pax et caritas

Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification! Do you have any sense of whether German or French would be more useful as a researcher who's interested in the intersection of politics and theology?

All of this is quite helpful, thank you. I'm really leaning toward French now (which is what I was hoping for, haha). What exactly do you mean by 'a lot of them prefer ... an applicant to have one research language already done'?

I haven't decided where I'm attending in the fall, but I'm already trying to figure out how which modern language I'd like to study (I'll be in either an MDiv or MTS program, which are 3 and 2 years long respectively). What do y'all think: should I continue to solidify my German (currently intermediate for reading, writing, speaking—I have a minor in German), or should I branch out and study French? My main goal is to make myself a more desirable PhD applicant in either some religious studies field or political theory after my MDiv/MTS. I'm wondering if German would be my best choice with this goal in mind; it might be better to speak German closer to an academic level than to speak both French and German at an intermediate level. I might be wrong, though. Outside of that goal, I'm leaning toward French. I've grown to appreciate its beauty (insofar as someone can appreciate it from the outside) over the past few years, and I like the idea of having an additional language to use if I travel or study abroad. Plus, it might be the case that having basic proficiency in French and German makes me a stronger candidate after all. Or maybe the criteria by which I'm deciding this is off. Open to y'all's thoughts!

Received a call a minute ago that I was accepted to Duke Divinity School! The lady said I'll receive an official email later today and that I'd hear more about financial aid next week.

That's helpful to keep in mind. I'd certainly consider going even if I only got a small amount of funding. Maybe I can find some external scholarships.

Yeah, I'm supposed to let them know my decision by April 17th... really hoping word on funding comes before that, haha. Did you list a preferred college on your app? I put Blackfriars. I'm wondering if funding through the college would be my best bet.

I received an official letter of acceptance to Oxford's postgraduate diploma (PGDip) in Theology and Religion this morning. I originally had applied to the Master of Studies (MSt) in Theology, but an admissions official emailed about a week or so ago and asked if I would agree to my application being redirected (and informally accepted) to the PGDip. I agreed. I'm wondering: has anyone heard of PGDip students being funded at all? For those who don't know what the PGDip is (like myself before I received the email): it's essentially a degree below an MSt, commonly understood as a masters without a dissertation. Here's the page for it: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/pgdip-theology-and-religion?wssl=1. It's recommended that folks who don't have a previous degree in theology apply for this course, and given that my degree is in philosophy and political science, this might be why I was redirected. I imagine the chances of funding are low, but I wanted to see if anyone here has any experience or knowledge of this kind of situation. Oxford would be a wonderful place to study, but I'm not optimistic about it being a practical choice financially.

Anyone know when we should expect to hear back from UChicago?

Congratulations! I'm happy for you. And yeah, perhaps so! I wonder how popular each concentration is. Does anyone know of any stats on that?

The wording of the email leads me to think all offers have been made ("This year we made 22 initial offers across the six areas of study and are aiming for a class of 20 students with a good balance across the areas. If our yield this year is comparable to previous years, we would expect 16-20 of the first offers to accept. As of now, we have had one informal acceptance and no declines.") I don't know what number I am on the waitlist. I don't imagine I'm at the top, so I'm making peace with not getting in! I hope you get in.

Moral Theology! I'm sorry to hear that. Did you apply again?

I was notified this morning that I'm on the waitlist for Notre Dame's MTS program. Does anyone have a sense as to how likely it is for someone on the waitlist to get an offer? I assume it's quite low, especially for this program. Though the person who emailed me told me he thinks there's a decent chance they get to the waitlist this year, in case that's helpful information for anyone else. I hope everyone is having a happy Valentine's day!

I'm sorry to hear this. I'm glad you're already looking ahead, though. I believe in you!

Was notified yesterday that I got into Boston College's MTS program with a 100% tuition scholarship! Hoping I can get an assistantship as well. Living Boston would be lovely, but a bit expensive.

Had an interview with Boston College (for MTS) last Wednesday—think it went okay! Does anyone know when Boston College or Duke release decisions for MDiv/MTS?

I received a call from the Dean of Admissions at Candler today; he told me I was accepted to their MDiv program! Also applied to HDS, YDS, Boston College, ND, Duke, U Chicago, and Oxford (thank goodness for application fee waivers). Fingers crossed.

Thanks for your response—I’ve been having to remind myself that’s it’s okay, even beneficial to a degree, to find potential supervisors whose work doesn’t affirm some of my beliefs. I’ll certainly be keeping your advice in mind.

I did the math review in the ETS study book, but that's basically it. Granted, it was a fairly large section of the book, and I probably took about a month with it. You're absolutely right about the writing sample. I've recently decided I'm going to write basically a new one, so I might need to focus on that.

This was extremely helpful, thank you. It’s a little frustrating, because I think I’d be more interested in receiving the more philosophical training, but I also want my research to focus on practical applications of contemporary political theories to, say, what I take to be some of liberalism’s failure. With that in mind, do you think I’d be better suited for one or the other?

I’m a recent graduate who doubled in philosophy & political science, and I’m going to be applying to grad school this fall. I know “political theory” and “political philosophy” are sometimes used interchangeably, but it looks like they’re considered separate programs at some universities. I’m trying to figure out which one I would be better suited for. As far as I understand it, political theorists tend deal with more empirical data and political philosophers have a more generalized and normative approach and often, as the name suggests, do more philosophy. But is that the extent of the differences? Is there anything else I should know when making my decision, like differences in the job market or competitiveness of admissions?

For context, I am a political science/philosophy double major and German minor, and I intend on applying to political theory PhD programs this fall. The ones I’m most interested in are Notre Dame, Duke, Georgetown, U Chicago, Catholic University, and maybe Cambridge or another European university if I’ve got enough money to spare. My GRE scores are V: 162 Q: 156 A: 5.5. Most of the schools I listed above have slightly higher averages for verbal and quant, so I’m wondering if I should bite the bullet and retake the test. Thing is, I don’t have a lot of money to spend (especially since I’m saving up to pay for application fees), and my score is decent, so I’m wondering whether it’s worth investing the extra time (for studying) and money to take the test again. I won’t be hurting if I take the time and money to take it again, but it wouldn’t be ideal. For what it’s worth, the rest of my application should be decent to strong (lengthy list of extracurriculars, good LORs, 3.85 GPA, and -hopefully- a good writing sample). Any feedback is much appreciated!

For context, I am a political science/philosophy double major and German minor, and I intend on applying to political theory PhD programs this fall. The ones I’m most interested in are Notre Dame, Duke, Georgetown, U Chicago, Catholic University, and maybe Cambridge or another European university if I’ve got enough money to spare. My GRE scores are V: 162 Q: 156 A: 5.5. Most of the schools I listed above have slightly higher averages for verbal and quant, so I’m wondering if I should bite the bullet and retake the test. Thing is, I don’t have a lot of money to spend (especially since I’m saving up to pay for application fees), and my score is decent, so I’m wondering whether it’s worth investing the extra time (for studying) and money to take the test again. I won’t be hurting if I take the time and money to take it again, but it wouldn’t be ideal. For what it’s worth, the rest of my application should be decent to strong (lengthy list of extracurriculars, good LORs, and -hopefully- a good writing sample). Any feedback is much appreciated!

I’m a recent graduate who doubled in philosophy & political science, and I’m going to be applying to grad school this fall. I know “political theory” and “political philosophy” are sometimes used interchangeably, but it looks like they’re considered separate programs at some universities. I’m trying to figure out which one I would be better suited for. As far as I understand it, political theorists tend deal with more empirical data and political philosophers have a more generalized and normative approach and often, as the name suggests, do more philosophy. But is that the extent of the differences? Is there anything else I should know when making my decision, like differences in the job market or competitiveness of admissions?