colormelovely

It's unclear from the results page whether they're for the MA or MDiv.

How many years of funding is normal for a PhD in religious studies, theology, etc.? 5-ish?

Anyone else hear from IU-Bloomington? So far, I've got into IU (MA-PhD), Duke (MA), Candler (MTS), and Minnesota (MA).

Anyone else hear back from IU-Bloomington?

I applied for the MA and received the same email.

Just heard back from Duke University today (not the divinity school). I was accepted to the MA but no word yet on funding. Just an email from the graduate school, nothing from the department yet.

What's your subfield? I also applied to Syracuse.

I'm applying for Masters actually. I'm going to the conference last-minute (as a result of strange circumstances), and I'm looking for ways to make the best of my time there.

Hi everyone, Does anyone know if any graduate programs are hosting a prospective student meeting (or something similar) at the AAR this weekend? I just found out that U of Chicago is doing this, and I wonder if other schools do similar things.

The only one I'm aware of is Candler, and unfortunately, the dealine for an admission fee waiver was in October, I think.

Thanks for the very helpful advice, everyone! To be clear: Is it acceptable to email POIs for M* programs? I feel a bit hesitant only because its only two years, and faculty may be generally less concerned with M* students.

I was under the impression that GRE scores mattered less at the MA level (even at top schools; Yale doesn't accept them, for instance). At least I hope since my Quant. score was pretty bad.

Hi all, I'm applying for Yale's concentrated Master's degree; however, I'm unsure about what "track" my interests fit into. I'm mainly interested in conceptions of gender/women/sexuality in ancient Christianity. Since language competency is critical for this sub-field, the Bible track seems to be the most fitting. However, I'm assuming that this track is the most competitive so I'm considering applying for the Women, Gender, and Sexuality track (I have a hunch that it gets less applicants than the Bible). But I doubt that the Women/Gender track would emphasize language work or maybe it's possible to for me to "customize" my own track to fit my interests. So any thoughts? I'm thinking about emailing a POI about this, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for the reply, sacklunch. I tried to PM you, but it wouldn't let me.

Thanks for the helpful reply!

Hey all, I'm looking for your thoughts on research interests for MAs. I'm a undergraduate student at the moment (preparing apps for fall 2015), and I feel that my interests are still very broad, which makes writing my SOP tricky. I'm probably overthinking this because a committee can't expect incoming MA students to know exactly what they want to do--Is it correct to assume this?

If you don't mind sharing, what was your undergrad preparation like? I'm curious about the criteria YDS expects for the comprehensive vs. the concentrated.

And which state schools have reputable programs in Religious Studies?

That's an excellent placement record. But if a department doesn't list their placement (it seems like a lot of M* programs don't), would it be appropriate to contact someone and ask?

Do you have info about their placement into Ph.D programs?

Thanks for reply! Can you give me an idea about the standard amount of language preparation that is expected for a beginning Ph.D student? (In ancient Mediterranean/Near Eastern religion). I've done (I think?) a decent amount of language prep. during my undergrad (Greek, Arabic, Latin) but no Hebrew--I've heard that at least two years is expected.

Hi! I'm looking for some advice/insight about Columbia's joint M.Phil-Ph.D and/or Rice's Ph.D in religion. I haven't seen any conversation on this forum about either programs. I'm applying this fall for various M.A.s and maybe some joint M.A.-Ph.Ds. I'm interested in gender, sexuality, and women in ancient Christianity/Near East. Both programs seem to be able to cater to my interests, and Rice's program is particularly appealing to me because of its emphasis on mysticism and Gnosticism. Since I'm an undergraduate, Rice probably isn't an option right now because there's no (funded) M.A., however, I'm interested to see if anyone has any thoughts on either program. Or, any thoughts in general about programs that could fit my interests. Thanks

I will be applying for MA programs directly out of undergrad.

Hi everyone, I will be applying for the fall 2015 application season, and I'm looking for advice about SOPs. I've heard differing opinions about mentioning faculty who I want to work with in my statement; is this okay to do? I had someone tell me that it would sound artificial to do so; instead, he suggested that I should just talk about interests and how they match the department's not a specific person. Thoughts?

I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on the combination of women studies and Christianity/women in the NT since I might develop my Master's writing sample on this subject. It seems to be a "hot" area of study but I wonder if it will stay that way.