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That's a fair analyses, perhaps I flagged it too quickly. I think what threw me off is that USC has an actual program with that name, while Rutgers doesn't. Near as I can tell, neither the Anthro or Soc departments at Rutgers offer subfields with that name. But you're probably right, its likely a matter of someone throwing their interests up there rather than report as a general Soc. interview.

Congrats @Almaqah Thwn and @xypathos on finishing the apps. I thought I would be relieved to have them done, but I'm finding the waiting even harder since there is nothing left under my control. Also, I see what appears to be a troll on the results page already, posting a PhD interview at Rutgers. As far as I'm aware, Rutgers only offers a terminal MA.

Based on a little research of notification dates for the programs I applied to, I think its reasonable to start hearing about interviews the last week in January and then hear about admissions decisions February through early March. Obviously notifications still happen after that, but the bulk of the first wave decisions seems to happen in February (for my fields). This has happened to me with Northwestern's app. I e-mailed the department, but haven't heard back. I think that's about all you can do. If you have a good relationship with your POI you might be able to inquire there as well. I have had several conversations with different faculty at different institutions about this. For the seminary and divinity faculty I've spoke to, the hiring of UK PhD's is quite acceptable, though I will caveat this to say that these were all faculty at non-top tier programs. Speaking with my dept. chair and others with hiring experiencing at an R1 State University, they are more inclined to hire an American PhD. They stated that typically the American PhD candidate has more breadth due to coursework requirements (which translates to the ability to teach a broader variety of courses) as well as typically more teaching experience. This is all still anecdotal though. I'm not sure you'll be able to find any concrete stats on this kind of thing.

If you want to do a PhD in Philosophy, you need to do an MA in Philosophy, and you need to do one at a well-ranked program to have the best shot. If theology is your aim, then either of those degrees could work, though it depends on your intended PHD field of study which will be more advantageous. I would say the MDiv is the better track because of language exposure, and because funding tends to be better in MDiv programs. You should be looking at programs like Duke, Princeton Sem., Notre Dame, etc. The Religion and Philosophy forums will have a lot of resources for you to help answer your query more in depth.

Submitted the last of my apps today. Now the waiting begins in earnest.

I'm curious what the subfield breakdown is for RS gradcafe users this year. So what subfield/s are you applying to? I'm applying primarily to religion in the America's, with an exception or two depending on program.

At least your school gives an A-. Mine goes from A to B/A, whatever the hell a B/A is supposed to be. They claim it's better for the students, but I call BS because a B/A translates to a 3.5 whereas an A- is typically translated as a 3.75. I mean, what the hell is an admissions committee supposed to do when they see "B/A"? I've fought to maintain a 4.0 just to avoid having to find out. *end rant*

I went with single space, but with space breaks between paragraphs (sort of like a cover letter might be written) because that's the format my advisor suggested I use. But I have no idea if that is just her preference, or a standard convention.

I had a similar issue, though in a different field (ironically, the recommender did have a PhD in Anthro). I e-mailed to say that the application portal was showing the letter as still un-submitted. I requested the letter writer to check again and make sure it was uploaded, and offered to follow up with the adcom if something wasn't working properly. Just try to be professional, and offer to help in any way possible. And then cross your fingers on the follow through. Not sure there is really much more you can do. Good luck!

My SOP's for PhD applications are about 2.5 pages single spaced, FWIW. Most programs I'm applying to want it under 1000 words. If they give you the space and you can make it work for your, use it. Otherwise, I don't think a 1500 word statement will hurt you at all.

I'm not familiar with the Canadian system, but have had a similar experience. I was encouraged by POI's to apply early to their program, and have heard back from them (informally) that I should be getting a formal call in early Jan., despite the deadline technically being Jan. 1. My POI indicated that I was one of 2 applicants they had made an early admit decision on. And, just so nobody starts freaking out on this thread yet, this is in a discipline other than RS.

Very helpful, thanks!

This forum has been pretty dead this year, I just don't think any of us have gotten around to posting where we're applying. I'm not applying to IU, but I believe @Thorongil is, if he's still checking these boards.

I've come across this same question on two applications now, and am trying to think about the best way to answer it. Essentially, the questions reads, "if you don't currently possess the language proficiencies needed for your program, tell us how you plan to achieve these." My field is Religion in America, so the only languages I need are 2 modern research languages. Without too much difficulty I anticipate I could brush up on my Spanish enough to pass an exam, and hopefully take a summer intensive for French after my first two semesters. My advisors have told me these language requirements aren't usually that important for admissions (in my field), but these questions are making me nervous. Any advice?

Just hit submit on the last of my Dec. 15 apps. Now, onto the next batch.

Definitely feeling the pain. I knew applications + seminar papers + teaching a class would be a lot, but I definitely underestimated the amount of time necessary to put together a good application. Also, now that I look at my complete application packets I can't help but see all the weak spots. Anybody else feeling that way?

This is roughly in line with what my LOR's have requested. One recommender wants my statement for every school; the other two want more of the abstract approach you outlined above—thought they have each read and commented on several drafts of my statement at one point or another. So what you described doesn't sound too out of line.

congrats @brentthewalrus. i submitted my first app this week, working on getting the rest out the door in the next two weeks.

Need to vent for a moment. After countless hours spent on the statement of purpose, an application form I'm working on today doesn't have a place for uploading a statement of purpose. Instead, it requires 6 mini essays in those irritating little text boxes. All of which would be answered by a statement of purpose. At the least these questions could be made available on the website so that applicants can prepare for them.

FWIW, I scored 168v/149q/4.5aw and I'm not retaking. My advisors counseled me to spend that time editing the SOP and writing sample, rather than studying for marginal GRE gains.

For your particular interests, it seems you'll be best served by a place that offers coursework and languages that will allow you to pursue early Christian studies, regardless of the degree. In that sense, an MTS or MDiv probably could serve you at least as well as an MA, as many places offering ECS will be seminaries or divinity schools. I can't offer much more than that since ECS isn't my area, but I'm sure other posters can.

FWIW, Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI advertises a couple (I think up to 5?) funded ThM's every year.

FWIW, I think it partially depends on what you want to get a PhD in. One of the challenges of a forum like this that puts religious studies and divinity studies together is that they are each working on distinct projects. That is to say (without trying to start any kind of fight), that religious studies and divinity studies are fundamentally different, with biblical studies somewhere in the middle depending on what an individual is doing with it. For example, an MA is probably better prep than an MDiv for someone going into a field like Religion in the Americans. But for fields like biblical studies or theological programs, MDivs can work out well. Others may have differing opinions and experience—a number of posters on here have gone from conservative backgrounds to well regarded PhD's. An MDiv won't bar you from this, especially if you intend on doing a second MA. And depending on what coursework you undertake, it could be very beneficial. I mostly bring up the RS/Div distinction because this forum includes both, and perhaps part of the reason some of it is conflicting is because different PhD subfields may prefer different types of preparation.

I agree with @xypathos: apply broadly and see what sticks. You may be surprised. Also, you might look at different Asian Studies programs, especially if language is the most important thing you need to pick up at the MA level. I know several RS faculty members who did Asian Studies as an MA, and went on to top RS programs. With Sanskrit, I image you'd be looking at South Asian studies programs primarily. I'm not sure what the funding is like for Asian Studies (not my field), but its worth checking on.

Arthur Schopenhauer (The World as Will and Representation, for example) might make for interesting reading as well, especially as something that builds on Kant. He has some interesting humanistic ideas about how the ascetic might transcend the problem of evil. Sounds like a great reading list, I'd be interesting in seeing what you come up with if you care to share when its finalized.