[PhD Applications Fall '18 Season]

31 minutes ago, KA.DINGER.RA said:

It's a shame that the University of Georgia doesn't get more of a spotlight considering they have Baruch Halpern and R. E. Friedman on faculty and accepting students.

 

(I am most certainly biased) but I would have to include Notre Dame for Hebrew Bible over several of the programs that you listed (particularly UT-Austin since both John Heuhnergard and Jo Ann Hackett are retired/retiring and Emory with Carol Newsom).

Thank you! That is definitely the type of valuable insight I am hoping for!

[PhD Applications Fall '18 Season]

11 minutes ago, kay0213 said:

I am also genuinely interested in seeing the list for Hebrew Bible (perhaps with a focus on NELC or Semitics)!

Now I am really wading in over my head! But . . .

I could speculate a top 6 and second 6 for HB and NELC might look something like:

Top group:

• University of Chicago

• Harvard

• Yale

• Brandeis

• Johns Hopkins

• NYU

Second group:

• Duke (PhD)

• PTSEM

• Berkeley

• UT Austin

• Brown

• UCLA (or Cornell, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Michigan, Toronto, Emory, etc.)

Here is a link to placement results for NYU in this area: http://as.nyu.edu/hebrewjudaic/graduate/phd-placement.html

[PhD Applications Fall '18 Season]

4 minutes ago, thiscalltoarms said:

Curious what you'd view as the list for Systematic?

I've spent less time looking into this, but for systematic I might guess at a top five of:

• Yale

• Notre Dame

• University of Chicago

• Duke (PhD)

• Vanderbilt?

[PhD Applications Fall '18 Season]

28 minutes ago, Hopeless_Academic said:

I think it might be more helpful to have fewer names in each group and possibly more groups. For example, I don't think Baylor and Boston College should be in the same group as Yale.

Interesting idea. Not sure I know enough about all the programs to break it up further. From your perspective, who else should drop out of the top group? Do some programs in the lower group belong in the top group? Are there other standout NTEC programs not on either list?

What about other areas of study?

These are fairly subjective valuations of course, but I know we all form them based on research we conduct and conversations we hold over a span of multiple years.

[PhD Applications Fall '18 Season]

53 minutes ago, Kuriakos said:

 Ask for department placement statistics. Also, don't pick a school just for a POI. You have to take classes with a lot of people and you never know what the internal politics are like. Pick the school that is most likely to land you a job. The reality is that the quality of the education is essentially the same at tier 1 and near tier 1 schools and everyone knows it, but the name of your school matters a lot . . .

So as we are evaluating offers (not prepared to disclose anything yet), would anyone hazard a guess at what the top 10 and second 10 programs are in terms of job placement at like institutions in the area of NTEC, Christian Ethics, Theology, or HB? This is pretty much guess work, but opinions matter and I want yours!

This is obviously subjective and I have only my own limited perspective to draw from, but what about this list for NTEC or the rough equivalent:*

First group (11):

• Duke (PhD)

• Notre Dame

• University of Chicago

• Emory

• Baylor

• Duke (ThD)

• PTSEM

• Yale

• Loyola Chicago

• Johns Hopkins

• Boston College

Second group (11):

• Catholic  University of America

• UNC

• Vanderbilt

• Marquette

• Indiana

• Brown

• Michigan

• Boston U

• Harvard

• Fuller Theological Seminary

• UC Santa Barbara

*Don’t get upset at this list…this is total guesswork, just trying to get a conversation started that could help inform my decision and that of others. I’ve applied to schools in both groups and consider them all to be outstanding.

[PhD Applications Fall '18 Season]

45 minutes ago, Averroes MD said:

I don't think you necessarily need to cater each letter. Here is how the current letters sounds:

 

Dear Loser:

Your application to the PhD program at In-n-Out University was unsuccessful. This was determined after a thorough review of your application materials, and a comparison with the applicant cohort. Thank you very much for your interest in the program.

Sincerely,
Jerk Face

BUT, they could just say something like this:

 

Dear [Applicant],

Thank you for your interest in the PhD program at Shake Shack University. We appreciate the time and effort you took in applying, as well as the work you must have done to prepare yourself for graduate level work. Unfortunately, there are far too many applicants compared to available seats. This means that we are not able to offer seats to otherwise excellent applicants. Many of these unsuccessful applicants are accepted to our peer institutions, and others are successful in subsequent years. Therefore, we encourage you even in this time of disheartening news, and wish you well in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Not Jerk Face

Alternatively, we would encourage you to apply to our fully funded MSC program. At Shake Shack we take Sympathy and Condolence seriously. Please note, writing samples are limited to 1,000 characters and should represent your best work (and by best we mean empty, meaningless, and condescending, yet tender hearted).