[What's happening at UChicago?]

On 5/22/2018 at 11:22 AM, marXian said:

Honestly the thing that put the administration over the edge was outgoing Dean Zoloth's very public fight with the Div School coffee shop, Grounds of Being, over their lease agreement with the university. In short, she wanted to charge them exponentially more in rent than they could have reasonably paid as a means of moving toward closing the deficit that xypathos describes. She chose the wrong hill to die on. Alumni got involved. It was unnecessarily ugly. I will say though that the change in leadership for the Div School is very very good news for students ultimately. PM me if you want to hear more.

I'm glad to hear that people think it will be a positive change. I had heard about the coffee shop and to me it seemed like a weird way to try to close a budget gap as a new dean. 

 

On 5/24/2018 at 11:14 AM, telkanuru said:

David is a weird choice, though, isn't he?

Yeah, I also thought that- it seems like the University is getting a bit...closer?

 

Thanks to all three of you for the replies!

[What's happening at UChicago?]

Just wondering if anyone knows what is going on at UChicago. It seems like the administration is in flux and that might be(?) impacting students. Anyone on the ground have any thoughts on this? The op-ed in The Maroon slamming the div school is kind of concerning. I deferred admission last year with the intention of heading there this fall. I would love to know what people think/have heard.

 

Some links:

https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/4/6/nirenberg-become-interim-divinity-school-dean/

https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/3/18/divinity-school-dean-zoloth-step-take-new-role/

https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/5/18/uchi-div-must-openly-confront-challenges/

 

[Master's Admissions 2017(MA,MTS, ThM or Mdiv)]

Hello Grad Cafe Folks! Just thought I would swing by with an update. I decided a while back to commit and I am excited to be going to UChicago Div in the fall! Anyone have any suggestions on housing? I've heard pros and cons of living in Hyde Park- anyone have any experience with this? Also, did you all make final decisions on where you're headed?

[Master's Admissions 2017(MA,MTS, ThM or Mdiv)]

10 hours ago, Lysdexia said:

Hard. Like you I only received a little over half covered for tuition. I qualified for the merit process at BU SOT but didn't make that round. . For me, this is my dream and BU is an amazing college and I will learn so much. But the debt is scary but I am fortunate to have a partner through this process which helps some of the burden of being a student. I'll assess where I am when I'm finished with my MTS, but worst case my plan is to teach community college (even if I get into grad school) to get my foot in the door teaching.  Hard to decide what to do as well, considering I'm in mid 20s and would like a family at some point in the next 6-7 years. 

Congrats on BU! Boston is a great city! I'm with you on trying to balance the $ with my interests. It's a tough path! 

9 hours ago, brailled said:

Hi @Whippoorwill! Congrats on Chicago! Their program looks pretty awesome. I'm also a long time lurker, also accepted to div schools (Yale and Harvard) with a concentration in religion and the arts. I'm at around 75% tuition at Yale, and 50% at Harvard, plus I have an AmeriCorps educational award that would make up some of the difference. Cost is a huge factor for me as well--I have a fully funded English MA offer at a mediocre school in a cheap city, which looks very tempting some of the time. But the programs at Yale and Harvard are more in line with what I want to study--contemporary poetry and spiritual practice--and a divinity school community sounds very appealing to me. I hope to eventually pursue doctoral studies in English, and possibly ordination in the Episcopal Church.

Currently, my decision making process involves reaching out to family, coworkers, former professors, friends, and friends of friends--anyone who would have any sort of insight on humanities grad school--to ask advice, and to hear about their experiences. I spent an hour on the phone last Friday with my husband's former roommate, who went to Duke Divinity, asking him questions about the value of a divinity school experience. At the moment, I'm leaning toward Yale, but I'm still really not sure what to do. How is your decision process going? Do you have any other offers you're considering? Are you thinking about a PhD? What discipline?

Also: is anyone attending the admitted student days at YDS and/or HDS?

I don't have any other offers- I applied to HDS and Yale but didn't get in! I didn't apply to very many schools, and I come with some academic baggage from years past. I'm beyond thrilled to have gotten into Chicago.

I also have been reaching out to family, my current Professors/TA's and some friends at div schools. None have straight up said "don't do it!"- though, I did have a relatively recent HDS alum tell me it's pretty indulgent to go to div school. I was like uhhhhhh, I don't think that's what you're supposed to say haha! Most of them have said that the job market is hard and that they aren't sure that it did much for them, but they would probably do the same thing again- "the stuff I learned and the people I met were worth it etc."

As far as a PhD is concerned: I'm not that interested. I'm not crossing it off, but it seems incredibly hard especially for women at top schools. I know a few women in ivy PhD programs and they have all said they wouldn't do it if they had been more aware of the environment that they were getting into initially. It has kind of scared me. Also, I would be like late 30's by the time I was done! 

 

 

 

 

 

[Master's Admissions 2017(MA,MTS, ThM or Mdiv)]

Hello fellow applicants! Long time lurker here. I have been accepted at the University of Chicago Div School, with 50% tuition. While I'm totally thrilled about this acceptance- I'm definitely worried about the cost. I've applied for the Religion, Art, and Lit track- I'm interested in the mashup of contemporary art, politics, and religion. 

How is the decision making process going for all of you? It seems that a lot of people here are thinking of going to on PhD programs after a masters- are there any people who aren't? What are you thinking of doing career-wise post masters?