amam

Ha! Guess i'll share. 
I applied to Religious Studies (at UNC Chapel HIll and Univ. of Denver), History (at UT Austin, Yale, and UIC), and Chicano Studies (at UCLA and UCSB).
I made sure to contact my POI via email before applying.
My stats are pretty average. 
I have some research experience,
and a master's in theological studies. 
 
 
Ahhhh! And now i have to wait. >.< 
 

There are a lot of interesting things others have written on here. I just finished my MA in medieval studies at UC Irvine and am waiting out my 2021 PhD apps (UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and UChicago - Brown and Columbia didn’t take anyone but otherwise would have applied there  - ). I am waiting out the time as a 7th grade history teacher! A strange time to be 24, but hopefully I can get back in school soon.
 
Waiting sucks, but waiting to start something you’ve wanted since you were in high-school is hard. 

I'm applying for Hebrew Bible programs.
Had an interview with UT Austin today that I *think* went well enough. Haven't heard back from any of my other programs yet, but that's not a surprise. It's still early.

I know this thread is a bit old, but I've wrestled with this question for some years. I now have PhD apps coming up and have decided to apply to Oxbridge and about 5 R1 US schools. A few things:

1. There seems to be a good bit of snobbery to look our for on both sides of the Atlantic. Some brits--like one Prof from Cambridge recently told me--are suspicious of many American programs while many American Profs with American PhDs will look down on anything not American. 

2. While xypathos is certainly correct that some folks go to Aberdeen--which is a notch of so below Oxbridge--because it's easier to get into than American R1s, it's also often the case that UK schools are the top choice for plenty Americans because those Americans want to work with certain profs. And schools like Aberdeen often have world class scholars. Think, for example, of someone like Joel Green who studied under I. Howard Marshall at Aberdeen or Ben Witherington who studied under the great C.K. Barrett at Durham. 

3. When the word 'conservative' comes into play as a negative point, my eyebrow immediately shoots up. "Conservative" in no way indicates a lower bar of academic rigor or competitiveness. Certainly one wouldn't argue that Markus Bockmuehl at Oxford or Simon Gathercole at Cambridge are light weights. Moreover, Notre Dame is notably conservative. You'll find evangelical scholars at Duke (Ross Wagner, for example). But, it seems true that conservatives will have less of a headache at UK PhD programs since A. many of these programs are more conservative and 2. as a purely research degree you'll not have to fight through two or more years of classroom debates, taking classes from Profs that hold animosity toward your convictions, etc.  

4. Finding a job should be easier with a degree from Emory. US programs, as xypathos mentioned above, require that you develop a broad base of competency so that you hit the ground running with proven teaching experience and the assurance that you can teach outside of your dissertation topic. However, in the UK, you do have a good bit longer to write your dissertation. You can use that time to pick up adjunct work, tutoring jobs, etc. to make up the difference. And, if you are disciplined, you can attend seminars, read and even publish outside of your dissertation area to demonstrate broad competency. This is an especially likely option if you do a rigorous ThM which should give you a few rough drafts for articles. Thing is--although that most Americans seem unaware of it--UK programs give you ample opportunity to get much of the same exposure as the US programs, but they allow you to gain it on your own time and by your own initiation. In the Uk, it's 'choose your own adventure.' (Some brits may even look down on the extra course work as a kind of extended academic adolescence by which you require hand-holding.) There, it's more of a 'you're an adult and a scholar, you shouldn't need two more years of coursework to make you learn what you need to learn.' 

How a college or seminary views this latter point is difficult to anticipate. Aberdeen and Durham have pretty good representation in American schools. Oxbridge is found at every level, from the Ivies to small bible colleges. I think much of the question comes down to whether you feel that you would work better (or at least just as well) by yourself so as to produce a substantial CV that will convince schools that you can teach what they need of you. The second issue concerns whether any of the Profs at the UK or American schools provide connections/networking opportunities for the schools that you would like to work at in the future. Typically, American schools are more often conversant with other American scholars. 

I know it's a bit late, but I wanted to offer what I've gleaned in the last couple of years.  Hope all is well and you have peace wherever you go.  



 

I could see how someone on the admission committee may have concerns.  I am assuming here that you have never stopped your schooling and there may be at least one field change in your education since you have two master's degree.  If the admissions committee didn't fully understand your transition to this new field (which I assume is your second master's)-- perhaps they are concerned that you'll want to transition again once you are done with this program (which I am assuming is a PhD program).  Since it is a top program, I imagine that the spots are selective so they want to double check your rationale esp. if there are many qualified applicants in the pool.
 
When I sat on the admission's committee in my dept, I learned that sometimes it is not about the current applicant, but you remind the faculty of a past student who entered the program but didn't work out for whatever reason.  They just want to make sure that you are committed to the field/program/what not before they commit to you for 5+ years.
 
I would at least wait until the campus visit day before you rule out the program.  If you still get a negative vibe or bad feelings, then yes don't enroll.  I think it is too early to make that call because we don't (yet) have a pattern of bad behavior.
 
Edit:  And yes, I too had several weird phone conversations with programs when I was applying.  I chalked it up to academics not being the most socially savvy bunch of individuals. 

I’ve not heard anything back from the four I mentioned yet. Based on posts from previous years, mid-Feb—mid-March seems to be the admission decision hotspot.

Also waiting it out. Applied to Baylor, Boston School of Theology, Notre Dame ( 2 programs) . I've heard back from Baylor with a preliminary interview. Still waiting for the others. Has anyone heard back from any of the above schools?

Yes, I’ve applied to Yale, UChicago Divinity, Emory, and Vanderbilt for the PhD in theological studies. Anxiousness led me to grad cafe. Here’s to favorable decisions over the next few weeks/months!

Hey guys, wondering if anyone else is applying to PhD programs for fall 2021. Starting this thread to deal with the next month or two. 
I applied to Harvard's Committee on the Study of Religion PhD, Islamic Studies track and have an MA from Columbia in Islamic Studies.
 
 

Hi,
I am also very interested in this subject, but the reference is very limited. You can share documents as well as experience? Thanks!

I found some references on this subject, please refer to everyone here: Group interview questions

Best regards.

Hi,
I am also very interested in this subject, but the reference is very limited. You can share documents as well as experience? Thanks!

To those who haven’t heard back, here’s a word of (hopefully) comforting advice. To start with an annoyingly cliché but true suggestion: try your best not to take rejection too personally or as an insult to your intelligence or capacity. Let me explain. People have repeatedly mentioned on this forum that applicants with “very good or near perfect stats” get rejected to Phd programs all the time. This is entirely true; I’m an example. When I applied to Phd programs a couple years ago, I had a 3.95 undergrad GPA, 3.9 grad GPA, and a GRE of 170V/164Q/5.0. I had a very good writing sample, a publication under my belt, and great recommendations. Naturally, I applied to 7-8 top schools. But I was rejected to ALL of them—every single one; I didn’t even receive an interview! As the weeks of waiting went by, I fell into despair. Why had I worked so hard and spent thousands of dollars? I thought about giving up on academics altogether. 
Here’s the silver lining. I was determined to find out what had gone wrong and try again. As it turns out, there were two things I had messed up. First was the statement of purpose. Without going into too much detail, the description of my academic background and interests was rambling, imprecise, and stale. There’s an art to writing statements of purpose, and I didn’t pay any attention to it. I kind of just figured “Hey, I’m a good writer, let me write about myself.” Don’t do that. Get profs to look at your statement. Second, my declared research interests were too narrow and didn’t fit very well in any of my desired programs. It’s worth repeating: FIT is everything. I had friends with much, MUCH lower stats get into amazing schools because their research interests fit hand-in-glove with the departments.
So, I’ve applied again this year, but I really did my homework this time with my SOP; I adjusted how I framed my interests; I had professors look over it. I took some more classes; I changed a bunch of other things (I also found a more relevant recommender). This time I’ve received a handful of interviews, and I reasonably expect several acceptances (fingers crossed). The moral of this story is that, yes, it’s incredibly discouraging to hear nothing and get rejected. And perhaps for some this will suggest moving on to another field. But for those who are determined to pursue doctoral studies, don’t give up. Revise your whole approach to your application and try again. This sort of story is not unique to me; I know many others who applied three times before they finally got into top-tier programs. Now they are thriving in their fields. 
Apologies for the long post; I hope this encourages some of the disheartened out there. Find out where you can improve your application. Your points of weakness may be different from mine. Work on those areas throughout a year (or two), and jump back in the ring!
 

A couple people have asked for interview tips: 
Be able to answer both why you want a graduate degree in the field and why you want a graduate degree in the field from that institution. The more specifics the better. Show the committee how you achieve the mysterious "fit" that every one talks about. Not why you want a Ph.D. but their Ph.D.  Part of fit is showing how your educational trajectory fits in with the research agendas of professor, but also be open about areas of weakness and what the program offers to equip you to be a more well rounded scholar.  Be able to describe the key influences on you scholarship.  If graduate program policies and procedures can be found online, read them and use them to boost your arguments: e.g., how many semesters do you teach, availability for cross-listed courses in other departments, placement ratings, institutional help for teaching (Preparing Future Faculty programs, etc.), that you can use to help boost your profile. If you can say A and B are my goals and the unique aspects of the department/university including X, Y, and Z will help my achieve them, you're doing it right.  Ask good questions: if the answer can be found on the department's website, it's a bad question. You can ask about how the professor's envision TA/prof relationships, their view of the atmosphere of the department/program, why they have chosen to commit to spend their academic lives at that institution (at least my interview committee loved that question), etc.  Be specific. Be specific. Be specific. This is not your time to wax eloquent about your love of academia and your subject matter. It is a direct argument in the guise of a conversation about why you will flourish at that school.  For Skype interviews, hardwired connection preferred; don't let your WiFi bug out and cause technical difficulties. Quite space. Blank/non-busy background. Look at the camera when answering questions/addressing faculty members. Feel free to use a split screen, half the Skype video/half your notes/questions. You may want to put your computer on some books to make it eye-level so you aren't looking down into the camera. 

A PhD from an SBC seminary is worthless. They have literally hundreds of doctoral students and they are inerrantist (i.e. require students and faculty to believe things that are factually untrue)

1. PoliticalOrder, Maybe you should avoid personal attacks. 
2. Also, "the GRE quant score does not represent one's ability to succeed in a quantitative methods sequence".
Really? People who have spent 40 or 50 hours to study but still couldn't do HS algebra can master game theory, multilevel models, and Bayesian data analysis. I am convinced.

This is my second time applying for grad school and it would be my third time taking the test.
I just can't seem to get the questions right, both quant and verbal. Out of the 10 verbal questions I solved, I got 2 questions right. 
I'm following magoosh 90day plan and i'm already two-three weeks behind because I have hard time focusing and it takes me forever to find answers to the questions. And when I do, I get the questions wrong, so I go back and spend too much time trying to understand wth I did wrong. 
This isn't rewarding at all. My scores always have been and it still is within the 20th 30th percentile.
I feel ashamed and I just don't want to do this.
I graduated with magna cum laude so I'm sure I'm not stupid but whenever I take the practice test I feel so dumb.
GRE is literally making me depressed. 
I don't even know what to do anymore. 

Got the call this morning from BUSTH and was accepted to the PhD program (History & Hermeneutics)! And my friend in theology & ethics got in, as well! An offer is to come later via email and details to come via post. 
I cried happy tears and I'm still in disbelief!