Enki Knows

Hi Samuau, No problem. I think the important aspects of a writing sample are 1) that it's well written (style, grammar, no typos, etc.) - that may seem obvious but you'd be surprised, 2) that it makes a clear and cogent argument for something (admissions committees are not looking for something that sounds nice - they want you to demonstrate your reasoning ability), and 3) that it relates to the interests you elucidate in your statement of purpose. For instance, if you're interested in the politics of early Christian communities, don't turn in a writing sample about Paul's theology in Galations, unless you see a distinct relationship there (sorry if my examples are poor - I really don't know anything about NT ). Hope that helps!

Re: your writing sample - as someone above said, whether the length is an issue or not, really depends on the temperament of the committee. You may want to consider simply sending part of your article. You can include in a note that what you are submitting is a selection from your article which was published in xxx. That way, its not too long, they see your best work, and they know you were published.

Hi Samuau. Are you interested in Hebrew Bible or New Testament? I am a first year PhD student at a top-tier school in HB/ANE. I can tell you that the most important aspects of your application are going to be your statement of purpose, your writing sample, and letters of rec. GRE's are probably the least important - you just basically don't want them to raise any red flags. In my opinion, for a humanities person, this means breaking 163 on Verbal (that gets you in the 90s percentile-wise), 150 on Math, and a 5 on the essay. I'm basing those numbers simply on conversations with people and my own experience, so don't take them by any means as hard and fast rules - I just think they are probably decent guidelines. As far as languages are concerned, after the SOP, writing sample, and recs, I would say that demonstrating strength in your primary language of study is the next most important aspect of your application - so for HB this would be Hebrew, and for NT, Greek. As far as other ancient languages, this would depend on what your focus is. Given my focus, it was helpful that I had one year of Akkadian already upon entering my PhD program. Your modern language requirements will also vary depending upon your program, but most will want you to pass exams in French and German at some point. Having prior experience with these languages is certainly a plus, but more because it will make your life easier - if you have a strong application, I highly doubt any school would reject you on the basis of lack of experience with French or German. If you do HB, some schools will also want you to pass an exam in Modern Hebrew, but again, you are not expected to enter having this knowledge already. Hope this information is helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Everything everyone has said about the conferences (SBL, etc) is correct. However, just know that you certainly don't need to present at one of those conferences to get into a phD program. Once you are doing doctoral work, you should definitely be presenting, but its not expected of master's students. To get into a phD program in HB/OT you should have a strong background in semitic languages, strong letters of recommendation, and an excellent statement of purpose and writing sample. Don't worry about presenting, publishing, etc. at this point in time.

It sounds to me like you are quite ready to apply to PhD programs. In Bible, probably the biggest reason to get a master's degree (whether MDiv, MTS, MA, etc.) is to build experience with biblical languages. From what you have said, it sounds like you have that more than covered. The most important parts of your application are going to be your personal statement and your writing sample, so if I were you, I would work on making those two elements absolutely stellar, rather than spending your time getting a second master's degree. Just to prove my point, the other admit to the PhD program in Hebrew Bible that I will be starting next year (one of the top programs in the country) does not have a Master's degree at all. He is just finishing his bachelor's and he got in to PhD programs at my school and Harvard. This is obviously an usual case, and yes, his bachelor's will be from an Ivy, but he has the language experience, and more importantly, his interests were sufficiently aligned with the professors at these schools.

The outer-boroughs of NYC and Hoboken, NJ ( right across the river) can be very kid friendly. Nobody that goes to NYU (with the exception of undergrads who live in dorms) actually live in Greenwich village - it's prohibitively expensive. Not that I'm pushing NYU - just saying having kids is not a reason not to apply if the program is of interest.

Anyone heard anything from Hopkins yet? They are the only school I haven't heard back from yet...

Cup o' joe is right about the job situation. There are not many out there specifically for assyriologists, but you said you want to do Bible/ANE, and there are certainly more opportunities there (in addition to colleges and universities you also have seminaries). There is still a job shortage regardless but programs are letting in fewer PhD candidates which means the market will have less competition within the next few years. Also, in this field particularly, there will be a lot tenured professors retiring in the next few years (this is my field too). As far as Harvard is concerned, I think you should really consider whether it's worth applying. I ended up not applying this year because I was told by several professors in the field that nothing exciting is happening at Harvard right now. Peter Machinist is going to be retiring soon and Levenson has been focused on other kinds of work (l heard inter-religious stuff?). I also heard that at Harvard you're basically just a number - that is, the advisers do not take a real interest in their students, and that means that when its time to find a job, you might not get the strong letter of recommendation you would like since they might not really know you. I'm not sure if you're currently in a masters program or not, but if you are, I would urge you talk about this with your professors. Bible programs with strong ANE focus to consider are NYU GSAS (Mark Smith/Dan Fleming), Univ. of Chicago - Div School (there's also NELC but it seems like more interesting work is being done at the Div School right now), and Johns Hopkins. NYU also has ISAW (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World), which I don't think does Bible specifically, but they do have a PhD program that might be worth a look...

My experience is from the professional, non-academic world but I think it still applies. When you go on a job interview, you are expected to send a thank you email. If you don't, it's usually looked down upon. That said, the recipients almost never respond to this email. For every job I've ever gotten (in my past life, prior to returning to academia), I sent a thank you email, and I don't think anyone has ever responded. But they hired me! That's what counts!

Thanks, Blue. Good luck to you as well!

I applied to NYU's Dept of Hebrew/Judaic Studies but specifically for Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near East studies. Have not heard anything yet.

I received an email today from a professor at Univ of Chicago asking me for a skype interview next week. Does anyone know if PhD interviews at Univ of Chicago (div school) are competitive? (That is, is this part of their narrowing down process or is it a "just to make sure" kind of thing?) Thanks.

Hi Fides - I applied to Chicago too. Did you apply to the broader university or div school?

Hi All, I'm new to the forum, but since I don't have any friends in real life going through this process right now, I figured I might find a little camaraderie here. My focus is Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near East. Just applied to: NYU Hopkins Union Theological Seminary Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison Duke Univ. of Chicago (Div School) All PhD programs. Anyone else apply to those? Have you heard anything yet?

I also applied to Hopkins. Nothing yet from them, but the deadline was Jan 15 so I wouldn't expect anything for a while.