Rabbit Run

Congrats and thanks for potentially bumping me up a little on the PTS waitlist!

Have an email from Duke Divinity that my decision is ready for the ThD, but the "view decision" link won't open on the Applicant Status page. Anyone else having this problem? I applied to the PhD as well and can view that decision fine.

Rejected from Princeton University and Duke (PhD) this past week. Have it on good authority that PTS will release decisions Friday.

Has anyone gotten rejections? I applied to TEC and have checked my application twice today, with no changes to report.

Probably just saying it because it's my discipline, but I feel like there are a lot of theology folks!

Yeah, you'd mentioned living in Georgia so I figured I'd throw Emory into the mix. I think highly of Emory. I've known some people from there and am impressed. I wish they were on my radar when I was applying, but they just weren't really for some reason. They're particularly strong in Ethics (Tim Jackson and Ted Smith) and in Bible (probably one of the top 2 or 3 in OT, and with some big names in NT as well). If you want to do ministry in a Protestant context I wouldn't recommend BC. If you want either academics or Catholic ministry than by all means apply

Same, Episcopalian.

Due to snowpocalypse I doubt anyone will hear from anyone today or even tomorrow.

Since you're interested in doing an Mdiv, one thing to consider is that Harvard--and I think maybe Chicago--sees itself as a interfaith and pluralist divinity school that trains not only Christians, but Buddhists, Jews, and even humanists. A place like Duke on the other hand has an explicitly Christian identity: Methodist and ecumenical. Assuming you want to do ministry, this will be an important thing to consider. On Chicago, a friend who did his BA there (taking a lot of courses at the Divinity School) has told me that their Mdiv program is relatively small, say 15-20, and that the MA is the more popular degree. At Duke, PTS or Yale (not sure about Harvard) you'll be around a lot of other Mdiv students. I know Harvard trains a lot of UU and UCC ministers, but I'm not sure how many Mdivs they have. Have you looked at Emory's Candler School of Theology?

Probably someone listing an informal meeting or phone conversation.

Are you seeking ordination in the Reformed Episcopal Church? If not then I would suggest looking at an MTS, MA, or even an Mdiv for some at Vanderbilt Divinity, Emory's Candler school of theology (which has an Episcopal/Anglican studies concentration), or one of the other schools you've mentioned here. With PhD admissions as competitive as they are, going to a first tier school like Emory or Vanderbilt is a very smart move. Of course, other factors such as ordination may need to be accounted for. If you want an Mdiv and are not constrained by your bishop's prerogative to either RE Seminary or Trinity, then I would suggest looking into Sewanee University's School of Theology, Yale Divinity School (particularly Berkeley Divinity School at Yale), or Virginia Theological Seminary. Being Episcopalian seminaries, they all have people doing Anglican studies, albeit maybe not exactly in your specially. (Spoiler alert, I'm Episcopalian).

How did you get access to my statement?!?

Yeah, I said 50% because thats generally the acceptance rate of the "big name" M.Div. programs (Duke, PTS, YDS, HDS etc.). I'm not certain what its like at TEDS or Gordon-Conwell. Relatively speaking it sounds like you have a strong chance from what you've said (for instance, you've been accepted to Duke in the past). For PTS, basically everyone gets 75% while PC(USA) students get 100%. Being Presbyterian is thus the main commonality (only about 33% of the student body is Presby, so don't let that scare you away. There are other ways to get 100%: some get 100% as part of a merit based fellowship. The bottom line is that PTS is LOADED. Tuition is relatively very inexpensive even if you had NO financial aid. Therefore, even with the 75% tuition offer you'd only be paying like $2,500 a year in tuition (plus housing/fees of course). I am happy to tell you more and answer your other questions via PM. I did have other offers to choose from. I was accepted to Yale and Chicago but was rejected from Harvard. The biggest reason I chose PTS was money. YDS was my first choice, but the money made it a no brainer. I'm very happy here.

What degree are you applying for? If you're doing an M.Div. you're chances are likely in the 50% ballpark at Duke, Yale, Chicago, HTS (Harvard Divinity School I assume?) and PTS. An M.Div is meant to accommodate people coming from non-theological academic backgrounds as well as people who studied Religion in undergrad, so by no means think of your Physics background as a detriment (I know at least 3 people here at PTS who majored in Physics). For an Mdiv at least I think your major in the sciences WILL make you standout in a positive way. Beyond that, I'd emphasize in your statement of purpose your volunteer/charity experience. I won't bother with trying to learn Greek or Hebrew unless its something you want to do, is an ordination requirement that you want to get a head start on, or if you want to do a PhD in Biblical Studies. Depending on what you mean by liberal and conservative, in my judgement Chicago and HDS (if you meant Harvard) are the most liberal; TEDS, Gordon-Conwell, and Covenant are the most conservative; and Duke, PTS, and Yale are in the middle (with Yale the most liberal of the three). I'm not familiar with Redeemer. Good luck!

You're a competitive candidate to be sure. Don't worry too much: for Masters, Divinity Schools with impressive names like Harvard, Yale, Duke etc. aren't as competitive to get into as the names sound. Master's programs at such schools generally have admission rates in the 30%-50% range (with Mdiv admission being higher than MTS/MA). If you've done well in undergrad or in smoother career and can articulate at least a general direction you want to go, then don't worry too much (but apply to more than one school). For what its worth, I was rejected from Harvard Divinity's MTS program but accepted at several of HDS's peer schools (Yale, Chicago, Princeton Seminary) for similar programs. Like you (and most students at said schools) I did not go to an Ivy League undergrad and was active in scholarship, student life, extracurriculars etc. I don't know what HDS is looking for exactly, hopefully an HDS student can weigh in on that.

Don't worry about not being Presby. Only about 30-40% of the student body is Presbyterian. Further, don't let the "big names" scare you of. Admissions for Master programs are pretty high (particularly for Mdiv degrees, which run in the 50% range for the big name schools like PTS, Yale, Duke etc). I'd look at Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard as well; all have historians working on the Reformed tradition.

Biased certainly, but Yes: Duke and Yale are our main peer school in competing for masters level students. Our Systematic Theology, Biblical Studies, and Practical Theology doctoral programs are among the best (depending on your specific focus of course). Further, you can take a class a semester over at the Princeton if it counts for anything.

Greetings, I'm beginning the process and plan on applying to programs in theology. Looking at Princeton Seminary, Princeton University, Duke, University of Virginia, Yale, Chicago, Vanderbilt, and SMU.

To share from my own school: at PTS a fair amount of Masters students who are serious about doing NT PhDs have Latin. However, I suspect this is do to the structure of the university's summer language courses, which allow you to do two courses in a Summer instead of just one, rather than something their advisors are telling them is necessary.

I've heard of people staying at their current institution and having the advisor who left serve as an external reader for the dissertation as well.

I think Villanova's philosophy program is strong for people with theological/religious questions. Boston College has a dual M.A. in philosophy and theology. I don't know what this means at the doctoral level, but it suggests they're amenable to this. Notre Dame is kinda a top dog in this as well. James K.A. Smith (who teaches at Calvin) actually has a blog out there assessing various philosophy of religion programs. Had trouble finding it or else I would have posted it here. If you wanna work on languages or boost your app in another way doing a ThM or an STM in philosophy of religion at a place like Chicago or Yale might be a solid option as well.

Do you have a Masters degree?

I'd suggest looking at philosophy MAs as well. There are some good ones that emphasize philosophy of religion/philosophical theology, especially at Catholic schools. I'd suggest Villanova, Boston College, and Fordham. Further, some philosophy MAs, such as Tufts or University of Georgia, are known to be funded pretty well, however I get the sense that they emphasize analytic philosophy over the continental approach that likely be more amenable to your interests. I'd suggest caution in using a theology degree to get into a PhD program in philosophy proper (as opposed to a Philosophical Theology/Philosophy of Religion track within a Religion/theology program). I know some folks who've tried it and have felt that its held them back and caused them to be looked at with suspicion by the philosophy guild. Of course this is anecdotal, so someone else feel free to give a more optimistic picture.

Is it possible to apply to both programs or do I have to choose? Thank you for the info.

Hello, I am interested in applying to BU for doctoral work and am hoping that someone can parse out the differences between the PhD offered by the Graduate Division of Religion and that offered by the School of Theology. I am interested in theology and ethics so I anticipate applying to either the constructive theology track in the school of theology or the philosophy of religion track in the GDR.