
newenglandshawn
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so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
Since we cannot know the norm without all the necessary data, it is helpful. Anecdotes are all we have. I will be applying anyway (next year), so hard data is not necessary. Just a little encouragement to help me keep moving forward! -
so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
Wow! Thank you. That cheers me up!! He must have had some outstanding strengths in other areas, of course. About all I have going for me is my good looks - and even with that, I'm getting older. -
so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
Yes, I am definitely aware of the challenges of this and was somewhat inviting people to share any anecdotal information they could - e.g., I seem to remember someone saying recently that all three of the OT/HB students that were admitted at Emory in the last year or two came from Harvard, Yale, and Duke (or something to the effect). What I really want is someone to say, "Oh, no, you have awesome chances in getting into a top HB/OT program even though you didn't go to a top-tier school for your M* degree!" That is very wishful thinking, I know! I actually know of a number of individuals that went to my school who were admitted into Vanderbilt (both for OT and NT) - a school to which I am actually not planning to apply. -
so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
That would not address the scope of my question. That's because there are plenty of people who went to top-tier schools who do not now teach at top-tier schools (eg., at the evangelical Seminary I attended, there are a number of professors that went to places like Notre Dame, UC Berkeley, etc.). -
so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
So, if it's next to impossible to find a teaching position unless you have the "right pedigree," isn't the same true with getting into a PhD program to begin with? How many of these top programs actually accept students who did not get an M* degree from a top school? I wish when they have a sheet with all their admissions stats and they divide it among subfield, race, gender, etc., they had a stat that broke down the percentage of students from non-top tier programs that apply, and then how many of those they actually accept!! As a person who did not get my M* degree from a top-tier program, this is obviously a point of stress for me. -
Thanks! This is helpful. It's exactly what I was asking.
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Just curious: which of the schools you are applying to require it all at once, and which allow it to be done separately? (Many of the ones to which you are applying are the ones to which I will eventually apply - next year, for OT/HB).
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So another question along those lines: how does knowing Biblical Hebrew correlate to doing Rabbinic/Talmudic Hebrew?
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So does BU's STH provide full funding - tuition and stipend of $20k - for its ThD (which will probably be changing to a PhD).
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so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
I don't think I said I didn't care about being at the best program. I said I am not at a school right now so I have no agenda to fit my school (since I don't have one) in the "top." -
so, which are the "most competitive" programs?
newenglandshawn replied to Macrina's topic in Religion
Thank you, Body Politics. I'm not sure where this whole "everybody wants their school to be on the list" idea comes from. I am not even at a school (and my alma mater is certainly nowhere near the top 25), so I could care less about that sort of thing. The question can be considered on its own merits, based on objective standards. -
Graduate Programs in Christian Apologetics / Philosophy of Religion
newenglandshawn replied to Wafer's topic in Religion
Without knowing exactly what you intend to do, and if you're looking for a little adventure, you may want to check out the Oxford Centre for Christians Apologetics over at Oxford, England. I don't know a ton about it but they offer a one-year certificate program. I believe you either have to already be enrolled at Wycliffe Hall, pursuing an undergraduate certificate, or pursuing a Masters there. They have some of the foremost apologists teaching at the center (among others, Alister McGrath, Ravi Zacharias, Os Guinness, John Lennox, etc.). You can find out more info here: http://theocca.org/ -
Okay. Thanks for clarifying. I was a little confused after you said "I guess that's why you're attempting to study something as bombastic as religion for a living."
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Are you not studying religion?
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Graduate Programs in Christian Apologetics / Philosophy of Religion
newenglandshawn replied to Wafer's topic in Religion
I listen to William Lane Craig. And I appreciate him. And I'm not an impressionable undergraduate. -
PhD Application Turned into an MA Application
newenglandshawn replied to newenglandshawn's topic in Religion
Thanks. Just to clarify: he was not accepted into the MA program with the agreement that he would automatically continue into the PhD program. He had to then re-apply for the PhD after the MA. So that is my question: do schools sometimes offer you admission into their M* program if you are not quite ready for their PhD program? Obviously, this would be huge so one doesn't have to wait for a whole year (and waste a whole year) to then apply to the M* program. -
PhD Application Turned into an MA Application
newenglandshawn replied to newenglandshawn's topic in Religion
Are you aware of any schools that specifically do this (he was at Vanderbilt)? -
Someone recently told me that when he applied to a top tier PhD program a few years ago (for Hebrew Bible), they countered with an invitation to pursue an MA with them. He took up their offer, studied there, and is now presently working on his PhD with them (and they used his Master's credits toward his PhD credits). Is this done with moderate frequency, or do most programs simply reject you outright?
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Thank you for the levity - even though the "unintentional comedy" was off the charts already on this thread (at least for me)!
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"Lastly, the example of people applying right out of undergrad, poor writing and missing materials is, well, silly. Most of these programs require an M degree just for starters. Only a real dunce would overlook a basic requirement and apply anyway." Not to belabor this discussion, but that's just wrong (cf. the most prestigious institution in the world: http://studyofreligion.fas.harvard.edu/pages/admissions).
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Graduate Programs in Christian Apologetics / Philosophy of Religion
newenglandshawn replied to Wafer's topic in Religion
For what it's worth, furtivemode, you said that a degree from a big name university would likely prevent a person from working at a conservative school. I don't think this is true whatsoever. In fact, as I have perused the faculty at many conservative schools, a considerable number of them have their doctorates at the big schools. As long as a person can demonstrate that he/she is committed to the conservative dogma, I would think most schools would view it as an asset to have faculty from top-tier programs. -
I highly doubt that programs will "do whatever they can to attract applicants." And I'm struggling to follow one line of logic: what benefit do they gain from having 300 applicants instead of 100 - especially if they're allegedly going to throw 250 of them in the trash right away? And the fact that there are "exceptions" totally contradicts what you said, doesn't it?
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That's precisely what I was trying to avoid - go through all the effort of tracking down the information from each school myself (especially since some of the schools that do provide funding, don't always make this abundantly clear on their website). I figured there was enough people on here who knew, from memory, a lot of the schools that did, so that we could collaborate and make a pretty sizeable list - which would seem to be very beneficial for those of us who are trying to figure out a way to pursue a PhD without spending another dime.
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Actually, the majority don't. This is why - among other reasons - there are many, many programs that are not considered to be Top Tier programs.
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This may be a little challenging, but I'm interested in seeing a full list, in one place, of all the PhD programs that give students full funding (tuition + stipend) here in North America. It would be very helpful!