sacklunch

Search around a bit on the forum and you may find some useful measures for funding. But in brief the usual programs (I'm going off of MTS/MAR here) that fund well are ND (as you mentioned), HDS, and YDS. 'Middle' funding (c 50%) are VDS, Candler, BU, BC, Chicago, and Duke. As far as the 'best' M* programs in NT? I guess it depends on your interests within the field. Theological? Historical? Philological? All of those and more? At this stage you naturally have fairly broad interests (a good thing, I think), so I don't think it matters a great deal where you go, except to say that where you do end up will undoubtedly influence your interests thereafter. If you have theological or secular allegiances, you may not find yourself comfortable at some of the above places. What do you want to do after the degree? Academia? I should also mention it's important to look at what kind of students X department has. So, for example, if you would like to continue on to doctoral work, you may find a better home at a school with a more balanced number of MTS/MAR students to MDiv, while some programs with less MTS/MAR may have less of an emphasis on training hopeful/future academics.

From what I understand NES at UCB is fairly stagnant. Boyarin is almost certainly not taking students at this point, though he may still be teaching a bit (Emeritus?). You would be better off looking into Stanford (RS), I think, though they just lost a key scholar in the area to UPenn this year. I know nothing about their Ancient History Dept. except to say that it is known to be excellent. Unless they have faulty which specifically work in EJ/EC, however, I don't think they would take such a student unless s(he) has a heavy amount of classical language background (and even if one were accepted she would be expected to be at a doctoral level in those languages, as well as Hebrew/Aramaic).

It really depends on your area of interest. Like anything else, you will get mixed opinions. Some secure a spot with 'only' an MTS, others have 5-6 years of M* before starting a PhD. In brief I would say apply to both and see what happens. I would recommend applying applying to other M* instead of the ThM. They are almost always unfunded. Apply far and wide and see what happens. That's what most of us did.

Languages. Apply far and wide and go where the money is.

Good call. I'm not sure where I saw the 4.5% acceptance. It was from a page associated with Duke. Perhaps it was, as you rightly point out, related specifically to NT (which along with EC has historically been the most competitive track).

That's for the PhD in the Graduate Program in Religion. The ThD, while also very competitive, is slightly less so. Last year Duke's 'overall' acceptance rate in the PhD was somewhere around 4.5%. This is more or less the same at the big names in the field.

I suspect having an interdisciplinary degree from a place like ND wouldn't be as bad. But, yes, I still think it would be seen negatively by many in the field, especially 'classically' trained historians. When I applied for PhD programs I applied to ND's PhD in Literature, which is somewhat similar in that it allows one to study "literature" (I do ancient history) in broader ways (methodologies from history, classics, and so on). Ultimately I'm glad I didn't end up there as I was worried the nature of such a degree would have made it more unlikely for, say a history department, to hire such a person rather than someone with a PhD in history. It's still worth applying, of course. One thing that struck me is how small the stipend and (lack of) summer funding available to many of ND's PhD students in the humanities. I ended up securing a spot in a different program there and it was about the same as a state school's funding package. This may have just been that program. But it's important to consider as you may have to apply for competitive summer funds and the like.

The link you posted is from two years ago (which is also useful!). Last year can be found here:

If your seminary has more of an emphasis on biblical languages than the average program then you might not need a ThM or another M*. The MDiv at many divinity schools is jam packed full of requirements, which makes plenty of sense for the intended purpose of the degree. It is not uncommon for students to finish the MDiv and really have only taken a few advanced classes in their area of interest. Perhaps another concern with the MDiv is many students take courses with other students with no formal background, thus changing the level of requirements for the course and discourse level within; the ThM is often the time to show what you're made of (viz. doctoral courses, maybe a thesis, and so on). As you likely already know almost all ThM degrees are unfunded. You might consider as an alternative applying to some better funded M* degrees in related areas just to get some funding, even if you don't actually finish the degree (I have a friend who did an MDiv and an MTS after, another who has 2 MTS degrees, and so on). Either way, there's no reason to not apply to both M* and PhD programs. Good luck mate.

Your previous training may or may not be adequate depending on what you want to do in the PhD program. What sort of work are you interested in/plan on proposing within NT? Further, some programs have a big emphasis on philology, some on theory, and so on. To some your lack of classical Greek/Latin will be a red flag, for others it will not. The same goes with German and/or French (competitive applicants usually have one started before applying). I'm also not sure submitting a writing sample on something controversial, at least given your worries of being seen as too conservative, is the best idea. It works for plenty of people, but your comment that you are including positions from such a disparate number of areas may further indicate my hunch. You don't want to submit a paper that has positions represented from Methodists alongside "Judaism," unless your paper is about exactly that topic, that is, how Methodist and "Jewish" interpretations of X passage in the NT are significant because Y. Anyways, this is a difficult process and one you learn about by asking. Give us some more information on your proposed sample and area of interest. best

Conference presentations, even regional ones, are perfectly fine to add.

Agreed! As I mentioned I'm pretty sure they are now giving a couple full rides, which makes the program much more attractive. Either way, apply far and wide and see what happens.

For what it's worth I have a much different perspective of the program. I'd rather not divulge personal information about myself or others unless it is via PM, so feel free to message me. But in short, I think you're wrong. The program typically takes half a dozen students a year, so it's difficult to compare the success of its students to the big name Div schools which pump out hundreds of graduates a year. Though as a quick measure of its success rate, students graduating from the MA last year secured spots at Duke (Religion and another in Sociology), UChicago, UVA, UCSB, UMich, ND, and so on (and others I know for sure also receiving interviews at good places). This is pretty decent, I think. It's also worth mentioning that supposedly the MA is now fully funding one or two of the incoming students. Though, yes, you are correct in that previously all students received 50% off (compare with Duke MTS which usually gives 25%-50%).

If we are considering 'divinity schools' I can't see any reason to apply to PTS over somewhere like HDS. PTS, as far as I know, still does not offer an 'academic' M* degree (excluding the ThM). Conversations such as this often presume the person applying has personal interests in studying 'religious materials' (almost always Christian here) and thus doing something like an MDiv at PTS (and most other places for that matter) and not being Christian would not go terribly well (and in some cases would prevent the applicant from being admitted). You would be better served doing a RS or Classics focused program to maximize your time and best prepare you for doctoral admissions. Unfortunately some of the seminaries offer better funding (plus the fact that their admission rates are quite high), making it seem more attractive. If you can stomach the theistic overtones of such places they would no doubt prepare you well. It's just something to consider as I myself wasn't quite prepared for how awkward/discriminatory it can be studying anything relating to Christianity in such settings and not being Christian.

Lots of international schools do the same. Canadian schools, for example, often take citizens first because international students cost a lot more. I think this is somewhat common across the board, though admittedly the way they addressed this 'issue' was less than diplomatic. Move on, mate.

Don't waste your time with the MTS, save for maybe HDS (they are more open about languages). Such programs will simply not allow you to get the languages. Duke Div, for example, is notorious for not offering full rides and its MTS is packed full of bloated requirements. The MA in RS, on the other hand, only requires you to take one class and the rest is up to you (you could take a bunch of languages if that's what you need!). You might also look into ND's ECS, though they usually prefer students who have some sort of background in classics (plus they have very touch admissions). It's in Canada, but Uni of British Columbia has a great department/M* degrees combining religion, classics, and ANE. You're coming from a top UG school with good stats, which means you will most likely get in everywhere you apply (all of these schools excluding ND have incredibly high admission rates vis-a-vis other terminal M*'s in the humanities). cheers

All Toronto PhD's in this area are funded, though I have heard they tend to prefer Canadians first because it's cheaper than taking on international students.

Those are fine. Keep em and move on to more important aspects of your application.

Those are well above average, good even. Your verbal would be acceptable for top PhD programs, though your quant is a bit low. In sum, your scores will still be substantially better than most. Keep em and move on.

Bleak prospects have made me more optimistic, weirdly enough. If you're lucky to get a decent stipend (i.e. private school) or live in a cheaper area (or both), then you will be making more money doing a PhD than waiting tables anyways. It's funny that as a PhD student I am making more money than I have ever made, and I'm getting to study things that interest me. If when I finish I have to work at Walmart, oh well. I got paid decently well considering the economy to have a wonderfully unique experience and I'm not any worse off because of it. Thank you (?), shitty economy!

Because it's so uncommon I suspect it would be fine to take (great, even!). The only experience I have had with this was while taking a 'more common' language (Latin) at a top research university I had a friend who was taking the same level course at a community college (a very nice community college, actually). S(he) and I spoke about our own course throughout the semester and we concluded that my course moved through the material much more quickly. This isn't the case at many CC's I'm sure, but there it is. Because your language is so rare, though, I see no reason to not take it. The fact that it's so rare will be a huge bonus to your application, I would think?

I doubt you would stand much of a chance at all if you applied to some of those areas simply because you likely do not have the necessary language training. You may indeed have such training, but considering you studied American history I assume you do not/have very little. You will be competing against applicants who are fluent in English and whatever region specific language applicable to their subfield. Your writing sample, which I assume would not be something relevant to said fields, would be a dead giveaway that you lack such training. Be prepared to go back to school for another 2-4 years to get your footing in those languages.

Maybe some alumnae will chime in, but I think many of their students receive some sort of grant (ca. 50%?). Also, your stats are fine. FWIW, Vandy's acceptance rate is quite high.

Because your field says 'biblical studies/theology' I assume you will be doing something that requires a bit more language work. Tell us what sort of programs you are applying to and we can give you more specific answers.

It should be fairly broad/general, unless (as marx said) you are applying to a smaller program. There is nothing wrong with being open about your developing interests. That's what the M* is designed for, I think!