gidadu

I've heard of people doing this too - one person I know who did it ended up using papers from their coursework as chapters of their dissertation. They knew exactly what they were writing their dissertation on, though, so they knew how to direct every paper toward it. good luck!

I'm in my last year of my MDiv, and I've wanted to do a PhD for a long time now -- since I was a kid I've loved school so much, to the point that when I was 10 years old I was telling people that I wanted my doctorate! Of course I didn't even know what I wanted a doctorate in, I just wanted one -- probably because my dad was getting his doctorate at the time and I wanted to be just like him Even outside of that, though, I've always loved school, reading, writing, etc... and so many of my teachers, professors, mentors, have all affirmed my gifting in these areas, and have said I should consider teaching. I did AmeriCorps for a couple of years thinking that I would eventually pursue my Master of Education, and taught in a high school setting (mostly math and English) to "get the feel" of it. I quickly found that I didn't enjoy teaching those particular subjects (although I loved the students and enjoyed other parts of the teaching experience), and then decided to start seminary after I finished my service. In grad school, for awhile I was pursuing two Master's, doing my MDiv and also a counseling degree, but figured out about 1/3 of the way through the counseling program that I didn't enjoy it, didn't feel gifted in it, and didn't want to do anything with it vocationally when I was done, so I quit that program and am now finishing up my MDiv and starting PhD work next year. So, I say all of this because -- I have had so many different experiences and have been on many different tracks trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I have volunteered for a TON of organizations in teaching, mentoring, counseling, various social justice work and advocacy work, and though I really appreciate these fields and am glad for the experience and am passionate about these issues, I don't feel "called" to them, or feel totally fulfilled by working in these roles. But the one thing that has followed me, that has been the common thread/trajectory since I was a kid, was a passion for learning, teaching, reading, writing... and also thinking about theology, the church, Scripture, and Christian discipleship. For me, I would have regretted not applying to Phd work, not only because I am passionate about the subject matter, but also because (and here I'm gonna go a bit Pentecostal), I believe that God can use this experience to make me a better disciple, and to encourage others in my social circle and in places I have influence. Maybe that sounds narcissistic -- but, my own personal experience is that if I truly believe God has led me on this path and brought me to where I am today (and I do), then there is a reason that God has opened these doors for me to do doctoral work. I didn't think I had a shot at getting in at all, and I know how slim the chances are of even the best students getting into programs. So the fact that I did makes me think that God has something in store, even though I'm not quite sure what that looks like yet. Also -- I'm 30, unmarried, no children, no family obligations, no ties to the current city I live in -- I literally have nothing to lose. So why wouldn't I take the shot? I'm under no illusions that I will get a job afterwards, I realize how terrible the job market is. But if pursuing a PhD is something I've wanted for literally 20 years (even though at 10 years old I had no idea what that meant, lol!), and if everything else I've pursued hasn't quite "fit" (and I've dabbled in a lot of different areas), and if all the doors have opened, and I literally have no reason to say "no" to this opportunity outside of the fact that it will be hard and I might feel miserable some of the time.. then why wouldn't I say yes? My Master's degree has felt miserable a lot of the time, but I'm still glad I did it. I'm not saying everyone should do it... but if it makes sense to try, and if it's something you really want, and if your personal/familial situation allows for it, then I don't know why not..... but that's just my own personal experience. I don't want to deny anyone their own experience and reasons for not pursuing this -- particularly AbrasaxEos's that they so beautifully articulated above, and also doobiebrother's very real challenges they've had in their program. But I do want to say that I'm perfectly okay with pursuing my PhD because I'm passionate about the subject I'll be studying, as well as the fact that my trajectory seems to have landed me here, and the people in my life--pastors, mentors, friends--have all sensed God's leading in this as well. Again, I realize that that may sound very Pentecostal of me and that's not always welcome in academic spaces.... but if I truly believe that God has led me here, then I believe that God is going to use this experience for something, no matter how hard it will be. And all that said -- if I didn't feel that God was leading me here, I would be much more suspicious of the whole thing, especially given that I've heard multiple people say that the first year of PhD work is the worst year of their lives. I'm planning on leaning on my faith a lot this year... and letting myself trust that it's all worked out this way for a reason. That's a lonnnng response, I realize... and it's probably also not going to feel very well-reasoned to a lot of folks... but I guess I want to encourage both myself and other folks who might be in a similar situation as me.... it's going to be really rough, and I don't think we should delude ourselves into thinking that we won't have days when we wished we'd never started. And there's nothing stopping us from quitting if we really don't feel the need to continue in the future. (I have zero regrets about starting and then quitting my counseling program -- I actually think I've been able to have some great conversations with folks about not being afraid to change life paths, to quit something, if it doesn't feel right, so I'm grateful for going through that in order that I can use the experience when talking with other folks about vocational pursuits and life changes.) I just don't think the inevitability of misery is a reason to stop ourselves from trying, if this is something we've wanted to do for a long time and if we're willing to test out the miserable-ness of it all in order to come through at the end with something we're passionate about and can feel proud of. Hope I didn't offend anyone with this post -- if i did, that's truly not what I intended and I apologize. If I were to summarize this whole thing, I would say I have decided to pursue my PhD not only because I'm passionate about the subject matter, but because it makes sense with my trajectory so far and I literally have nothing to lose and no reason why I shouldn't. The only reason I wouldn't pursue it would be out of fear -- fear of not finishing, fear of being miserable, fear about moving across the country where I know no one and have to rebuild my community from scratch (again), fear of feeling inadequate... and believe me, these are fears I'm experiencing every day now that the reality of what I'm getting myself into has set in! But if fear is the only thing that would stop me... well, I don't want to give into it. I've let fear rule my life too many times. But again, this is all my own personal experience, and everyone's experience is very different and very real. I think for every person thinking about doing this work, it's all about figuring out for yourself what you are passionate about, if you have the capacity/are in a good life stage to do it, and whether you would regret it if you didn't try. Much love to all the folks on this thread, I've loved hearing about everyone's journeys. <3

dramos2016 -- are you happy in your current position? as in happy doing the work you are doing, not necessarily the people, environment, etc. does it fulfill you? I guess I am asking because for myself, I knew if I didn't try for PhD I would always be left wondering what my life could have looked like. Even though the process of applying was incredibly stressful and expensive, I knew I would regret it if I didn't try, especially because doing the research and completing a PhD is something I've wanted for so long. So I wouldn't have felt fulfilled if I didn't at least try... But you could be in a totally different spot than I was. Having a fulfilling job seems like a rarity these days

Just wanted to provide an update -- I did get into a program But -- I did hear from one of my professors that some schools, primarily ivy, won't even look at applications that are below 99th percentile on the GRE. So that was a bummer, because my top choice didn't even look at my application at all because of my GRE scores (my prof was in contact with the POI at the school I was looking at, and heard it straight from him). Soo... all that to say, clearly my GRE scores didn't prevent me from getting into a program -- BUT they did prevent me from even getting looked at in certain programs. Take those GREs seriously!

Doobiebrothers -- when you say that this is "the dirtiest game I, or anyone I know, has ever played" -- can you explain more what you mean by that? I want to know what I'm getting myself into and how to best prepare for those things... I'm wanting to do my PhD for the sake of the research and creating a more robust conversation in the church and academy around my particular topic, but I'm under no illusions that I'll have a job secured afterward. So I think I'm "ahead of the game" in the respect that I'm really not doing this for the sake of becoming a professor (although I wouldn't be opposed to that), but rather, am in it for the sake of the work itself. But I'd like to know what you mean when you talk about it being the "dirtiest game" you know....

Hey all -- I've been accepted to a PhD program in theological studies (yay!) but now comes the hard part -- making it through! I've been told that it's not about getting into a program, it's about getting out of the program! I've also been told that doctoral work is some of the most stressful, difficult years of your life, and also that the first year is particularly dreadful. That said, if any of you are in programs now, I would love to hear advice on how you have made it through, what strategies you adopted in particularly hard times, and also how us incoming students can best prepare ourselves for the road ahead. Or, if you are also an incoming student, what advice have your mentors, professors, or friends in PhD programs given you? I'm especially nervous because I am moving all the way across the country where I won't know anyone, so I won't have any friends/family there to support me until I build my network of people, which can take awhile (I'm sure many of you are in the same boat!). Would love to hear people's thoughts!

Anyone heard from Vanderbilt on PhD acceptances?

Anyone heard from Yale (theological studies)?

Hey all -- maybe this is being too finicky, but I'm curious whether you guys used footnotes or endnotes for your writing sample. I've been going back and forth on what I want to do -- I know footnotes are easier to read, but it definitely adds pages and would force me to condense my paper significantly, whereas with endnotes I feel like I could get away with having "extra pages" of just endnotes (which are really just citations in my case). Anyone have any thoughts on this?

This might seem like a weird question, but -- how likely is it that you will be accepted to a tier 1 PhD program in Theology with a B on your transcript? I have four A- right now and all the rest are As (and am currently in my third year of full-time seminary), but I have one exegesis class that is killing me and I'm starting to think I might get a B in the class. Would it be better to withdraw and have a W on my transcript, or is it better to have the B? Again I realize it's a weird question, but I've heard that it's nearly impossible to get into a PhD program if you don't have straight As, and I'm wondering if there's truth to that. Thanks...

Just realized I probably should have posted this in the bigger thread so I'm moving it on over there too. Oops!

This might seem like a weird question, but -- how likely is it that you will be accepted to a tier 1 PhD program in Theology with a B on your transcript? I have four A- right now and all the rest are As (and am currently in my third year of full-time seminary), but I have one exegesis class that is killing me and I'm starting to think I might get a B in the class. Would it be better to withdraw and have a W on my transcript, or is it better to have the B? Again I realize it's a weird question, but I've heard that it's nearly impossible to get into a PhD program if you don't have straight As, and I'm wondering if there's truth to that. Thanks...