newcement

Hi there! I have not checked the forums in a bit, so missed your response until now. Thank you for the input! What about the summer sessions make them less fit to prepare for PhD studies? Is it the expedited nature of the course? This is my first language course, so I have been on the fence about taking the summer course. Glad to meet a PTS student on here!

Applied and was accepted to Princeton’s Theological Seminary’s MDiv program as a transfer student. Visiting next week and will decide if I want to move in this summer to get started on language courses or hold off for a fall start. Either way, I’m very excited to transfer over from my current seminary!

Thanks, yes, I am taking that into account. PTS provides affordable housing while Boston tends to be quite expensive. North Carolina’s cost of living tends to be quite affordable.

Hi all! I am looking to transfer from my current MA Theological studies program into an MDiv program. I am considering Boston U Div, Princeton Sem, Drew Div, and Wake Forest Div. Boston gives 70%+ scholarship and Princeton gives 80%+, does anyone have info about Wake Forest or Drew? They both give pretty big spreads of scholarship possibilities (Wake says 100% of students receive scholarships ranging from 30-100%). Anyone have any more specific info? I did a search on the forums but did not see any posts related to this, but please redirect me if this post is covering old ground. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Thanks @Rabbit Run. That’s encouraging to hear that others have done it successfully. I have looked through several programs’ policies regarding transfer credit. It seems painless enough, though some programs (Yale) don’t allow you to attempt to transfer credit until you are already matriculated. I was curious if programs tend to look favorably (or not) upon transfer applicants.

Hi there, I was curious if others had any experience transferring from one seminary/divinity school to another mid-program? I am 26 credits into my MA (Theological Studies) program at a local, ATS-accredited seminary. Though it's a respected program and institution locally, there has been much upheaval in the past couple years (change of seminary name, curriculum revision, loss/firing of several professors & dean, and now a change in physical location) and I think it best to transfer. Also, when I began my theological training, I didn't consider moving out-of-state. I have since learned of several top programs that accept transfer credits. I am considering applying to the MDiv programs at Princeton, U. Of Boston, Wake-Forest, Union, Emory (Candler), and Vanderbilt to start in Fall 2019. Has anyone had the experience of transferring; did it bear any negative effects upon your prospects at your program of choice? A little bit about me: Undergrad GPA: 3.4; Major (BA Psychology) GPA: 3.7; GRE: V 88th percentile, Q 61st percentile, Essay 60th percentile Graduate GPA: 4.0; currently have an article submitted for publication with another on the way Several years experience in church ministry and with nonprofits. I expect strong Letters and aim to write a strong SOP as well.

I began at a local ATS-accredited seminary that offered a MA/MA in Counseling dual degree. It helped skim some credits off compared to pursuing both degrees separately, as the seminary required biblical studies and theological studies classes for their MA in Counseling degree as well. Taking them dual-degree helped save some credits. I've continued to hear from experienced pastors how woefully under-prepared they were for the amount of counseling they do in their positions. The dual degree option seems invaluable in that light.

Hi all! I have been reading through the forum and have really appreciated the insight many of you have into the religious studies field and various programs. My post is a bit of a "what are my chances?" and "do you have experience with my situation?" hybrid. I am a current MA (Theological Studies) student at a local ATS-accredited seminary. I graduated with my BA in Psychology in 2011, and, after soul-searching and trying my hand in several psychology-related positions, I decided to return for a seminary degree in hopes of becoming a minister, author, and perhaps adjunct prof on the side. I am also considering the prospects of pursuing PhD studies down the road. I am now 26 credits into my MATS degree at a local, ecumenical ATS-accredited seminary and have decided to transfer for two major reasons: 1) My current seminary has a good reputation locally, but has become increasingly disintegrated. In the year I've been there, they have changed the seminary's name, revised the entirety of their curriculum, fired or lost several professors, dismissed and appointed a new dean, and are soon to change the physical location of the seminary. Many of these changes have been poorly implemented and badly communicated to the students. 2) I was serving as a volunteer ministry director for the past few years at a local independent non-denom church. Unfortunately, I experienced the two lead pastors as increasingly manipulative/abusive individuals, (garden variety pathological narcissists?), and decided to leave. After departing, I learned that a good friend (who also attended the church) was sexually molested by the aforementioned pastors. These leaders have been educated at my seminary and have mentored and taught there as well, so it has made the seminary itself a difficult place for me to be. Those things said, I still want to finish a degree and continue to pursue a ministry vocation. I find myself more at home in progressive evangelical or mainline protestant contexts and have narrowed my search for an MDiv program down to the below schools: Princeton, Vanderbilt, Emory (Candler), Wake-Forest, Union, Boston U. I am most concerned with the school accepting all (or most) of my transfer credits and hope to receive funding as well. I struggled a bit in undergrad with anxiety and depression, and ended up with a 3.4 GPA, though I had a 3.8/3.9 in my last couple semesters and a 3.7 Major GPA. When I took the GRE a few years ago, I had scores that landed me in the 88th percentile for Verbal, 61st percentile for Quantitative, and 60th percentile for Essay. My graduate GPA is 4.0. I have a publication in the works with an undergrad prof and have lots of service experience with nonprofits and churches. My questions: What are my chances of being admitted to the above schools? All of them accept transfer credit, but how likely is it that my credits will be accepted? Does anyone know the likelihood of funding for my situation? Are there any other schools you might recommend for my search? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!