xypathos

Panel interview on the 20th for Canterbury Christ Church University. It's slightly outside my field - it's still theology but also engages in critical film studies so I've got some extra preparation to do.

Keep in mind that the NE is getting hit hard with snow right now so this may push back decisions.

I applied back in 2014 and it was in our confirmation email that all decisions would be released on March 15th at 11:59 AM. I've heard the time of the automated posting has changed but that it's still March 15th for everyone - accepted, waitlisted, and rejected.

So there are two primary classifications of PhD programs in Germany: individual and structured. An individual PhD permits the student quite a bit of freedom in placement (university, think tank, research organization) but is generally preferred for those doing science research and generally requires fluent German. A Structured PhD though is one that involves coursework, takes place at a university, and has a supervisory panel of (usually) three faculty, one of which is your primary. Structured PhDs are often willing to permit the dissertation to be written in English but generally have expectations regarding fluency in German. Naturally, your professors and students will be using it primarily so you need some conversational ability. German PhDs, like UK ones, are 3-years in length (full time) and you're expected to have a dissertation project ready to go before ever being admitted. 4-year programs in the UK and Germany are slowly starting to increase in number but more so on lower tier programs. You can find a database of structured and individual programs through www.daad.de - I don't know how exhaustive it is though. I don't know of any religious studies or theology programs in English at German schools but there are some American Studies, English Literature, and other programs.

Like @RiskyNT, I don't translate unless I'm doing something nuanced with the text and I need to stress it and want everyone on the same page.

Sounds like Union pulled a "We're not their first choice so if accepted somewhere else they'll turn us down. So, lets find a reason to rescind the offer." Which is easy enough to do.

How'd that happen?

Tossed in two last minute applications to St. Andrews and one to Canterbury Christ Church! Gavin Hopps at Andrews confirmed that the ITIA still has funding to cover the expenses of a select 3-4 students. CCCU is still a very young university and often gets overlooked but has tuition waivers and a £13k (16k USD) annual stipend open to students willing to work in theology with an Anglican (or Anglican friendly) focus. Per my contact (a professor and CoE priest), local CoE dioceses would welcome a US student working 10-20 hours a week in exchange for use of an unused parsonage and a stipend.

Western Theological Seminary accepts four(?) funded ThM students a year though they classify fully funded as "some combination of tuition, housing, insurance, books, and stipend" so there's no real way to ascertain if you'll be one of the four, or if you'll get funding. WTS: http://www.westernsem.edu/academics/degrees/master-theology-degree/ That's the only program I know. Also consider that next to none of these professors you'll be able to use as a recommendation. Technically yes but you won't even have one course with them and by the time it comes to apply, Fall grades may not have even posted yet. Unfortunately it really pays off to go to an established ThM program and most of them know this and offer little to no funding.

Yep.

I heard back from Vandy either on March 15th or the week immediately prior back in 2014. From what I recall, recipients for full rides were notified 1-2 weeks before that so late February, then everyone else afterwards.

I was invited to the Intersections event back in 2014 and attended. I was notified about a week or two before hand of my acceptance to Union, though several students were notified while they were there. From what I recall, everyone in attendance was accepted to the school and those invited who hadn't heard back before Intersections started, it was a chance for faculty and administrators to hear about your passions, as there are several meet and greet functions with faculty. I will give it to Union though, they wine and dine the shit out of you while you're there. Unfortunately, they give next to no aid, even for their top applicants.

I hope one of your waitlisted schools come through for you! That said, you're not alone. I was rejected from Villanova (PhD) but referred to their MTS program. Accepted to Manitoba's PhD in History and Religion but offered a 10k scholarship which won't even completely cover tuition and I just cannot bite the bullet on going in debt for a PhD. I did turn down a PhD in Public History at NC State but after visiting the campus and having a candid conversation in job placement prospects, I couldn't see myself putting the time in the program. So, in short, I'll likely be hitting the job market come Spring and seeing how things fair come next year. For what it's worth, if you're willing to travel overseas, you still have several months to submit applications to some second and third tier UK schools! I'm looking at a couple myself, honestly!

It really varies from school to school. Some simply won't offer this analysis of your application, whereas if you ask the Chair (it's a safe bet that they're on the Adcom, not every faculty member is, depending on department size) for 1-2 areas for growth potential, you can sometimes get an answer. That said, their answers will almost always be 1) Personal Statement and 2) Writing Samples. Faculty members at HYDP and second tier schools have said that LORs are increasingly becoming problematic because everyone is giving glowing reviews. So if a writer is timid in their endorsement of you, it'll raise eyebrows and get you a second look which could be a godsend or kill your app.

@Averroes MD is as well, as I recall.

Decisions from Warner for PhD/EdD should be coming out soon. Decisions have been finalized and application statuses updated but decisions aren't yet publicly available as they do a last round of due diligence, per a contact in the school.

So an app for a school that traditionally doesn't release for another two weeks, has always said "Your application is complete and under review." Well this morning it no longer says that. BUT! There's nothing in its place. I just want to

Probably somewhere around 25,000 are from the Top 10 commenters here!

I can only speak from the shared experience of individuals in the philosophy subsection so take the following with that caveat. Several have remarked (from their experience and shared advice from professors), that once you attend a seminary or divinity school, making the jump to a philosophy department for a PhD becomes astronomically harder. There was a perception, on their end, that they had become tainted by being in an environment with feeds/supports confessional students and were no longer capable of being critical and unbiased in their work. Caputo has spoken of this some, anecdotally, about his reception among fellow philosophers and theologians though with the acknowledgements he spent most of his career at a Catholic university in a program very heavy in Philosophy of Religion.

From what I gathered, though I didn't ask about specifics, is that it was a former student that went into ministry for several years and is now returning to the academy. Which makes sense given Lim's known preference for students.

Poo! I'm colorblind so I can't tell if your coloring is green or red but hopefully green! I've visited for conferences and to see a HS friend that went there for UG - lovely school. I'm curious to know who the admit went to. I had heard rumors that it was Paul Lim's choice and that he verbally promised the slot to a former student of his when he taught at Gordon-Conwell. Which is all fine and dandy but when a student at VDS, the faculty said explicitly "We choose the best candidate for the field, as a whole." Yet fellow PhD students and faculty members after a beer or two, would confide that it's acually rotational and when it's your time, you get to choose your student - done deal. I don't understand that if that is in fact the case, tell us! Say, "We're taking one Americanist this year in Historical Studies! That's it!" Save yourselves the time to slog through applications on Reformation, save us the money, etc.

I don't know what to say other than emphasize what has already been said. A Harvard PhD *MIGHT* get you an interview but if you don't have someone specifically within your field to guide your research, you will suffer from it. PhDs are about the people you know, the profs. that have co-authored a paper with you, or capable of writing that LOR for you come employment time. This mindset of "If my PhD doesn't say it's awarded by Harvard, what's the point of doing it?" is undergraduate level, recognizable name = greatness, thinking.

Also, not at all schools publicly post placement records on their website because of confidentiality concerns but I know Claremont, SMU, and Fordham made detailed lists and contact info available to me when I asked for it.

I just received a shipment of Herr's ketchup potato chips, courtesy of my partner. They're my guilty pleasure for when I visit Canada and she knew I was pretty stressed waiting for notifications so she thought this would help. Glad to share while we click F5 in unison!

Just tell them the truth, they've had this happen before and understand. I had to do the same thing when Union wanted me to accept their M.Div offer by Feb. 28 or so back in 2014. Something to the effect of, "I greatly appreciate your offer of acceptance. BU is an amazing school and is a great fit for me. That said, surely you can understand that not all schools have notified yet. As such, I kindly ask for an additional few weeks so that I may mull over potential offers and take into full account their accompanying financial aid offers, as you understand that affordability is a prime concern." Tweak it to your situation but keep it short and simple.