tcb-ing

Sogdia is right. At UVa it is all about "fit," and relationships. It really helps to visit and/or to be in touch with the faculty throughout the process. For the administration it may be a numbers game, but for the faculty (who ultimately make the choices) it is not. Most people who are puzzled by the lack of writing sample requirement ask thier POI about it personally, to find out what thier preference is (some want it, others don't).

Just FYI for those interested in ethics/environmental ethics: it was just announced today that Willis Jenkins has accepted a position at UVa, and will be leaving new haven for charlottesville next year.

The MA program is not super-difficult to get into, from what I understand. Although, if you are thinking of moving straight into a PhD program in TEC I wouldnt count on it. Have you thought about applying in History of Religions? TEC has the lowest acceptance rate of all the areas at UVa.

PTS is probably the best place in America to study modern protestant theology right now. Folks there are not afraid to do straight up dogmatics/systematic theology. Yale and Duke are good too. As far as feeder schools for PhD in systematic theology I would say those are your best bet.

If you come to PTS you will have to do two field ed placements (most often one will be during the academic year and the other during the summer). You will be paid, although sometimes the church will pay you and at other times the seminary will pay on the church's behalf. A typical academic field ed stipend will be around $1100-1300/ semester (for about 12 hr/week of work). One tip though - you probably will not do field ed during your first year. It may help you qualify for princeton's (ample) need-based aid if you dont plan on having that income.

Duke and Emory also have good JD/Mdiv programs. But I also think its important to think about why you want to do both because it is a big investment.

I saw on the results that somebody heard from Vanderbilt T&P - anybody else hear from them or know more about it?