xypathos

Doesn't that prove his point though, about grades being arbitrary? We say *this* equals an A-, yet when the student produces B+ work, we'll shift the goalpost that benefits that student, yet doesn't benefit others. Did you also give the other students a .8 increase in their grade? In the Humanities, from my sole experience of having conversations with professors in Religious Studies and History - the distinction from A to B is easily discernible. Yet, the distinction between A and A- isn't always agreed upon between professors and even professors and their TAs.

I know, it's such a let down especially when you get grades back that have been so high. My final G-GPA will be somewhere around 3.8, which while still good, it wasn't where I was hoping to end up but without A-'s I'd be somewhere closer to 3.5.

Absolutely @Rabbit Run! I forgot to even mention the job market situation/fiasco, post-doc(s) while trying to line up a TT job, some students spend an extra year working on their dissertation while adjuncting to line up even more teaching experience and to buff up their stipend, etc.

I'd echo @TMP's reflections as well! What languages are required are entirely dependent on the area and time of what you will be studying. If you're doing something specifically on Germany, then you'll need more than a reading knowledge of German. Your French will be a huge benefit (it would almost certainly be required for a program in the US though since it's your mother tongue it's not something you need to worry about) and whatever German you can pick up beyond a reading ability would be highly beneficial if not required. A lot of programs include language requirements for specific fields on their website. Should it not be there though, reach out to a professor at a potential school and inquire about general expectations of incoming students (languages you're expected to have down before entering) vs. languages they're okay with you having some skill in by year 1-2.

I don't think the LOR from a conservative professor is what would do you in. Rather, I think they'll be more interested in your methodology and how you approach your work. If you're open to being led by the "evidence" in front of you, that's good. If you're looking for evidence that affirms a position you already have (being an apologist), then they'll find that problematic. Being a conservative, though open to criticism, and still arriving at a conservative conclusion isn't bad in of itself. Being so close-minded that you look for evidence which affirms a position you've already established as truth is bad for everyone. Plenty of students here and elsewhere have made the move from conservative to HYP-level schools. So, you're not alone and hopefully some chime in with their experience and advice!

How departments certify language ability varies across the states and schools, there's no uniform agreement. That is, generally if there's 2-4 semesters (1-2 years) of a language on your transcript with good grades, then you'll be good to go. Some departments do language tests no matter what though. Some programs will accept participation in an intensive summer language program. Yet again, some departments specifically offer courses that allow you to develop reading competency in a language (with the use of a dictionary) - generally French, German, Spanish, Latin, Greek, and a spattering of Hebrew programs. If you teach yourself just be prepared to take a language exam - many of us here have done this and it's perfectly acceptable (generally). I studied Latin in high school and college and found it helped tremendously when studying other Romance languages (I have intermediate French and Spanish, and intermediate reading Romanian (it touches on my research area!)), but found it "relatively useless" when it came to German (admittedly my area requires Low German so a bit different). That said, once you have a system down to learn a language, it helps across the board.

Howdy @Adonalsium! This year has been remarkably quiet, certainly more than most years! While I'm not applying to ethics, I have applied to several programs though primarily around moral theology so not that far from your field. It's uncommon to finish a Ph.D. in five though if you're coming in with a strong M*, I have certainly heard that it's doable if you hit the ground running and already have an established dissertation idea. I forget their names but the faculty at VDS mentioned several students finishing the Ph.D. in 3-4 but they came in overqualified, to use their term. I don't know your background but the biggest corners to cut would be to minimize courses you need to take and obviously to be prepared to sit for your exams ASAP after those courses are completed. Some schools want students to be prepared to take those exams the summer after courses and going straight into a proposal defense, while others suggest taking up to a year. Obviously though it depends on the student and school.

I recycled a section from one SOP into another and forgot to change the school's name (I used the correct name elsewhere)! Still got in (it was for an MA) and my PI that called to notify said, "I'd like to welcome you to X! Oh wait, sorry I meant Y!" The app system wouldn't let me change it but I emailed the Chair, apologized, and provided a corrected SOP. Surely this happens from time to time. If if makes you feel better, no real harm in asking if you can submit an edited copy. If they say no they at least know that you're aware of the error.

Anyone here familiar with the Canadian system? I've applied to several schools and was notified today that my application for Manitoba was pulled for decision by the department. I've inquired with the department contact but haven't heard back. I asked a Canadian friend and was told that with particularly strong (or weak) applications that they'll make decisions before the deadline ever closes but that seems to run counter to this whole process as I've understood it.

Are you looking for something general, historical, theological, etc? There's strains within all of these religions that have their own focus as well, though perhaps more so within Buddhism and Christianity. Some that are coming to mind though: Barton's Cambridge Guide to Biblical Interpretation Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings - I was raised as a Moravian and it runs deep, so I think Luther gets too much credit in the Protestant Reformation but that's a different issue. That said, it serves well to be versed in his writings and influence. Strauss' Four Portraits, One Jesus - I enjoyed it for providing an analysis and commentary of the Gospels and how they developed, and obv. how Jesus is portrayed in them. Some of my classmates didn't like the book. Hillerbrand's The Protestant Reformation You already know this but I'd also look at whatever syllabi you have access to from mainstream seminaries, particularly intro NT, HB, Buddhism, and Hindu courses. Obviously every professor teaching them has an agenda and some are heavy in that regards but not necessarily a bad thing.

It's popular in the History, Philosophy, and I think the Lit & Lang subforums for someone(s) to host a Google Doc spreadsheet that catalogs applications, stats, and/or stipend history for specific programs. The religion forum has just never been as active as the ones I mentioned so, as far as I know, we've never had someone do that. The survey database hosted by TGC which @Almaqah Thwn linked is wonderful just be careful of taking it too seriously. From about late January to March 15th we'll get a handful of trolls claiming acceptances in order to scare actual applicants that they've been moved to the WL or R pile.

That's a good question and I guess it depends on our respective fields. I'll likely brush up on my GRE to see if I fair better there (163/159/5 this round) but spend more time on my Latin and German, and obviously wonder how I might further refine my SOP. I'll have the cushion of being an ordained Episcopal priest come next admissions round. It doesn't help my applications at all obviously but it's a Plan B since I don't see myself doing more than two application cycles. I'll likely further pursue employment as a college chaplain or campus ministry, and use that as a backdoor, at the very least, to teach intro religion courses.

It varies from school to school. In some cases individual scholars have such sway/clout that they can say "I want this student" and they'll get it. In other cases each field (NT, HB, Critical, History, etc) gets one student and the faculty within that field hash out who that student will be. Other schools decide together and go through multiple rounds of elimination of candidates. Generally though, yes. They begin meeting early January and exceptional candidates have been known to be notified rather early in the process and asked to make a decision ASAP - granted they (students) technically have until April to make the decision.

The advice I've been given by PIs is the same - just give a brief note on how you plan to accomplish it and move on (I'm also an Americanist).

The big one that I've heard just by several Adcoms is that the older you get, the harder it is to do a PhD. Though I imagine it's more of a societal pressure thing than anything - expectations of marriage, children, needing a solid salary to support said family, justifying being 30+ and still in school, etc. I've heard anecdotal evidence of Adcoms doing some age discrimination, arguing that the applicants will find it harder to get a TT job as an older graduate, thus hurting their placement records. Sort of an, "all things equal, they'll take a a 22 year old over a 32." That said, I think we're all much more likely to face that kind of discrimination by hiring committees than anyone.

I hope that isn't a deal breaker for you!

I'm applying across fields (Theology, Religious Studies, and History) but am in a similar boat - I'll be 32 before any potential PhD school year starts and likely looking at being mid to late-30s before I ever hit the job market. I'm certainly nervous about any potential job market I'll hit and of course the dread of the reality that I might not get accepted anywhere. Fortunately I will have the slight cushion of being an ordained Episcopal priest but even that in these times doesn't guarantee me anything! I did an M* in Theology and was older than most of my classmates and younger than quite a few. I'm worried that this will continue for my PhD (or that I'll be on the upper end of the spectrum) but will have to just work that much harder to establish those friendships.

Not sure about what you've experienced but the main Duke website lists the deadline as Dec. 16th and I thought it had always been around that time.

Program I applied to through ApplyWeb had a similar issue. Fortunately for me the Grad. Program Dir. was browsing applicants which caught her eye and sent me an email letting me know of the issue and I was able to resend my C.V. and writing sample.

What specifically are you applying for? Union has M* and PhD programs, Harvard Divinity confers MDiv and an MA but PhD falls under CSR, and I can't really say anything about Detroit Mercy, Temple, or Columbia. I'm assuming that you're applying for Masters degrees across the board? Your GPA will raise some questions but don't sell yourself short on your firsthand experience in Cairo! 160 GRE V isn't going to cut it for Harvard or Columbia come PhD time but it will certainly survive any cutoffs for the MA though may still be a bit low for Columbia's median. 30-50% of applicants get accepted to Harvard and Union (for their MDiv!) so don't worry too much about that. I don't know about Hartford's options at the M* level but I've been to conferences with some of their PhD students working in Islamic and Christianity dialogue - good strong group of students. Might be worth it to take a look at them if it's not too late.

I thought I recalled reading on Leiter that it's usually set at 162-4 and shifted from year to year depending on application numbers and quality.

Probably a sign of things to come: Sending transcripts triggered my bank's fraud detection system so I had to go through the process of unfreezing my card.

So I'm going to throw out some applications this cycle and see what happens - a handful of US and Canadian programs. How much are each of you sharing, in regards to your Personal Statement, with your LORs? I'm applying broadly within the theme of theodicy and technology, yet catering focus to specific POI at each school so my Personal Statements are a bit different. My LORs have asked that I not send them each individual PS but instead write up an abstract (essentially) of how I'm approaching my research proposal and that they'll write their letter from that. Usual or relatively normal approach?

Assuming this is a job within the field of mechanical engineering that you applied to, they are most definitely not referring to a certificate as a welder. A welder is a job all within itself that one learns on the job or picks up a 1-2 year degree specifically in this field. Welders can then go on to specialize in specific types of welding. What kind of degree did you pick up and where from? Generally, certificates and specializations is something you would have covered in school. I assumed they would likely be referring to you becoming certified as a Professional Engineer but there are certificates for MEs within aerospace, composite, automation, manufacturing, and others. Again, these are sometimes called "Grad. Cert." and your faculty would've discussed with you about acquiring one during the course of your studies or following graduation.

So I'm in the process of applying to a PhD program in Ottawa that wants me to test passive reading and listening ability in French and it's just simply too cost prohibitive to come to Ottawa for the exam (It's spread over two days, so housing and transportation, exam fees, etc - looking at really close to 1k just to take this exam for one program). The thing is, most English students simply only take English courses and the French ones take French, when they do take overlapping courses the students just use translated texts and speak in their native language. The POI for the Department has said the English and French students essentially isolate themselves from one another but the language exams are a mandate from the university. Anyway - the Department is willing to let me find a French Department Chair of a university willing to attest that I have "passive reading and hearing ability of French" unfortunately, no one at Ottawa or the Chairs I've already spoken to, have an idea of what exactly that level of proficiency means. I spoke with my POI about this earlier today and his advice, jokingly but somewhat serious he said - find a Department Chair, slip them some money, and have them sign off that I have passive reading ability and be done with it. If I want to assuage my conscience, take French courses while in Ottawa for the next few years. I guess I'm just venting more than anything. I love Ottawa, the POI, department, etc but a $1k bill for a language exam is a pill I can't afford to swallow as a grad student and I seem to have hit a roadblock in regards to the exam.