xypathos

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.

In my undergrad at least, once you were past learning the language and into literature and culture classes, they were all in English. The PhD students at Vanderbilt that I knew doing work in French and Spanish - all of their courses were in English as well - granted of course, this doesn't mean that all of the courses in the department were like that.

No shame in reaching out to explain your situation and seeing if a redo is at all possible. All they can do is say no.

@Nicholas B, I haven't forgotten about you but unfortunately I just haven't heard anything back yet.

There's several things at work here: (1) The European education model (granted it's not unified across the continent) is considerably different than the American model so a lot of students are exposed and have some familiarity with multiple languages before they ever set foot in college, let alone graduate school and (2) European schools don't stress languages like American schools do, which kind of plays into #1. You've asked a rather complex question that doesn't lend itself well to a forum response. Also, more specifically to your question and Americans going to Europe for one year Masters programs: Many of these 1-year programs aren't language intensive so knowledge of English is about all that would be required, whereas any ability in French, German, Latin, etc is simply icing on the cake. Some of these programs are for "funsies" with no real desire to continue on further. Some of these programs are Pre-Masters (or glorified Pg.Dip programs) in that these students are transitioning to Religion from another field. As well, some of these programs look at broad picture ideas and the hope is that something can be teased out which lends itself well to a PhD/DPhil. In addition, most schools in the US don't offer these kind of programs (the EU, I think, REALLY understands the importance of part-time education whereas the US has largely abandoned this mode, at least at the PhD level) so they're a chance for Americans to spend a year or two travelling on their own funds or Federal loans, get some culture and become exposed to different ideas, and most of the time, even at the international rate - it's cheaper than doing it in the US. There's more at work here and largely, it's just a difference of culture and how education is performed and understood.

I don't know about PTS but several schools I applied to for my M.Div didn't release decisions until March 15, regardless of when you interviewed. I'm guessing PTS is different since they're interviewing so early.

Generally speaking, larger the school = larger financial resources. That said, academic scholarships for MTS degrees pale in comparison to MDiv and generally speaking, few 100% awards are given. Most of the students I knew at VDS were on a 50% or better scholarship but that's normal across schools: Say that tuition is 20k but then give everyone a 50% scholarship as an enticement, when in reality tuition is 10k. Apply to the large schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, and Chicago. If you're wanting to stay around Boston, also look at BU and BC, maybe GC as well. There's of course VDS as well. Could you provide more information on your situation or what you're looking to study in regards to Biblical Studies?

Tibet was a blast! The last time I was there was the Spring of '08 with a professor doing work on mystical Judaism in Rabbinic literature and its parallels in Buddhism. I was his glorified RA, though I think it was more of a he wanted someone to chat with and I knew the area enough to get by. Unfortunately shit hit the fan with the 3-14 protests and we were forced to leave so we went to Mongolia. I traveled to Nepal and Burma last summer to see old UG friends but couldn't make it back to Lhasa. I largely focus my studies in this hodge-podge of moral and systematic theology, in particular I'm interested in contemporary theodicy arguments and their relation to technology.

Agreed with @Kuriakos, do a MTS at Duke or several schools, such as Yale, offer a STM (Master of Sacred Theology) which is a bridge for someone wanting to transition from M.Div to PhD but needs a little more academic coursework. Keep in mind that some schools distinguish between academic MA (as opposed to ministerial MDiv) and then MTS or STM. It can get confusing but just check to see what the school has and their requirements for the degree. You'd likely be better served with post-MDiv STM but a MTS wouldn't hurt, just speak with Admissions about how your credits might transfer and not having to take intro courses again.

I second @menge's comments. Ultimately it's going to depend on what you want to do and where you see yourself ending up. If you plan on doing something heavy with languages, as menge partially noted, the MDiv can provide an extra year of coursework. On top of that, your evangelical, typically more conservative schools do languages REALLY well. That said, it depends on what you want to do! Most of your mainline Protestant Div Schools allow students to have quite a bit of wiggle room in how they construct their MDiv program. Others however, lock that shit down and you might have three electives total. It goes without saying that you need to take into account your political and theological beliefs when deciding where to go.

Honestly, I don't know enough of Naropa's program to give enough information of value. I spent a combined two years in Tibet (spread out over 4.5 years, roughly) and contemplated jumping into a comparative study of Buddhism and "mystical Catholicism" but ultimately decided against it. That said, it wasn't because of anything against Naropa (I toured the school years back and have friends that went (I'll reach out to them on your behalf)) but ultimately just decided I'd rather stick to touring the area. I know they shuffled up the curriculum about four years ago but I don't know what impact, if any, that had on its ability to place students. Gregory Seton at Dartmouth graduated from Naropa back in 2004, then went onto Oxford - I don't know how connected he may still be. Holly Gayley graduated in 2000 (went onto Harvard), again - she'll at least be able to speak to the student experience there. Also another option, I think I recall Oxford announcing that they received a scholarship to significantly assist with aid to students wanting to study Tibetan (I realize you want Sanskrit too) in their MPhil program. I don't know of the competition to the program or anything but it's something to consider - http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/mphil-tibetan-and-himalayan-studies

Since a couple expressed an interest in a reading list, here's the texts we've agreed on thus far: John Caputo - Insistence of God Ilia Delio - The Unbearable Wholeness Ivone Gebara - Out of the Depths Richard Kearney - Returning to God after God W. E. B. Du Bois - The Souls of Black Folk Frantz Fanon - Black Skin, White Masks Thomas Jay Oord - The Uncontrolling Love of God We're looking to add, at max, three more texts though likely two. Half jokingly but seriously, I'm making a push for The Little Prince because I think there's a lot at work in such a small novel. I'm also interested in Bernard Haisch's The God Theory but perhaps it's more scientific than theological though I haven't read it.

I contacted the school directly and spoke with two PhD students, one at Harvard and another that went to Oxford.

I'd reach out to David Michelson at Vanderbilt. His specific area is a couple centuries before yours but is heavily into researching Syro-Arabic Christianity and he's also just an amazing guy and very nice. He's on leave this academic year so may be a bit slow responding to emails.

At the MA, you'll need more than grades to get in, especially for an academic, language focused degree. That said, you just simply won't know your financial aid situation until you apply, get accepted, and then see how bad they want you. So, like so many of us in this predicament - apply broadly and see where you get in. Once you're in you'll need to prioritize offers and certainly prestige should be a factor. In your case you definitely want to be mindful of the debt you take on because you also need to accept the possibility that you might not be accepted into a PhD or that it'll take you 2+ cycles to land an acceptance. I don't know your focus specifically but perhaps Harvard's PhD in Himalayan Studies as an alternate possibility. Naropa University's financial aid is fairly poor (so I've been told) but when I last checked maybe 3-4 years ago they had students accepted into Harvard, UVA, Oxford, etc on an almost yearly basis.

The application process is straight forward. Generally you need a Department Chair and Dean of both institutions to approve it. There's no extra funding for relocation or at least I've never heard of anyone getting any. I presume you're a student at one of these ten schools? If so, I'd check with your department chair as they've likely dealt with specifics before. Occasionally extra charges are levied against the students, generally dealing with health insurance. If you're not a student, I'm sorry your SOL as several of the schools mention they'll only accept students from one of the other ten programs due to tuition purposes and academic expectations.

My honest advice is not to date within your department. While it could end well (marriage), if it doesn't it only creates bad blood between potential colleagues and tension within the department among fellow students as they navigate that social conundrum. That said, it happens and I've seen it end well, just be smart about it. We obviously spend a lot of time around each other and become emotionally invested so feelings are natural. EDIT: Here's an older thread with advice:

This will depend on where you end up. In general, yes it counts. From my limited experience if you have experience with a language (self taught, for example) but nothing on your transcript, then generally the department will have you take a language exam. Sometimes even with something on your transcript they'll make you take the exam and some departments take students at their word (I've seen this for French and German only, not for Hebrew or Greek for NT/OT students).

While I'm three months late, a heads up for anyone that stumbles across this thread in the future: Heythrop is in the stages of shutting down and their final degree students began in Sept. of 2016.

Is anyone familiar with Villanova's program, beyond their website? I know that last summer they stopped requiring the GRE and seem to generally really stress preparing their students to become educators at small Catholic colleges, rather than say researchers/writers at major universities. Over the last five years or so (per GC search results) there have been inquiries into their program but they've largely remained unanswered, so . . . I'll broach the subject again!

Ancient recommendations will of course be gladly welcomed!