xypathos

Vanderbilt does offer some full-funding awards but they're few and far in-between, generally one student per award though some award as high as three. That being said, the vast majority of merit awards only cover tuition and do not assist with university and Divinity School fees, living allowances, etc. So, you're still looking at about $20-30k/year in loans with no outside assistance.

Is anyone familiar with programs that have faculty which are particularly interested/work in the preservation and management of religious spaces? I've done consulting work in preservation and archive management for the town of Mount Vernon, IA; same style of work in Bethania, NC, and just wrapped up a HP project in Nashville, TN for the Nashville City Cemetery Association. I've struggled finding faculty with religious interests in the field of HP, though I do realize that some programs lump this into cultural management/preservation - which is fine, I'm just looking for faculty with particular interests in religion, sacred space, American religious history (you get the idea).

Given your basic stats provided, what's to be gained from doing another M*? Is it a language issue? Was your MA in history focused on (loosely even) early Christianity?

It really depends on what you need the German for. If it's solely for admission, German for academic reading will be enough. If you're looking specifically at the German school of thought/development and NT/EC scholarship and intend on relying strongly on German thinkers, then extra familiarity with German would be useful. That said, since you only have a year before applications, I'd stick to academic reading and familiarize yourself with German more intimately as you go and as needed.

I've already spoken with trinitymatthew but I'm hoping to get some additional opinions on McGill. I've been to Montreal several times and love the city. The member colleges of the Toronto School of Theology have recently lost their access to US Department of Education funds. While still a possibility to attend, I do want to consider all my options. I've recently found out through the Montreal Diocesan Theological College that if I attend McGill my tuition and fees would only amount to about $5000, in addition to living expenses. So it's certainly economical. That said, what about McGill as a whole? Reputation of the school, faculty, etc. I'd love to hear what others have to say.

1) It depends on the school and what you want to study. At Vanderbilt there are PhD students in HB that their adviser has only required Hebrew b/c of their research focus. For others, they're having to study Ugarit, Akkadian, Aramaic, etc. 2) By RS programs, do you simply mean a university? If so, yes, but again it depends on what you want to study. Theology can lend itself to most fields, fortunately. So as long as you have the coursework in HB, LORs, language, etc you will probably be okay. Now, if you invested your interest in theology and then applied for PhDs in say South Asian Religions, that would be a different matter. 3) I still struggle with defining my discipline. I love the reading I've done on mental health and religion, so "practical theology" programs or something like Vanderbilt's RPC program would be a good fit for me. That said, I also love traditional theology and within that you still need to navigate an interest like systematic, historical, or philosophical. Fortunately there will generally be the option to declare a subfield/minor for your PhD and nothing is stopping you from developing competencies in other areas throughout your career. From the advice given by others on this thread, it really comes down to what you want to study and who you want to teach it to. If your degree is from a seminary/DS you'll likely end up teaching in such an institution. If it's RS, you'll have a bit more latitude to move between the two. That said, if you want to do theology, there's more of those programs in seminaries/DS than in RS programs.

It's perfectly fine and acceptable to use references from your M.Ed. professors. Vandy will waive the requirement for 2 academic LORs only if you've been out of formal school for seven years or more - this includes graduate school. So, they'll expect that you'll use LORs from your graduate school professors unless that degree will be seven years old or older, in which case you get some leeway in who writes your LORs.

Not offensive at all. The MTS is academically focused on Christianity, not practically like say the MDiv is also practically and academically focused on Christianity. The overlap in courses is broad. MTS/MDiv students have access to the same courses that an MA student would. That said, the MTS comes with more requirements than the MA as far as required courses. So, if you're an MTS student that's really interested in say eastern religious traditions - the GDR will have courses that will benefit you, but you'll need to use an elective to take them. Officially MTS students have access to 2 electives (6 hours), but there are ways to finesse your program to get an extra elective or two. That being said, if your academic interest is in eastern religious traditions and/or Judaism, the MA would be a better route since you'll be able to tailor your entire program toward that, rather than just your electives. The MTS degree is 51 hours and the MDiv is 84, so keep that in mind too. While you can officially finish these programs in 2 and 3 years respectively, it's a real struggle so most students end up taking summer courses or extending their studies an extra semester/year since most have to work and juggling work + 15 hours a semester is a nightmare.

I am looking for something Anglican. I'm not presently pursuing ordination but I want to keep that route open without having to do an Anglican Year later down the road. I am interested in ministry, though specifically higher ed and want to keep the door open for a PhD post-MDiv. Hate to hear that about General but not that surprised. They sent an Admissions Rep to the diocesan convention for NC whom I chatted up about applying to and inquired about financial aid. He was blunt, they had little to none to give out and were frankly "gliding by." EDS sounds nice and all, I don't think I would enjoy an online education. Also, EDS notes on their website that with how the program is setup, it takes five years to complete if you go the distributive learning route. I'll certainly look into Trinity though, a four hour car ride wouldn't be bad at all - I'm currently driving 8 hours one way, once a month to see my fiancee. I applied and was accepted to Union, and was extremely torn between Vandy and them but ultimately it came down to being closer to her. She loved her current job and had no interest in moving to Nashville or NYC so ultimately I settled on what would keep me closer. Thank you both for your suggestions.

Hey everyone, 1st year MDiv at Vandy - as per the title and evidenced from my posts on the forums. My fiancee has decided that she's ready to apply to PhD programs - literally with about 3-4 months left in the cycle, she's going to go for it. That said, I, faculty, researchers, etc have been pushing her to do this for almost three years now and I'm ecstatic for her. Because of her nuanced interests in Critical Disability Studies and Education, it looks like Syracuse is the only program that's acceptable for her work. There are faculty in other universities with loosely related research interests but they've all said with her interest, Syracuse is where she needs to be. This all works out well for her, she's had several articles published with Syracuse faculty, presented alongside them at conferences, etc - they've agreed to walk her through the process. Given her research, publications, degrees, etc - they've said the application is merely a formality and they look forward to welcoming her to the university in the Fall. So...all of that means I need to look elsewhere. There's no program available in Syracuse, so we can check that one off. I'd love to be as close as possible so that worst case scenario, weekend visits are possible. Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School catches my eye as writers I've read over the years have been attached to the school as a student or faculty member. Other than that, I don't know anything about the school other than it's progressive, ecumenical, and has an Anglican Studies program. Outside of Colgate, NYC and Boston are both about four hours away. While I'd entertain Yale for a split second, they rejected me last year so I don't see them changing their mind after a year at Vandy.

The GRE isn't required for the MTS. Having no real academic LORs will probably raise an eyebrow but coming from a large school like NYU explains some of this away. I came from a large school and 2/3 LORs I only had for one class, the other I had for two - so somewhat weak relationships. I don't see your 3.4 being an issue. NYU is fairly reputable and your degree is related to your AOI. I'm sure your travel experience will be a nice bonus but I don't see it helping much for MTS - it won't hurt though, that's for sure.

For what it's worth, the GDR encourages all MA applicants to also apply for the MTS - same courses, profs, etc. It's just a 2 year program with minimal required courses so not much different than a MA. In fact, it's closer to an MA than it is an M.Div, despite being officially in the Divinity School. The acceptance rate for the MTS is somewhere between 30-40% depending on who you talk to in the Admissions Office but unlike the M.Div program, those numbers aren't officially released to the student body.

That's a good question. I know that there are MA students in the GDR at Vandy but I've yet to meet one of them. Going through the course schedules for the last three years, there's on average 5-7 students working on their MA thesis in the Fall or Spring semester so that certainly lends to the idea that it's an incredibly small program. Of the ~12 PhD students I know that did their M* at Vandy, none of them did an MA - they're all MDiv or MTS. Hopefully this helps some.

I think he perhaps meant your program suggestions.

I'd avoid trying to suggest you want to meet with him. Seeing that you've already met once and discussed your application, it comes off as too desperate. That said, still express an interest in the program by all means. As per individual advice on how to best your application, most programs refuse to do this as a matter of policy. Who gets accepted and who doesn't is already a subjective issue and it seems like you're looking for quantifiable advice. It's also just an issue of them often being too busy to comb through an applicant and say "Do X, Y, and Z for a spot." It's also unfair to other applicants.The fact that he said "I hope a spot opens up" speaks to him being unwilling to offer personal advice catered to your situation. Your best bet is to hope that your application has improved and that they have room for someone to study 19th C. American Lit.

From what I understand from faculty at Vanderbilt, they didn't necessarily cancel the ThD. Rather, they merely merged the two programs. From Harvard's site, they list the program size at 63 so this seems likely.

LOM0408, I'm currently a student at VDS - first year in the M.Div program, so if you have questions about social life, the degrees, etc, I can answer them from the prospective of a first year, or refer you to someone. I've done a lot of networking at VDS and the various campus ministry programs, as my focus is in educational chaplaincy. As MarXian noted, the MDiv doesn't require any theological work. At Vandy there are quite a few MDiv students in our class that have no experience with the academic study of religion. The MTS program at Vandy is academic, usually 2 years but there's a sizeable population that do 2.5-3 years for the MTS. About the same for MDiv as well, most do it in the traditional 3 years but a noticeable amount stretch it to 4. Some for year-long paid internships, others to prepare for PhD work and not wanting to apply for a separate ThM so they just stay on for an additional year. Stat wise, you're fine. I've met incoming students with exceptional academic profiles and some that readily admit they did just enough to maintain a 3.0. The fact that you're a non-traditional applicant helps too. Funding is hard to gauge here at VDS. Just about everyone I've come across has at least gotten an Instiutional Grant of $12,000. That said, the more lucrative awards of 75%+ are hard to come by, only a handful are given out. I've come across more MTS students getting 75%+ than I have MDiv students. During our Financial Aid information session during orientation, they noted that the median aid package was 50% of "free" aid - free being their term for money that doesn't need to be repaid. So, it's likely you'll need to take out 20k or so a year to cover the remaining expenses, barring any money you're able to bring with yourself.

From my experience, PhD programs simply ask on their applications for self-claimed competency. Once you're in the program they'll have you demonstrate proificency by a reading exam that they'll set up, or refer you to that relative department for the exam. Coming into my Masters, I claimed limited proficiency in Chinese, Tibetan, and French. Since I am interested in further PhD work in East Asian Religious History - especially at the school I'm currently getting my Masters at, the department strongly suggested I go ahead and take reading proficiency exams just in case I can't further language courses during my Masters, and if it works out as such, my languages are stronger now than what they'll be in say 2-3 years from now. When I inquried, the Department Chair said of the two modern languages (French and German), reading proficiency in one of them is required upon entry into the program. Applicants self notify which language they have proficency in on their application. During the first semester, there will be mandatory opportunities to prove proficency in the claimed language. Should the applicant fail the exam, rather than being removed from the program, they have until the close of the summer between Year 1 and Year 2 to prove profiency. If they're still failing the exam, then they're excused from the program. As per pertinent languages, say Chinese and Tibetan (since my interest is in East Asian religious history), those profiency exams are done during the mandatory interview and campus tour when they invite their strongest candidates to campus. Schools naturally differ with their approaches to languages so it's best to review the schools you're most interested in and/or contact the Department Chair for further clarification.

Who is the faculty member at Vandy in NT that has essentially "closed" the department? Looking back on older threads and even other forums and blog posts, there's posts going back a couple of years, mentioning a faculty member that has made the environment among faculty and graduate students very unfavorable. As an incoming student, I'm curious as to who this person might be. I'm not looking to out this person publicly, but if someone could toss me a PM, I'd appreciate it.

From looking at the department list for graduate courses, the department is very much dedicated to focusing on Christianity. This is certainly understandable given that it's a small Catholic school. Also, if you're wanting to go into HB, you're going to need more than an intermediate Hebrew. So, I imagine you'll be doing an additional M* once you finish with Providence if you're looking for some of the more well established PhD programs.

Where did you hear about this program? I didn't do an exhaustive search but the latest graduate/mention of this program that I could find was in 1997. USC doesn't list a PhD in Religion, though I do know they have faculty in the Sociology department that do religion but that's a different game altogether.

From what I understand, this is because several of the faculty in NT are on sabbatical/leave. I imagine it'll be back to business as usual soon.

That's correct Kuriakos. For students interested in a terminal MA, UNC refers interested students to Duke, or for a cheaper and still quite nice placement record, UNC-Charlotte.

The M.Div at any of the large schools isn't as "priestly" as you might think it is. Most of them have other options to satisfy say a preaching course by simply taking a public speaking course of some degree, or just simply not making it required. Make sure when looking at the M.Div degree that you focus on the required courses specifically. The added benefits of the M.Div are 1) better funding, and 2) an extra year to do more languages/seminars/etc. Using Vandy as an example. Of the required courses, four don't have a direct tie-in to academic study: the supervised ministry, and the sequence of courses that I'll loosely label as 'Ministry.' Of the 'Ministry' sequence, they offer multiple courses that fulfill those needs so depending on what you feel drawn to study, you do have significant wiggle room there. As per the supervised ministry, I contend that the experience and skill set you'll pick up there will be beneficial to you as a person throughout life because of the diverse population you'll be exposed to. Vandy also gives you quite a bit of wiggle room to decide where you'll serve too.

Extremely small Quaker school that if you're interested in Quaker Studies might be a decent place for a M*. Otherwise, they don't/can't offer anything that far more reputable programs are capable of offering.