mdiv2014

thank you for the posts - yes it was answered, but the hateful pm's were just gob-smacking whatever nerve was struck to evoke those responses was ...sad

you know, i have to push back and defend my ground here - given the hate messages I've received via pm (really,?!, sad it is or perhaps a drunk and lonely phd student on valentive's day with nothing better to do, and .... very cavish [allegory of the cave, duh] in the platonic sense). i read this website and its long history of posts/threads for general knowledge - which is served with a helping of salt - and see and hear what i see and hear in the day job of studying..... my view is the majority (?) of religion graduate students (masters and phd) couldn't go to a sister graduate school at their institution and know their 1st amendment from their 4th amendment, let only articulate eloquently something outside their field in religion which an up and coming undergraduate should know (e.g. the cocktail party questions "so, you're in div school, tell me about jainism...") and i ask "Are we too narrow in our focus?" are we, and the phd students who are giving me hate, one trick ponies? and you have no idea on my background, so don't go to the 'it's a matter of perspective' argument.... but fair is fair, a don't think a dba could spout off accounting, managerial complexities, financial investments, etc etc with ease - stop hating and just answer the question.......ghesh...

I'll try to frame this in an articulate, understandable way.....as yet it is a general observation, but one that is confirming itself over and over again.... From my limited exposure to wannabe PhD candidates and PhD candidates at a top tier school, I perhaps see areas of focus/concentrations becoming so consuming in the students' life and mind that they have little or no understanding of areas of religion (never mind the world outside the field of religion, gasp, you mean there's a life 'outside the cave'? No way.) outside their focus/concentration. If they go googoo on the Hebrew Bible, watch out - don't ask them about to name 5 religions in South Asia, liberation theology, etc. because you will only get a blank stare and a "Well, I don't take those classes" response. Tenured professors seem very well rounded or at least are able to spout out enough knowledge outside their field to seem so. For all you beenthere donethat PhD application and acceptance trial, is this a fair assessment of potential PhD applicants/candidates? How does one build a body of experience that shows well-roundedness if in fact this is to be a trait that is merited?

ditto - the guy is either a troll or clueless

HNV721, I guess you're saying a humanist shouldn't/couldn't spiritually serve others? Or wouldn't 'benefit' (your word) in serving others spiritually? So your basic premise is that one has to have a spirituality and/or faith tradition to serve spiritually? Really?! And the MDiv is as much about serving and preparing to serve as " spiritual formation and interreligious education" (your words) OY

'service' takes on many forms in the hds mdiv program - 20% are buddhist (with only one lama that i know of) and a sizable chunk of the class are social justice, ngo/non profit oriented. OP would have to do 2 field education units but that can be way outside the parish setting (to include teaching)......my last post had a typo, the mts humanist i know is also seeking a joint degree at the kennedy school of govt and the humanist chaplain is in the mdiv program ----- i know there are others, depending on OP's goals and SOP, he has a good shot

absolutely, a humanist chaplain is already in mdiv program another in joint mts and kennedy school programs it's all in your application

I've been offered to do a poster at a pretty big conference. Pros.... - Big name conference - Unusual topic, sure to draw interest, unconventional and perhaps controversial - In my local area so no traveling - Gets my name out there (but associated with a somewhat controversial topic/research) Cons - Cost/effort of preparing poster - Poster walk-through is only 1 hour of a 3 day conference (Will it really be noticed? At all?) Questions Is doing a poster 'a big (or noteworthy) thing?' Will it be noticed on CV on PhD applications or CV in general? (Keep in mind it's a highly recognizable conference) The poster thing, anybody been there/done that? Poster stories to share.

king's college and many others have 6 year part time phd

i don't read sop's but can tell you specific, heart-clutching and true anecdotes/or shorter specific points in your life that showed a decision point is what makes the adcom pause, raise their eyebrows and go hhhhhmmm. in other words, this is what distinguishes you from the pack in a VERY good way i normally don't read sop's but having looked at your ideas for first paragraph - they all suck, are boring, and are no different from the pack and do you realize in one of your paragraphs you trashed Mormonism? personally, i would have stopped right there and canned you seriously everyone at hds for example has a personal narrative and has had struggles, but no one trashes another religion that aside, paint the picture of your dysfunctional family - what decisions did you make and why? for mts and mdiv, be personal, but don't just repackage your resume/transcript, tell them about your struggles and decisions your transcript and lor's will flush out the academic strengths you have, get personal in the sop - but well crafted

for hds not for prospective students only for hds students going hds admissions goes on city tours and hosts days where prospective students visit the campus

depends on sop and other related 'make you look good' factoids honestly, i see many mts-ers at hds with similiar but you really have to nail the sop - cold - to rise above the pack i suspect you're assured getting into 2 of the 5.... you asked for my assessment.......

being at harvard, i can say there is a fair handful of M students with 'unrelated' bach. degrees. take a look at hds courses and how they (into 2017) match your interest and keep in mind you can cross enroll to greater harvard community (gsas, etc) sop should show passion. what you can bring to the table. i see many specific and many broadly interested mts students here. you have a shot , feel free to pm me

If you're speaking about interview questions, they would NEVER ask such a specific and potentially biased question. In an application, I can't remember if 'marital status' is listed. If it would be, it would be for administrative purposes and like ethnicity, be in a portion of the application which is withheld from the adcom. Believe me, any potentially bias provoking question or detail has been removed from the admiss. process. If your statement of purpose involves an incident which reveals you have or don't have children, you would not earn any points of sympathy. Applicants want to mention irrelevant facts in their statement of purpose (interest in LGBT, social justice, prison reform, the care of little animals, etc etc) thinking it will help paint a favorable picture of themselves. Read the university's instructions for the SOP very carefully - and do what it says. Your status of a parent has NO bearing on your admission.

agree w/ doobie. i heard long sitting chair of Harvard Divinity School ThD adcom say that GRE scores are way down on the list of what they look at.....