Wait For It...

While $30k per year for stipend is good, the cost of living in SoCal is also high.

SLU!!

You're doing well if you turn those schools down Well done, and thanks for the update!

Congrats! I visited this past weekend and enjoyed my time there.

Congrats! I know that was what you were waiting for!

Thanks for the info and good luck with your decision! Those are both great programs.

That's fantastic! So happy for you!

Congrats to you both!! Well done!

Congrats!

Thanks (on behalf of a friend)!

You raise some good concerns, Matt, but you can't judge the program by its course descriptions. (Not that you were doing that, of course). It isn't radical at all. Let me briefly explain some things. You have to keep in mind that the MA philosophy program is a part of a Seminary at an private, evangelical university. That explains why they have courses in Spiritual Formation. For those who are non-Christians, those classes won't make any sense---nor should they. For those of us who don't much care for the non-philosophy parts of the curriculum, you have to either "play the game" (so to speak) and take the required classes to graduate, or else take only the philosophy classes and apply out without graduating. Regarding class descriptions, I don't know for sure why the Phil Mind description is what it is (more on that below), but I took the class and that's not how it was. It sure as hell isn't "apologetics 101." No one tried to convince the students of dualism. Plenty of former Biola/Talbot student's are non-dualists, and JP Moreland (who taught my phil mind class), though a dualist, was extremely fair and allowed students to disagree with him. Students (like me) had the space to wrestle with all the questions. There was no dualist bent, even though the professor was a dualist. We read the philosophers who show up on any phil mind syllabus: Chalmers, Jackson, Fodor, Churchland, Kim, Lowe, etc. We were tested (and assigned papers) on the content of current theories and problems. Now, here's some speculation about why the descriptions read as they do. It's a seminary where the idea of a philosophy program can seem "scary" to many conservative Christians. So, if you can tie some "religious" talk into the program title and the course descriptions, you might have fewer battles to fight with the dean and the on-campus theologians (who haven't always been on board with "big, scary" philosophy and the theories that might come up in a course on phil mind). It's difficult to sell good philosophy---which Biola gives---to conservative Christians. That's pure conjecture, but I suspect something like that explains the descriptions. Lastly, just because William Lane Caig is "research" professor doesn't mean he's very connected with the department. You can graduate here and never meet the guy. He teaches one two-week cuorse every interterm. The rest of the year he's in Atlanta. All I can say is that you can receive a hell of a philosophy education at Talbot. I would advise judging the program on the quality of philosophers it produces, and NOT on its course descriptions. I would love to speak with anyone who wants to PM me about the program. I know it quite well, warts (there are many) and all.

Thanks for the info! And congrats on all the options.

Yes, same person. Sorry for any confusion.

Unfortunately, someone probably will now that we're both done!

Yes, BSD is a great conference. I know all three of the Biola presenters, one of which is a classmate and close friend of mine. Talbot/Biola has done a good job of taking people (like me) who know nothing about philosophy and, in a few short years, turning them into decent (or, in the case of some, amazing) applicants. The only problem is that it's not funded, which means you either take out loans or work to support yourself. I chose the latter option, which, unfortunately, took 20-30 hours away from my studies. I do, however, have far less debt than some of my friends! They are currently working on a way to fund MA Philosophy students, though I'm not sure when that would happen.

A friend also declined an Iowa offer.

A friend of mine declined offers from Purdue and Baylor, and removed herself from SLU's wait list. I hope that helps some others who are wait listed!

Congrats! I guess those who go into "Death Valley" really don't come back

I laughed as well when I saw the comment! Little known though it may be, students have gone from Talbot's MA program to good schools (NYU, Oxford, Rutgers, Princeton, UCLA, UNC Chapel Hill, USC, Texas, Northwestern, UVA, to name but a few).

Talbot School of Theology at Biola University has an MA program in Philosophy.

0-3 this year, unfortunately. Last year we had Berkeley, Northwestern, and Notre Dame (and some others).

Though not as many higher ranked schools as last year, the 2014 applicants from Talbot's MA have the following results (as far as I am aware): Acceptances to PhD programs - UMass Amherst, Syracuse, UC Santa Barbara, Oxford (MPhil), Fordham, Missouri, South Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, SUNY Buffalo, Florida State, Hawaii, Marquette, Fuller Seminary (theology), Wait lists to PhD programs - Loyola Chicago, Purdue, and Saint Louis (SLU) (2). It's likely there a re few more of which I am unaware and I will edit this post if and when I hear of them.

No problem! (out of up-votes).

Yes, she has another offer that fits best for her and will be turning down both Iowa and Purdue. As to when, I don't know. Regarding why she has yet to decline, there are many possible reasons. I know there's lots of talk on here about not understanding why people don't decline sooner than later---I've wondered myself---but, given how important these decisions are and how many factors are involved, I think it's best that we allow people the time to make their decisions. One mustn't rush when deciding where one will be for the next five or so years. All decisions will be made in due time. I know waiting is rough, but hang in there, and allow others the time to think carefully about what they really want to do. We can't see into each applicant's personal life to discern what decisions are like for he/she. At this point it's best not to judge people for waiting as long as they do. That's not to say that you were judging wrongly, but rather a general word; your questions are ones we all ask. Anyway, sorry for the "preaching." I hope my info is helpful.

Thanks for the info!