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See the attached announcement for those interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in Hebrew Bible. The Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is pleased to announce that we are offering paid fellowships for doctoral students in Hebrew Bible through the Ancient Mediterranean Religions subfield for the academic year 2020-2021. UNC’s Department of Religious Studies is one of the top ranked graduate programs in religion. In particular, the Department is known for its pedagogical training and for engaging contemporary theories of religion. Graduate students would qualify to receive additional support from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. For graduate students starting in Fall 2020, the application deadline is December 10, 2019. The doctoral program offers an opportunity for students to receive a broad based education in the study of religion while also pursuing specialized training in the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context and the history of biblical interpretation. The faculty have strong interests in late Second Temple Judaism as well. Primary faculty in this area include: David Lambert, associate professor, author of How Repentance Became Biblical: Judaism, Christianity, and the Interpretation of Scripture (Oxford University Press, 2016), winner of the 2016 AAR Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the category of Textual Studies. Joseph Lam, assistant professor, author of Patterns of Sin in the Hebrew Bible: Metaphor, Culture, and the Making of a Religious Concept (Oxford University Press, 2016). Experts in other areas of the subfield in Ancient Mediterranean Religions include: Bart Ehrman (history of early Christianity; New Testament studies) Jodi Magness (early Judaism; archeology of Palestine) Evyatar Marienberg (Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish law) Zlatko Pleše (Gnosticism; Hellenistic religions and philosophy) Located in North Carolina’s culturally rich and affordable Research Triangle, the program offers the opportunity to work closely with faculty at nearby Duke University as well. For more information, please contact David Lambert (dalambe@email.unc.edu), Joseph Lam (jclam@email.unc.edu), or visit the Department’s website at religion.unc.edu. UNC_PhD_2020-21.pdf

For those interested in studying Hebrew Bible: UNC and Duke are both accepting applications for PhD students in their graduate schools. I posted an announcement on the main forum. If interested, you should contact David Lambert (dalambe@email.unc.edu) and Marc Brettler (MZB3@Duke.edu). More information: http://religion.unc.edu/; https://graduateprograminreligion.duke.edu/.

See the following notice for applications to study the Hebrew Bible at UNC or Duke. ** The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University are coordinating their extensive resources to develop what promises to be an exceptional opportunity for doctoral study in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. UNC-Chapel Hill, through the Department of Religious Studies, and Duke, through the Graduate Program in Religion, are each accepting applications from qualified students for competitive fellowships to begin the academic year 2018-2019. The deadline to apply to UNC is December 12, 2017; the deadline for Duke is December 7, 2017. Located in North Carolina’s culturally rich and affordable Research Triangle, the programs involve close cooperation between Joseph Lam, David Lambert, and Jodi Magness of the Department of Religious Studies at UNC; Marc Brettler, Laura Lieber, and Melvin Peters of the Department of Religious Studies at Duke; and Stephen Chapman, Ellen Davis, Jennie Grillo, and Anathea Portier-Young of the Duke Divinity School. While each program has certain distinctive emphases, they share a commitment to reading texts in original languages and to exegesis. As part of obtaining broad training in the field, students are encouraged to engage both the ancient Near Eastern context of the Bible and its subsequent history of interpretation from late Second Temple Judaism forward, with a focus on robust conversation across traditions. Together these programs offer students the unique opportunity to study Hebrew Bible/Old Testament within the framework of top-ranked departments of Religious Studies, receiving training in and employing contemporary theories of religion. Both programs are known for their exceptional pedagogical training and have enjoyed excellent placement records. Students benefit from UNC and Duke’s extensive resources in other areas of ancient Judaism, as well as early Christianity. For more information, students are urged to contact David Lambert (dalambe@email.unc.edu) and Marc Brettler (MZB3@Duke.edu). More information is also available at UNC’s departmental website, http://religion.unc.edu/, and Duke’s website, https://graduateprograminreligion.duke.edu/.

I'm circulating the following announcement for fellowships in the Hebrew Bible and the history of its interpretation at UNC Chapel Hill. More information below! *** The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is accepting applications for fellowships in Hebrew Bible and its history of interpretation through the Department of Religious Studies for the academic year 2018-2019. The deadline to apply is December 12, 2017. Graduate students can qualify to receive additional support from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. The doctoral program offers an opportunity for students to pursue specialized training in the Hebrew Bible and its history of interpretation within the broader context of a top ranked graduate program in religion. The Department of Religious Studies is known, in particular, for engaging contemporary theories of religion and for its exceptional pedagogical training. Students will participate in the Ancient Mediterranean Religions subfield and receive extensive training in the history and culture of the ancient Near East, as well as early Judaism and Christianity. They will also have the opportunity to study with faculty at nearby Duke University. Primary faculty in Hebrew Bible include: David Lambert, associate professor, author of How Repentance Became Biblical: Judaism, Christianity, and the Interpretation of Scripture (Oxford University Press, 2016). •Hebrew Bible and its history of interpretation • Late Second Temple Judaism • The history of Jewish thought Joseph Lam, assistant professor, author of Patterns of Sin in the Hebrew Bible: Metaphor, Culture, and the Making of a Religious Concept (Oxford University Press, 2016). •Hebrew Bible in its Ancient Near Eastern context •Hebrew and other Semitic languages Faculty in other areas of the Ancient Mediterranean Religions subfield include: Bart Ehrman (history of early Christianity; New Testament studies) Jodi Magness (early Judaism; archeology of Palestine) Evyatar Marienberg (Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish law) Zlatko Pleše (Gnosticism; Hellenistic religions and philosophy) For more information, please contact David Lambert (dalambe@email.unc.edu) or Joseph Lam (jclam@email.unc.edu). More information is also available on the Department’s website at religion.unc.edu. UNC-flyer-2017.pdf

Strange. Here is the content from the PDF. The Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for doctoral students in Hebrew Bible through the Ancient Mediterranean Religions subfield for the academic year 2017-2018. UNC’s Department of Religious Studies is one of the top ranked graduate programs in religion. In particular, the Department is known for its pedagogical training and for engaging contemporary theories of religion. Graduate students would qualify to receive additional support from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. The doctoral program offers an opportunity for students to receive a broad based education in the study of religion while also pursuing specialized training in the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context and the history of biblical interpretation. The faculty have strong interests in late Second Temple Judaism as well. Primary faculty in this area include: David Lambert, associate professor, author of How Repentance Became Biblical: Judaism, Christianity, and the Interpretation of Scripture (Oxford University Press, 2016), winner of the 2016 AAR Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the category of Textual Studies. •Hebrew Bible and its history of interpretation • Late Second Temple Judaism • The history of Jewish thought Joseph Lam, assistant professor, author of Patterns of Sin in the Hebrew Bible: Metaphor, Culture, and the Making of a Religious Concept (Oxford University Press, 2016). •Hebrew Bible in its Ancient Near Eastern context •Hebrew and other Semitic languages Experts in other areas of the subfield in Ancient Mediterranean Religions include: Bart Ehrman (history of early Christianity; New Testament studies) Jodi Magness (early Judaism; archeology of Palestine) Evyatar Marienberg (Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish law) Zlatko Pleše (Gnosticism; Hellenistic religions and philosophy) Graduate students in the Department would be expected to work closely with faculty at nearby Duke as well: Marc Brettler, Stephen Chapman, Ellen Davis, Jennie Grillo, Laura Lieber, Melvin Peters, and Anathea Portier-Young. For more information, please contact David Lambert (dalambe@email.unc.edu), Joseph Lam (jclam@email.unc.edu), or visit the Department’s website at religion.unc.edu.

I created another thread on this, but figured I'd insert it here as well since application season is upon us. UNC Chapel Hill just announced that they are accepting applications for doctoral students in Hebrew Bible. It's funded, they've got great faculty and you have access to Duke and NC State resources (and let's be real: as far as towns go, you could do a lot worse than Chapel Hill/Carrboro!). I've attached the announcement. Happy applying! UNC_announcement.pdf

Just got word of a new, funded Hebrew Bible PhD through the Ancient Mediterranean Religions Subfield at UNC-Chapel Hill. Some great faculty there, as well as shared coursework with Duke Graduate School and Duke Divinity School. Awesome news for those interested in Hebrew Bible in the context of Religious Studies. I've attached the announcement. UNC_announcement.pdf

Agreed with everything said above. Take the year to learn more about what you want and what makes you happy. A poor transcript isn't a total deal breaker, but is definitely something that will need to be accounted for--both for future admissions committees, and for yourself. If I were you, I'd want to become quite clear on why I didn't enjoy my MA, and why I didn't feel like I had developed solid relationships with profs, esp before setting out to make this my life's work.

your job is to get recommendations from the most reputable people who are willing to say, in effect, to their colleagues, "you'd be crazy not to admit this person." an admissions committee is going to spend much more time looking for clues in the recommendation (i.e. clues about your star potential or clues about your "meh" potential) then they are ponitificating on whether you have a diverse set of mentors.

UNC is notoriously quick to decide. Other schools will start moving over the next several weeks.

If you get accepted to the MTS and want to make the switch to the MDiv you have to make your case to the director of the MDiv program and convince her that you're making the move for legitimate ministerial reasons (i.e. not just to buy more time in a masters program). There's always the possibility that your request can be denied. I'll also reiterate what others have said: the mDiv can be very solid training for an academic path (assuming that's what you want) primarily because it gives you an extra year to develop legitimate relationships with the professors who will be writing your letters. If you opt for an MTS, the clock begins ticking on DAY ONE. You need to be extremely strategic about doing the myriad things necessary to put together a solid application: developing relationships with profs, language proficiencies, research interests, methodolodical tools, etc. In other words, if you're feeling like you're already on a fast track toward a doctoral program (languages are tight, research interests are relatively tight, etc) then an MTS is great because it saves you case. If not, an MDiv might be the safer route. Keep in mind, even though you get the extra year as an mDiv, bc of the academic requirements you really only net 4 extra classes. That said, that extra year can be gold if you're looking to develop some solid relationships. Good luck.

My thought here relates to Harvard only, since theirs is the program I know best. Please feel free to disagree with me, but everyone that I have interacted with at HDS and Harvard GSAS has reiterated again and again that the GRE is the last and lowest item of interest for them. If you have solid training, propose an innovative and theoretically nuanced project (in line with POI interests), and have detailed and glowing letters of recommendation from respected (by your POI) scholars (and even better if you develop a meaningful relationship with one of your POIs beforehand), I don't see the absence of a superstar percentile (95, 99) affecting your odds of admission. Harvard is particularly incestuous in their admissions--somthing like 8 or 9 of the dozen or so admitted doctoral students last year came from within. I'd be willing to bet that some applicants with near perfect GREs and solid applications were turned down in favor of students with excellent projects (albeit weakers GREs) that have had 2-3 years to get to know their POIs.

Turned down an offer to attend UT-Austin this morning (NT/Early Christianity). Hope this helps someone who might find it to be a better match: they are doing really great things out there.

Not the end of the world at all! Harvard GSAS protocol is super annoying--based on past results it looks like they communicate acceptances immediately, but then mail their rejections, which arrive a week or two later. Lame.

Agreed, very confusing. I don't know what to say about the department not sending out official acceptances. Maybe not all subfields have made their decisions? I'm flying out tomorrow for ther welcome weekend (Ancient Med).