Panera

Taking a translation exam as soon as I complete my studies this summer if nothing else would be a measure of competency and the effectiveness of my preparation. If I am understanding you correctly, the standards for each PhD program are different and could be subjective given the varying background that students have in languages. Would you suggest taking or possibly auditing a German for Reading course to keep my skills current? Thanks

I am currently going through private tutoring with the Goethe Institute and would like to take a German Translation Exam as soon as I am complete in August. Does anyone know where I could take this exam where I would not have to be a student? I am starting Yale Divinity in the fall but I believe they only administer the exam in December and April. I would like to take it as soon as I finish my book/tutoring program in August.

Did anyone else get a notification of scholarship increase today from Duke Divinity? Very odd timing as I have committed elsewhere and most school's deadlines were April 15th. Would have been more enticing 2 weeks ago. Just curious.......

Who knows, maybe we could go in on a high rise apartment downtown together!

Hi everyone. I will be attending Yale Divinity in the fall and have a question about apartments. I realize that many grad students prefer living in East Rock. With the proximity to the Divinity school this would seem to make sense for me. Problem is I enjoy city life. I am a 21 year old female and the idea of living in a suburb seems dull to me. Thats where I grew up, but since then I have lived in Edinburgh, Scotland and really love being in a vibrant downtown area. I really want to live downtown near the blue & red shuttles and when I have classes I will just take the shuttles up. People keep warning me against this because of the unreliability of the shuttles (during winter) and "wouldn't I rather" walk to class then be on the shuttle all the time". Anyone advice in terms of a Divinity Student living in say New Haven Towers would be greatly appreciated.

Exercising thread starters right and bumping my earlier question!

Welcome all you thread hijackers! Actually, all the language info is helpful no matter the area of concentration. I have a general question to add to the discussion. Is there a standardized test for reading/translation proficiency. I know Yale administers an exam out of their language department that I assume I could take. Does it matter which test or where I take the test. I assume these are all just PhD application credentials items at the end of the day so does one particular test carry weight more? Can the amount of time that has passed since passing a proficiency exam come into play? Will an exam within say two years of filling out applications suffice?

I have some time this summer before starting my MARc (ethics) at Yale Divinity in the fall, so I would like to get a start on languages in anticipation of PhD candidacy down the road. Although I have taken some French in high school and college, I would say that I am intermediate at best. I have taken no German. My preliminary plan was to start German this summer at the Goethe-Zentrum in Atlanta with a private tutor. The focus would be on preparation for passing a German Proficiency Exam for Reading/Translation. Next summer, I thought I would continue preparation in French and German for reading and then attend the 7 week immersion course in German at Middlebury in the summer of 2016. Which languages and to what proficiency level (fluency, reading) do I need to demonstrate given my focus/interest in ethics. What is the best approach to achieve the demonstrated proficiency levels. Any suggestions on my plan would be appreciated. Since languages cannot be used as electives in my program, I thought of not tackling a new language while pursuing my degree requirements. Any thoughts on that line of thinking would also be appreciated. Thanks

Officially headed to give Rory Gilmore a run for her money!! So excited and blessed beyond measure to be attending Yale Divinity School this fall! Thanks to everyone who took the time out to thoughtfully answer my questions. This forum proved to be invaluable for someone new to the many opportunities to pursue graduate work in religious studies.

Point taken. I really appreciate the insight and will definitely consider it! Any thoughts on John Hare in terms of ethics? Several have mentioned him as doing "creative" work in the field of ethics.

If I remember correctly, I was told at my visit that Duke makes about 15 offers for admission out of about 150 applications. Have not idea if that is accurate or not or how that equates to size of the program?

I have just recently inquired as to the status of Yale’s search for a tenured ethics professor. Putting that search aside though, I am not seeing a huge contrast between Yale and Duke in terms of numbers. Both schools currently have one tenured professor in Ethics (Herdt & Bretherton). Duke has two associate professors and Yale one with one visiting professor. YALE Jennifer A. Herdt Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics Frederick Simmons Assistant Professor of Ethics Gerald McKenny Visiting Professor of Ethics Kathryn Tanner Frederick Marquand Professor of Systematic Theology DUKE Luke Bretherton Professor of Theological Ethics and Senior Fellow, Kenan Institute for Ethics Amy Laura Hall Associate Professor of Christian Ethics David Toole Associate Professor of the Practice of Theology, Ethics, and Global Health Although Kathryn Tanner is a Systematics professor her interest coincide with mine and hopefully I will have an ability to work with her possibly in a directed studies format. Both Hall & Toole at Duke are focused on Bio & Health ethics which I don’t have an interest in. So by the numbers it seems like a toss up to me. Tanner at Yale and Bretherton at Duke seem like a toss up in terms of sharing my interest in economics. Am I missing something?

I have read Kathryn Tanner’s “Economy of Grace” which aligns with my interest. I am curious if any knows whether Miroslav Volf at Yale is still focused on the intersection of the Christian faith and the economy. It seems early on that this was one of his major focuses along with the the globalization of faith. Now it seems his primary focus is on interfaith engagement particularly between Christians and Muslims.

Still weighing both Yale and Duke although Yale was much more generous. PTS was 90% tuition and the rates for board were heavily subsidized. With my concentration in Ethics, PTS did not make as much sense but in all other concentrations it would be a no brainer to go to PTS. My plan is to attend the admitted student days at both Yale and Duke and do a bit more POI research then I will be ready to make the call.

Same exact thing happened to me. You would think after all this time....... I don't know about you but I think I will accept the first offer!!!