aselfmadewinter

Early Christianity. I've got a particular interest in socio-economic approaches to New Testament narratives which involves alot of papyrological research as well as combing through Roman literature for tidbits of social scientific goodness.

Checked my status on McGill's website, and I've been admitted! Did anyone else apply there this year? I'm a bit worried about funding, going by what people have said in past years on this forum about their funding for RelStud.

I'd heard essentially the same thing from the department itself at UBC. Information should be available by late Febuary. That probably does not bode well for funding for anyone that hasn't heard back about acceptance yet, but you can never be sure. The good thing is that some money is available, or they wouldn't have anything to discuss.

Well, I got the acceptances that I wanted (UBC for RelStud/Classics interdisc and McGill for RelStud, though I'm still waiting for an official letter from McGill), and I'm just biding my time now waiting for funding info. I'm leaning more towards UBC right now (hence why I'm more active on this thread than on the one in the Religious Studies section), but I can only know for sure once I get some funding offers. The wait is killing me... acceptances might mean nothing if I can't afford to attend.

Haha, guess I'm the only one doing interdisc Religion/Classics. I actually don't know a single other person interested in it either.

I think that's what I'm going to have to do. Hopefully, I won't be just taking up someone else's spot until I know for sure, but it would be impossible to commit without being financially secure. I'll wait until I hear about internal funding first, but... well, I know that the school I'm thinking of offers very few substantial funding packages.

Sorry, I meant to say "I know people in the Religion Department there". You should definitely look into TAships though, UToronto is a great place to study.

Thanks for the info. That makes things very difficult then. Difficulty is just a part of the long hard academic road.

That's very normal for Toronto. I'm currently in U of T's Theology program (Toronto School of Theology) and I know people in the M.A. there, and it seems quite usual for U of T to give unfunded MA offers. Sometimes TAships are available, however. PhDs at U of T are guarenteed funding, which makes admission very competitive. On another note, the fact that you've been contacted about an MA probably means that my chances at a PhD are out there, but that's really alright, since I was expecting to get rejected on the basis of limited funding. Oh well, I've got two degrees from there already, and I'm in at McGill and UBC anyhow. I guess it's time for me to move on.

Does anyone have an idea of when the Docotoral awards are announced? I think I'm going to be in the position of choosing between a funded admission at a good school and a partly funded admission at a great school, both of whom will want to know my decision before April.

More news from Canada... McGill's Religious Studies department has begun updating statuses on their Minerva website. I've been "recommended by the department" there.

I just heard unofficially from someone on the adcom at the University of Toronto's St. Michael's College (Toronto School of Theology) about a probable PhD acceptance. It seems they're meeting this week. I'm not sure, but that probably means people who applied to Wycliffe, Regis, Trinity, etc. at the U of T's Toronto School of Theology will be hearing back soon. Just thought I'd share that for anyone thinking about studying theology in Canada. Of course, results from the Religion Department at UToronto will probably come back much later (speaking from experience).

That's kind of funy, because I got my official letter from UBC today informing me of acceptance into the PhD program, and lo and behold, it was dated Jan 28. Supposedly, Vancouver to Toronto has a four day delivery standard by Canada Post, but whatever. Let that be a lesson to anyone applying to Canadian schools and waiting for a reply through the postal service.

Religious Studies, which is the same department as Classics at UBC. The reason I applied to UBC is because my research involves alot of 1st century Hellenistic papyrology, so I'm going to be doing alot of interdisciplinary (RelStud/Classics) stuff. I heard back by e-mail from the department on the 12th and got an e-mail from the FoGS on the 31st, but I'm still waiting on my paper letter. I live in Ontario so it could take up to five business days by Canada Post. Should be coming any day now...

Thanks for the info. I've been told by the department that they hope to hear about funding soon, but that they might not know exactly how much they have until after the SSHRC results come out in April. I was told that they expected to give me funding, and it was also implied that TA positions are a possibility, but I've heard nothing concrete. Well, that's how it goes with Canadian universities, I guess. Boy, I wish I'd been on this forum when applying for my MA. Sharing and getting info really helps my peace of mind. @Gutian, I wouldn't worry just yet. I spoke to the department graduate admin back at the beginning of January and I was told that the PhD acceptances go out really early and that the MA acceptances go out much later. Why that is, I'm not really sure, but that's what I was told. Barring a miraculous offer of full funding from McGill, I'm hoping to attend UBC, so I'm glad to hear from others applying there. Also, @dynamite, I'm just guessing from the info you had that you've applied there as well. If so, what program? (And a big yikes at hearing about funding in August, that doesn't sound fun at all!)

Ditto what was said before about UBC. PhD acceptances are out, I don't know where they are in terms of considering MAs, but, speaking from experience, it takes a long time for official acceptances to get processed. I got an email from the adcom on Jan 12 telling me I was in, and an email on Jan 31 from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, but still no paper letter and no info on funding. Has anyone else heard about funding from UBC?

Congrats! I just got official notice today of acceptance to UBC (finally!). Now I'll just have to settle in for the long wait to hear from my alma mater, Toronto... I hear they send their info out really late.

Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto has a new MTS in development. They also offer a ThM.

I haven't much about the MA applicants, except that they'll be loking at the MA applicants after they figure out how many PhDs they want to admit. I didn't hear that from Hector Williams though, that was just from the graduate administrator. I'm still waiting on the graduate unit to process my acceptance, so I still don't have a paper letter. I've heard they can take up to a month to get to that. I gather that UBC will contact you as soon as they've decided, which is what happened to me. In all likelihood, it's too early to know much about the MA applicants. I wouldn't worry too much just yet. If the graduate unit hasn't even processed the first round of PhDs, you're probably still well in the running. I have to say, their faculty is really helpful and willing to answer questions. I really like the program alot, and having the Museum of Anthropology on the university campus is a big plus.

It was indeed good news, and I was informed that I've been recommended by the department to be accepted into the PhD program, so now I'm just waiting on an official paper letter. I'm Canadian, and I'd rather stay in Canada, so I'm seriously considering going there. Because the program is very interdiscplinary, I'd be taking both Classics and Religious Studies courses. I actually really like that, because New Testament studies is currently deeply affected by what goes on in Classics these days. I was kind of hoping to see who else has been accepted there and what sorts of research interests they have. I assume that their first round of acceptances has probably gone out by now, but I can never be sure. It would be neat to hear from someone in the same department and cohort before actually even beginning the degree.

As for as U of Toronto goes, the professors there seem to be very open to communication. I've done my BA and MA there, and I can say that it can't hurt to contact them. You could still easily get an acceptance without doing that, but I don't see why wou shouldn't contact someone anyways.

Out of curiosity, did anyone here apply to UBC (British Columbia) this year? I'm actually a Religious Studies guy, but at UBC Classics and Religion are part of the same department. I heard back from them on Jan12, and I've been wondering if they've contacted others yet, or if anyone else from this forum is thinking about going there.

Yeah, I thought that was how it worked until I checked my OGS status and found out that my application had never been received and that I was disqualified. I think I may have been ineligible because I applied through St. Michael's at U of T and their PhD program is ineligible for OGS. Whatever, I'm not gonna overthink it.

Is it weird that my app got forwarded from the university for SSHRC but not OGS? I suspect that might have something to do with eligibility, but... man, who knows. I think it's weird. About a third of the SSHRC apps from U of Toronto got forwarded, so I'll just count my blessings.

Might I suggest that you think about an M.A.? I know alot of people, especially in the U.S., treat the M.A. with disdain, but it not only teaches you how to do academic research, but also primes you on the current academic scope of your field. I'm Canadian, and all of our major universities here require an M.A. for PhD admission in Religious Studies, and I personally like that. My thought would be that having no academic bakground in your subject area and only a B.A. in something other than your field will probably hurt your chances of acceptance substantially, but I can't be sure if it would be the same in the U.S., and I might have no idea what it's really like. It's quite possible, however, to get into an M.A. without much academic experience in your field, particulalry if your field is Rel Stud. I know dozens of people who have managed that. Of course, finding a funded M.A. is alot harder than finding a funded PhD, but if you find yourself unable to get into PhD programs, I'd suggest you consider an M.A. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here, I'm open to it.