denominational affiliation, etc. Included are the big names anyone would expect: Harvard, Chicago, Yale, Duke, Vanderbildt, Toronto School of Theology, GTU, Claremont, Union Seminary, Boston University. Several evangelical programs are also included. It's a good and useful read. It doesn't attempt to rank the programs but basically states that these are the programs that lead and have led to the most academic teaching positions (in theological schools). http://www.auburnseminary.org/sites/default/files/Report%20on%20a%20Study%20of%20Doctoral%20Programs_0.pdf
  14. Congrats to the new admits to TST. I graduated from the PhD program this fall, under the old rules of having to graduate from St Mikes, even if you weren't registered there. I was registered at Trinity, but took classes throughout TST and had comps and thesis examiners at other colleges. Toronto is a great environment to study and live. Each college is different in terms of how it handles financial aid. Emmanuel has a $20k fellowship (or maybe more than one) that I believe is used to cover tuition, fees, and living costs. Wycliffe has at least one "fully-funded" scholarship that stays with the student for 4 or 5 years. Trinity offers a combination of fellowships and bursaries. Because of the complicated admissions process--to TST, department, and college--admissions are offered without consideration of funding.Then, the colleges make separate financial aid offers, often need-based or after a separate application. It's different from the US system because the tuition is so low, particularly for Canadians, who are encouraged to apply for federal and provincial grants. For Americans and others the fees are twice as high, so the fellowships don't go nearly as far, but sometimes the colleges are more generous as a result. I'm American and Trinity was (relatively speaking) very generous to me, always covering my tuition and fees, plus some living expenses. But nothing like some of the better-funded US grad programs. And every year was different. That was honestly the most stressful thing about the program, especially in the first couple years. However, the extraordinary environment made it well worth it, and in my day the fees dropped precipitously after the first two years. Now, they stay the same all years. I'd add, though, that the new conjoint PhD as designed is much less onerous in terms of requirements (fewer courses, comps, and languages), so completing in a timelier fashion should be far more possible.
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