Theobuckeye

Georgetown's Theological and Religious Studies Program does not do interviews, unless for some reason they've changed things since I started here two years ago. I didn't hear anything until my decision was posted in early March.

I'm currently in Georgetown's Theological and Religious Studies PhD program. We tend to take classes in each other's departments and overlap in activities and groups, etc. There is much respect for the Arabic and Islamic Studies program, not only within Georgetown, but in the broader academic community. There are some top-notch scholars of Islam here in DC! If you want to work with international relations and religious dialogue, you can't go wrong at Georgetown. But it is expensive to live around DC, and many students commute a bit to save.

I did what many people do: Re-taking the GRE (multiple times), refining my Statement of Purpose, improving my CV with publications, etc. But what I believe helped the most was going back for a second Master's. I did my MDiv at a small seminary in my denomination. After my first two failed cycles, I did a ThM at a larger seminary in a different denomination. The ThM was more research oriented, but perhaps more important was the fact that my Letters of Recommendation were now coming from better-known scholars. Furthermore, I made a real effort to build a relationship with the department chair and the professors who were working in my field. I made two self-funded trips and sent plenty of emails. As one of my former professors told me, don't underestimate the value of face-to-face contact. I think that my desire for a PhD was obvious to the admissions committee, and they knew that if I was going to put that much work into just getting in that I was going to complete what I started. Best of luck to all!

I just found out that I was accepted to Georgetown's Theological and Religious Studies program! This is my third attempt at Georgetown and my seventh (yes, you read that correctly) application cycle. Never give up!

After being rejected by UVA multiple times, I decided to only apply to Georgetown this cycle. (I need to be close to northern/central Virginia) I have had a number of positive conversations with members of their faculty, and was waitlisted two years ago. I just can’t seem to get over that final hurdle.

Congratulations on the acceptances. Where did you get in, if you don’t mind me asking?

I reapplied to Georgetown again this year and have not heard anything.

I received the link to the rejection notice on the Georgetown portal in the morning (3/20) and then the email came around 5 pm that evening.

My rejection was posted this morning, too. No email.

For those waiting to hear from Georgetown's Theological and Religious Studies Program: I emailed the Director of Grad Studies and he replied yesterday, saying that they hope to finalize decisions this week. I'm trying to not read too much into that either way.

I've not heard anything yet. Based on the results page it looks like some years they haven't announced until March 16, while last year I received a wait list email from Georgetown on February 16.

I did my MDiv at a small seminary within my denomination and after two failed attempts to get into a good PhD program completed a ThM at a different, larger seminary in a different, larger denomination. My stats are good, I've held a number of leadership positions, and padded my CV with publications. So far the only acceptances I've received are non-funded in a program at a state school that isn't known for religious studies. I think a large part of my struggle has to do with the perceived quality of these seminaries.

Last year Georgetown sent out acceptance/wait list letters for the Theology and Religious Studies program on February 16. Traditionally they were sent out the last week of February or first week of March. There is a new chair of grad studies this year, which may also affect the timing. I'm anxiously awaiting to hear from them again this year, too.