Perique69

Yes, they do offer 100% tuition based on merit, but their views of "merit" are broader than what is being discussed here. If "rare" is a bit of an overstatement, the "bit" to which you refer is slimmer than the slimmest hair reposing on the back of a bee hummingbird.

100% tuition is a rare bird for master-level programs. Like others said, they're cash cows mostly. Notre Dame's MTS program is about the only one around offering MERIT-based full-rides. But it's far more difficult to gain acceptance at ND for this reason. Your schools do offer very few full rides but not so much for reasons related to merit and scores, etc.

Pretty sure Lux Lex Pax is going.

Said the ideologue.

Divinity, religion and theology are euphemisms for ideology regardless of the stripe and school. Be an accountant, engineer or nurse.

http://gdr.emory.edu/people/student-directory.html Magical link to Emory's GDR student bios. Know them all. Interestingly, only 11 or 12 were admitted to the entire GDR last year because of less funding. Normally 18 or so are admitted.

Well, sure, I wouldn't rule yourself out of top programs strictly based on where you went for your M degree. I've know some from smaller/less known schools who were accepted to TT programs. Go for it.

Thanks for trying.

Addressing the full scope of your question is near impossible unless you can convince a school to truthfully divulge the information you want. Regardless, my suggestion was aimed at your question about whether or not a top-tier M degree is necessary. Look at profs with top-tier PhDs and see where their M's came from.

For this reason, most would be better off studying theology as a hobby. Get a 2 year degree and become a nurse or physician assistant (and make considerably more than religion/theology professors), or a BA in engineering (and make way more than theology professors). I know several PhD's from very top-tier programs who are 1) not teaching at all (due to no prospects); 2) teaching part-time as a writing instructor at a community college; 3) teaching religion as adjuncts at community colleges.

M degree?!? All you need is a BA according to some on this board. If you want a real answer, research the education of ranked professors at top-tier schools.

I doubled my verbal score with practice from Magoosh: http://gre.magoosh.com I found this site to be far better than the expensive classes like Kaplan. Magoosh does a great job at explaining / deconstructing every single type of question on the GRE. I only focused on verbal though.

That's what she said.

Fair enough. Lots of people want to get paid to do what they love. Just be careful not to get walked on.

I don't need to feel good about myself. Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.

You might have an idea about the game, but you're not on the list (yet). Just don't count your chickens before they hatch, guy. That's all.

Well, what are you doing on this board? Preparing to apply? If so, this place can be a good resource.

Uh, we're talking PhD. Aren't you MTS? Different ball game, if so.

Thanks for the upvote. I need them!

You might be an exception, but most here want the "best" whether they admit it, or not. If they didn't want the best, they'd get their degrees online rather than battling it out for 1 of 5 slots out of 200 plus applications. But I know younger generations have been taught to minimize language that promotes competition, hierarchy and ranking despite fully engaging in practices that promote exactly what their language minimizes. That's why you see so many posts about "best" being relative and depending on what you study, etc. No one wants to make the faux pas of being honest about their unbridled ambition to soar to the "top."

Sure you don't care.

Well, well, look who turned out to be Judas! Of all people, I thought you were my friend.

The 5 pilgrims who voted down my post sure want their school on the list.

The top 6 comprehensive list is small (Duke, Chicago, Princeton, Yale, Emory, Harvard), but the problem with discussing it here is that everybody wants their school to be on the list. So folks prefer something like the top 25 most competitive programs. This way, everybody gets a trophy.

Thanks, but your side note is moot as I pointed this out long ago. The BA to PhD versus M degree to PhD isn't even what this thread is about. Maybe someone needs to start a new thread about that because so many are focused on it now. To spare others from tilling through previous posts, I'll restate my simple point about most competitive PhD programs in religious studies, theology, etc: most students in such PhD programs have M degrees. Special note to those who have a hard time with logic: this does not mean that all students in such PhD programs have M degrees. The other crucial point is that "most competitive" programs probably means that your favorite school is excluded. I know everyone and every school wants to be treated like a special snowflake; everyone gets a trophy; there is no second place, etc. But, like or not, it doesn't work this way. I like that GIF though! Funny.