Epaphroditus
-
Posts
77 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Epaphroditus
-
-
18 hours ago, sacklunch said:
I will chime in here and just note that successful applicants in NT and related fields over the past 6 years or so (since I've been in a doctoral program, at Duke) seem to have changed quite a bit. There are certain prerequisites that remain essential, mostly languages, but honestly in NT this is less and less of an issue, I think. A smattering of NT Greek (a very small subset of koine, I should note) can be enough, if you have other non-traditional interests that align with faculty interests. For better or worse, as many fields in the humanities become more interdisciplinary (among other trends), the old requirements are giving way to new ones, ones that better align with the interests of young(ish) faculty hires. Now, this shift will certainly help certain people applying to RS departments who have those 'non-traditional' interests; but the Grad cafe is, so far as I can tell, populated by far more 'traditionalists', e.g. certain subfields of biblical studies (philologically oriented ones). This trend, if I am seeing things at all clearly (others at my stage or beyond please chime in to correct me), will also hurt the traditionalists once they graduate and are on the market for a professorship, since universities are hiring less and less scholars doing traditional research (though they are hiring less overall, too!). Hopefully I'm wrong. Anyways, to anyone undergoing doctoral admissions this season, I hope you're hanging in there. It will all be okay, eventually. You are more than your application.
This definitely seems to be true, even of more traditional programs like Yale, which used to require extensive knowledge of classical Greek for NT students but now seems to have lowered their Greek requirements. It's a shame, really, since I don't think "non-traditional interests" should mean lowering the bar on things like language requirements. This does mean that classically trained students shouldn't assume that their extensive language skills will make that much of a difference for NT programs.
-
51 minutes ago, dkhp124 said:
Thanks for the response.
But from what I understand, the ethos for the PhD at Duke GPR is to encourage their candidates to engage with other fields in their study, no? Would not the PhD also be a great place to do interdisciplinary work?
The PhD also encourages interdisciplinary work, but the faculty from other fields aren't reading your SOP. I guess if both of your statements are highly interdisciplinary, it might not matter much.
-
3 hours ago, dkhp124 said:
Submitted my application to the Divinity School for the ThD. The PhD is through the Graduate Program in Religion, and it's due on Thursday. I'm planning on submitting the same writing sample, CV, and then just tweaking the SOP to address the GPR rather than the Divinity School. It seems like the Divinity School and the GPR, the ThD and the PhD, all share the same resources. The profs I want to work with are in both departments. Anyone know if the 2 departments expect 2 completely different applications?
If anyone with insight on this can help, that would be much appreciated!
While the ThD and PhD share the same resources (since they're both in Duke University), the admissions process is completely different. For the ThD, you're competing for a limited number of spots among applicants to all fields (biblical studies, theology, homiletics, etc.), and so the adcom who will be reading your SOP and materials is composed of people from all departments of the div school. Because of that, it helps to have a more interdisciplinary SOP for the ThD to impress faculty outside your field. For the PhD, only the faculty in your major field look at your SOP. Having the same application to both will not help your chances of admission to both.
-
4.5 for writing is not safe. It might get you through some cutoffs, but one prof (who was on the adcom at Yale) suggested I retake the GRE to bump up my 5 to at least a 5.5 (I didn't, and still got in). I think at least a 5 is safe.
In terms of language training, it depends on your field. Latin isn't essential for NT programs (though it helps), and I don't know of any programs that expect more than a year of German.
Numbers won't make or break your application though. The most important things are your personal statement, writing sample, and fit with the program.
-
Really depends on the journal. JSNT aims to respond in 3 months. JBL takes over a year.
-
On 9/25/2018 at 6:06 PM, Kuriakos said:
I'm going to second the recommendation to look into UNC. I took seminars at UNC while I was at Duke and they were great.
Keep in mind that Ehrman is on a 2 year sabbatical and likely retiring soon. Might be good to ask him how open he'd be to advising students in the coming years.
-
20 minutes ago, didymus said:
I applied to PhD programs in early Christian studies/patristics at a wide range of schools (Catholic, secular, and evangelical).
The results are almost all in, and it looks like I'm only going to be accepted to the evangelical seminaries (Southern and Southwestern), despite what I felt was a strong application. I believe that having both an MDiv and a ThM from Southern negatively affected my chances of being accepted at non-evangelical institutions (though I would love to be persuaded otherwise).
Anyway, at this point, my two questions are:
- What, if any, are your perceptions/impressions of the doctoral programs of these two schools (especially in church history/historical theology)?
- Do you anticipate that completing a degree from an evangelical seminary will be a hindrance to broader academic pursuits down the line (job hunting, publishing, etc.)?
Thanks for any insights. Just trying to get a sense of the way these programs may be viewed by people not affiliated with them, now that my more preferred options are mostly off the table.
It's probably true that having both an MDiv and ThM from Southern negatively affected your chances. And yes, completing a degree from an evangelical seminary will make it more difficult when it comes to landing a job, even at evangelical schools (which seem to prefer non-evangelical PhDs). In terms of publishing, going to an evangelical seminary won't necessarily hurt your chances (as long as you do quality work), since journals conduct blind peer reviews.
-
Another thing to consider is that it's not that difficult to transfer to a different concentration at YDS once you're admitted. Many MAR Bible folks who went onto top PhD programs in NT/early Christianity transferred into the History of Christianity track since it has fewer required courses, which allows for more electives and courses downtown. Ultimately, admissions committees will be looking at the courses you took and not the name of your concentration.
-
21 minutes ago, Averroes MD said:
That's strange. I didn't get an email nor any update when I log in... ?
Try quitting your browser and logging in again. I got an automated email from the admissions office today that my status had been updated.
-
Duke (GPR) decisions are out. Unfortunately, I was waitlisted.
-
I have BibleWorks, because I'm too poor to be able to afford all the texts included on BibleWorks through Accordance or Logos. In terms of value, it's hard to beat BibleWorks for the amount of texts included with the program at its price.
If I had to choose between Logos and Accordance, I'd go with Logos simply because it has more available texts. I'm a NT person, so having access to tagged Loeb Classical sets would be amazing, but Accordance doesn't have the Loeb volumes, nor do they plan on adding them (last I heard). Also, I don't think they have the Perseus texts except through a built-in web browser. I'm almost certain you can download the Perseus texts for free through Logos so that they're searchable.
-
Just got waitlisted at PTS for NT. Not surprised, since I really wasn't a good fit.
-
11 minutes ago, tankis9 said:
So as we are evaluating offers (not prepared to disclose anything yet), would anyone hazard a guess at what the top 10 and second 10 programs are in terms of job placement at like institutions in the area of NTEC, Christian Ethics, Theology, or HB? This is pretty much guess work, but opinions matter and I want yours!
This is obviously subjective and I have only my own limited perspective to draw from, but what about this list for NTEC or the rough equivalent:*
First group (11):
-
Duke (PhD)
-
Notre Dame
-
University of Chicago
-
Emory
-
Baylor
-
Duke (ThD)
-
PTSEM
-
Yale
-
Loyola Chicago
-
Johns Hopkins
-
Boston College
Second group (11):
-
Catholic University of America
-
UNC
-
Vanderbilt
-
Marquette
-
Indiana
-
Brown
-
Michigan
-
Boston U
-
Harvard
-
Fuller Theological Seminary
-
UC Santa Barbara
*Don’t get upset at this list…this is total guesswork, just trying to get a conversation started that could help inform my decision and that of others. I’ve applied to schools in both groups and consider them all to be outstanding.
I think it might be more helpful to have fewer names in each group and possibly more groups. For example, I don't think Baylor and Boston College should be in the same group as Yale.
-
-
I actually think it is worth the effort to try and present at conferences or publish in a top-tier journal (don't waste your time with denominational or lower-tier journals). This might sound harsh, but many of our senior profs advise against presenting and publishing because they applied and studied in an era when it was the norm to graduate from a PhD with no publications. Now, you seriously hurt your chances of landing any kind of job if you have no publications.
I disagree that you shouldn't publish because you're not ready as a master's student. If you submit an article to a top-tier journal, the reviewers have no idea that you're a master's student since it's a blind review, so they merely judge the quality of your work. If it gets accepted, then that means it met their quality standards. Also, even if it gets rejected, the feedback you'd receive would be invaluable in revising your writing sample (assuming you submit it early enough to get it back in time).
I tried to reach out to POIs during the app season but had little success. I honestly don't think reaching out to POIs helps your chances with them. The benefit of contacting POIs is that you can get a better idea of how to craft your SOP for each school and you can also find out if the school is a good fit. In other words, all the benefits are on your end. POIs are not making decisions based on who reached out to them and the extent of your prior contact. This may just be my personal experience, but some of my POIs (at schools where I got accepted) either ignored me entirely or told me they had decided not to meet with prospective students at SBL.
-
6 minutes ago, Shmandy said:
Congrats! Was it an email from a POI or official? Because they seemed to say next week for official acceptance at Baylor, right? Maybe I misheard.
It was an email from the director of graduate studies. No funding details yet.
-
Just got into Baylor (NT)! Also, Yale decisions are out. I was waitlisted - did anyone get accepted into Yale for NT?
-
10 hours ago, kenshiro said:
Looks like someone posted a Duke GPR acceptance - anyone get anything from Div?
This is surprising. Can anyone claim that posting? I know they don't send out official acceptances until after the interview weekend (which is an informal acceptance). Maybe the poster just posted it in advance? I have yet to hear anything from the Div school, but was told we would be notified by Feb 14.
-
4 hours ago, Shmandy said:
Anyone else going to Baylor preview this weekend have any idea about dress? I'm having an 11th hour freakout over what I'm wearing.
I just re-read the email from Baylor and the email specifically says business casual will be fine for all activities, so I don't think you need to wear a full suit (I know I won't).
-
20 minutes ago, Shmandy said:
Hello all,
Frequent lurker, first time poster who has joined the community so I can share my anxiety with others.
Do we know whether or not Duke GPR has sent out interview invites yet? I saw someone said "early February," but I wasn't sure if that was last week or this week. Also, has the person accepted into UNC posted here?
I asked Carol Rush at Duke and she said all interview invites have already gone out.
-
7 minutes ago, EarlyXianity said:
re: Duke Th.D. -- That's my impression; especially from the post quoted above. But I'd be curious to hear more about what's going on if anyone knows.
I called DDS admissions in the middle of the week last week to ask about the process, and they told me that it could be as much as another couple of weeks before various faculty had made decisions. But whoever I spoke to was the first person who answered the phone; they didn't seem to be very close to the process or have very specific information. So I'm inclined to trust @Hopeless_Academic.All Duke ThD interview invites have gone out, and I think what the admissions person is referring to is the fact that the Duke Div admissions committee is meeting next week to make decisions after all interviews are finished. Then, acceptances will go out and those on the waitlist will be notified.
-
22 minutes ago, Clr said:
Got an email from Duke GPR (NT)! Invited to their weekend.
Congrats!! I'm bummed that I didn't get one, but am glad I get to at least interview for their ThD program. Was it a generic or personalized email?
-
9 minutes ago, Almaqah Thwn said:
So, does that apply to Baylor's preview weekend as well? I'm a bit confused with your earlier statement that schools like Baylor will "use that visiting weekend as a final interview and make cuts after the visit." Or, would the cuts only be if students are just whack for some reason?
That doesn’t apply to Baylor. They invite more people to their interview weekend than there are spots in their programs, so the students are competing.
I really think the idea of a “non-competitive” interview weekend only applies to Duke’s PhD program.
- marXian and Almaqah Thwn
-
2
-
20 minutes ago, EarlyXianity said:
That's good to know. Are ThD interviews the same weekend?
All ThD interviews, which are competitive, are by Skype (even for local candidates) and happening this week.
-
5 hours ago, EarlyXianity said:
I spoke to Carol Rush at Duke GPR yesterday. She said that individual fields had ranked their lists and that the admissions committee would be meeting later this week. She said notifications would go out the first week in February, but I wasn’t clear if that meant the end of this week or sometime next week.
Thanks for the update! My guess (hope?) would be later this week, since next week wouldn't give a lot of time to plan for the interview weekend. Carol Rush told me 8 people would be invited to the weekend, which is the weekend of Feb 16.
how important is meeting profs for US PhD programs?
in Religion
Posted
There's another recent thread on this board about reaching out to potential PhD supervisors, which is relevant for your question. Meeting up with profs in your field (NT) will not increase your chances, if by that you mean it will make them more likely to accept you. Meeting with faculty can help your chances by helping you discern whether you'd want to work with them and whether you're a good fit for the school. Meeting with them could also help you refine your statement of purpose based on how they respond to your proposed research focus. However, it's not worth it to go to SBL just to do that. You could honestly ask them the same questions by email.