Yetanotherdegree

Thanks, AbrasaxEos. Great, helpful explanation. Can I ask which area-specific societies? I'm curious because I've never seen a list by subject, so I really don't know what's out there, in my area or in others.

Are you a member of any academic societies or organizations? Groups like The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) or the American Academy of Religion (AAR)? If so, which ones? I know many of these are area-specific, but I'm curious about which ones students seem to join. What are the benefits of membership beyond the obvious subscription to the society's journal? And what would you recommend for someone who has not yet signed up for any of these organizations but is thinking about doing so?

Cr@p. I was hoping somehow that I had misread it all. I suppose I can hope that the 10% only applies to the course fees and not the full tuition. Maybe? Hopefully?

I'm registering as a part time student, for a degree that is never funded. I'll be paying out of pocket for each course. To register as a part-time student, I will be charged 1/4 of the full-time rate plus a 10% registration fee, per course. If I do this degree (8 courses) in full, I will be paying the full tuition plus 80% "registration fee." That seems ridiculously steep to me. I don't have a choice, if I want to do this, part-time is my only option for now, but... Man, 80% more just for the privilege of doing it in a way that allows me to be responsible to my family and the rest of my life? Yikes. Is this a typical charge for part-time???

Excellent point.

Other than the money, Columbia seems like a clear winner. And the money from the state university doesn't sound great, just less of a challenge. You mention that it has always been your dream to attend Columbia and they have exactly what you want to study. I think you know where you want to go and you should go for it. It's only money, pick Columbia. Fwiw, I'm about to start an expensive second masters when I could have picked a less expensive option. I chose the program that never has funding because it was the one that lined up more closely with my interests and gets me closer to my goals, even through it's going to cost more. While financial stability is important to me, I would prefer to spend more in the short run to get me where I want to be for the future.

Thanks, everyone! I'm going to try out zotero and mendeley and see which one works best for me. I appreciate the suggestions

Thanks, everyone. Zotero it is!

I posted yesterday in the research section and folks over there have recommended all kinds of programs for managing bibliographic data. It only occurred to me after that this type of thing really is subject-specific, in that the tools scientists want for bibliographies are slightly different from the tools used by folks in the humanities. So, if you're making notes and building a bibliography for future use as a theologian/religious studies-type, what features do you look for in a program? Any specific tools to recommend? I just need a place to keep an annotated list of books, preferably something I can later subdivide, merge, and generally mess around with. My institution provides access to Endnote and also recommends Zotero, so I will probably go with one of those, but any reviews or recs from people with similar academic interests (and therefore dealing with similar types of data) would be much appreciated.

I'm reading books and articles that I hope will contribute to a dissertation one day. I started by buying used books online, but now that I'm back in grad school, I've been reading e-books through my institution's online library, and I'm sure that my list of things read is going to get out of control pretty quickly. So, can anyone recommend a method of keeping track of items for a potential future bibliography? I've been keeping info on index cards, including notes scribbled while reading the book (i use it as a bookmark and take it wherever I go, including times when I dont have technology handy.) Anyway, I'm wondering if there are better ways to do this. Do you use any system, app, or word processing tool to keep track of things you read? Any recommendations before things get out of control here?

I think it depends on your interests. If you plan on doing something with a thesis, what sorts of topics are you interested in researching?which of these topics would enhance that future work? Is one of the areas more interesting/exciting to you than the other? Since your language limitations apply to both courses, I would not worry too much about it - it changes what and how you will research, regardless of the topic, and there are plenty of secondary materials you can access for both areas. So, which one sounds more interesting to you? If you're going to be reading and writing about one topic, what do you want to do?

Thanks folks. My program does say hat they hold spaces for incoming students and the course schedule shows a maximum enrollment of 18, as opposed to the 15 shown in the online system. If there are 18 spots and 10 have been filled, then I feel ok about my chances

Are you on academia.edu? Do you think there's any reason to sign up? I've noticed that when I google potential POIs or students ithe programs I'm considering, a number of them are on academia.edu Worth doing?

I'm starting a ThM in August, part-time. I have fairly specific interests and the divinity school has only a few courses that fit in with my interests. I'm also a part-time student due to work and family obligations, and between the course schedule and my time limitations, there is really only one course that would be ideal. I can't register yet because incoming students don't get to register until the week before classes. But I can access the university online registration system, and I can see that there are 15 spaces in this class, 11 have already been filled, and only 4 spaces are left. There are still some returning students left to register before new students get a turn. And, while advanced degree students get to register on the day before others (and basic degree students won't sign up for this class anyway), there are close to 20 of us who will be scrambling to get spots in specific courses on that first day of fall registration. Is there a real possibility that I might not get a space in this class? And if so, what do I do to avoid this? Should I email the instructor? The registrar? The director of my program? I know I sound like a giant pain in the @zz, but the thought of having to rearrange my work schedule and find extra childcare and then taking a course that's kind of related to my interests (as opposed to one that fits perfectly) is just...frustrating. So. Is this a real concern, or do I just need to relax? Thanks.

Thanks, everyone! It looks like I can make a case for three of those departments. To help with fit etc, I'll try to take a course through the classics department before applying

I want to do doctoral work focused on Christianity in late antiquity. It fits in neatly with the programs at a Divinity School. It would also fit in with religious studies, classics, and maybe even history. Is there any reason for me not to apply to up to four different doctoral programs at the same institution? Anything I need to know before I go ahead and start applying all over the place? Assuming, of course, that I can make a case for being a good fit in each of the programs...

AbrasaxEos, thank you! Your answer is thorough and helpful and fantastic. For those of us who are just beginning to work our way towards doctoral applications, a lot of the information is new, a bit overwhelming, and somewhat arcane. The process of finding a POI seemed challenging, but I feel a lot better prepared for it all now. I'm in a situation where my first choice for a ThD/PhD is going to be the same institution i'll be taking a ThM at this fall. There are some significant disadvantages in not being able to move for doctoral work (due to spouse's job) but the institution itself is excellent and I do have the opportunity to get to know people and to have them get to know my work. There are several people who would be a good fit for my work, and I'm going to work on cultivating appropriate relationships that may lead towards a mentor (or a few!) So far, the person who has been most responsive, whose research interests fit well, and whose personal style of writing and research seems to line up with my own (something I would never have thought about before reading the above post) is a very new faculty member, but there are others who might be equally good. As for visiting, jdmhotness, I would think it would depend somewhat on what you need to know to find out whether or not it would be a good fit for you. Do you feel like you have a good grasp of the institution's culture and ethos? Do you want or need any contact with current doctoral students? And how familiar are you with the context? I think if you already have some real sense of what the place is like academically and how you might fit in there, together with a genuine connection with a POI, then I'm not sure that a visit will help. If, on the other hand, you have a reason for going and you don't mind spending the $ and time, then why not? I think that a lot of what you would learn during a visit can be figured out online if you research well.

So obviously my summer hobby is prepping for fall applications Im sorry that I keep flooding the board with my endless list of questions, but I always get good answers on here and I really appreciate them. Thank you all! Today's topic is finding a POI. Lets assume it's a perfect world and almost anyone you want to work with would love to work with you. How do you pick? What characteristics do you look for in a dissertation supervisor? Do you want someone whose research interests are very close to yours? Or do other factors outweigh research interests? Do you want someone whose personal style will help you to succeed? Or does that not matter? Do you go for seniority of prestige, even if it comes with a need to share your POI with other students? Is a younger/newer academic a plus because they have time for you? Or a minus because they are perhaps inexperienced? How many students is too many for a POI to supervise effectively in your opinion? Any thoughts or insights for those of us who will be beginning the process of approaching POIs in the fall? And if vou managed to get into a doctoral program in religion or theology, how did the process actually work? Were you happy with how it all worked out? Thanks for humoring me, folks. This is way more interesting than reviewing fractions for the GRE!

And a post about how-to from a theology PhD. Not sure his advice lines up with the very excellent advice given earlier in this thread (re not going to learn in the phd), but another perspective can't hurt. http://michaelhalcomb.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-write-statement-of-purpose-or.html Is this helpful to anyone else?

Here's another example. http://www.jesusdust.com/2010/05/my-phd-purpose-statement-for-practical.html

Thanks for answering, everyone. I'm researching and planning, slowly. I'll post anything I come up with that might be helpful (if anyone else wants his?) Anyway, I found this as an example of a theology SOP: http://theologyandculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BU-STh_PersonalStatement-Snyder.pdf The doc title is personal statement, but the title on the page is SOP. It reads like what I expect a theology SOP to be (a blend of personal and academic, not just personal story) but I could be off on this. If anyone with experience would care to weigh in, I would appreciate it.

Thanks, kuriakos. That makes sense. I found this if anyone is interested. It's not specifically for religion/theology but it seems good. http://twp.duke.edu/uploads/assets/personal%20statement%20humanities.pdf

I'm starting to think about my SOP for my fall application, and I feel pretty clueless. I'm not sure where to begin. I get two whole pages to share all relevant information and make a good impression that will make or break my whole application So, any tips? Any great resources to help me write a fantastic statement of purpose for an application to a doctoral program in religion and/or theology? And can anyone link me up to an example or two online somewhere? I feel a bit like I did in my most recent degree when we were all assigned a particular style of paper and asked to present it. I got to go first, and, after I was done presenting and was moving into the discussion part of the class, we were all told that I had failed to follow the prescribed format. Which had never actually been given to any of us Any tips or info would be much appreciated!

I know it's too soon for the fall applications threads, and I know those are usually divided into doctoral and masters-level discussions, but it seems like we have quite a few people on here working towards applications for next year already. So...If you're planning on applying somewhere for fall 2014, what are you applying for? If it's a degree that asks you to focus on an area, what area do you want to study? Do you know where you'll be applying? What are you doing this year? And what are you working on for your application at this point? I'm applying for doctoral programs for next year. At least I think I am - there's a small possibility that I will delay for a year in the hopes of further strength invent my application. I want to look at historical theology (late antiquity). I plan to apply to Duke and maybe to UNC - we live in the area and, for various reasons, moving is not an option. This year, I'm taking a couple of courses at Duke, hoping to get fresh references and maybe a publication or two. Before classes start, I'm working on GRE prep and fixing up my ancient languages. Anyone else?

Jdmhotness, how did it go? I'm so not enjoying the GRE prep and I feel like its getting in the way of everything else. I'm seriously considering moving up the date, doing a few weeks of heavy cramming, and being done by mid-July. That way, I would get my summer back.