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Hi, everyone: I have an M.Div. from Vanderbilt and was wondering if this would be a hindrance to an application towards a doctoral program in English literature. My theological education has certainly shaped my approach to many things, including literature, but I'm wondering if this will make me a throwaway candidate or an interesting one. I studied religion because I was interested in the intersection between religion and gender/sexuality. I think in many senses literature offers more freedom to wrestle with those issues, though, and so thought I'd apply to study queer memoirs. Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in particular is a favorite read of mine and her companion piece, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, which both deal with the coming out story of someone in the midst of an oppressive religious atmosphere. I'm also wondering if it would be easier to achieve a space in a PhD program if I proposed study in nonfiction vs fiction. Thanks for any and all feedback.

What good news! I'll definitely submit an application to DU-Iliff. They've got a lot of great stuff going on in the realm of gender and sexuality, so I'll be most happy to touch base with them. A further question for folks, given the Catherine Keller recommendation earlier--does anyone have experience or knowledge of Drew beyond its theology department? Keller is a definite draw but I know they accept a limited number of philosophy/theology students per year. I'm wondering if I should perhaps apply in another area and list her as an additional advisor. I think my intended study is something they'd be interested in, but I don't know that I have the stellar GPA or will receive an outstanding GRE to provide me one of those 1-4 spaces.

Delightful news! And yes, as long as I'm in a program that is open-minded about the incorporation of process theology I'll be fine. I catch a lot of flack for process being "unbiblical," "unorthodox," and ultimately, "un-Christian," so I want to make sure there's support and room for creative growth. I'm having the most difficult time constructing my statement of purpose. I don't want to be too vague but I don't want to be too specific either. Ugh. Time to research papers published at respective universities.

I'm going to cast a wide net. If I catch anything, I'll exercise discernment then.

Heard back from my first POI, who encouraged me to apply!

Lol, well I probably need full funding. Vanderbilt was a kick in the bank accounts. Also was just linked to the DU/Iliff connection. Silly me. Figured Duke must've undergone a radical change lol... Denver makes much more sense.

I actually emailed Catherine Keller yesterday to see if she was accepting. Drew is #1 on my list, as I am closer to a process theologian than a systematic one. I'm also looking at Claremont due to their center for process studies. Does anyone know how competitive those programs are? My GPA isn't stellar and I'm not confident about my GRE, so I'm hoping to lean on my sample, recs and SoP. And really? Duke has a good sexuality program? Most of the stories I heard had it as pretty unfriendly toward LGBTQ folk. I know powerhouse Hauerwas still gets pretty fidgety and tries to beat around the bush about it. I'd love to hear more.

Thank you all for the help! I had looked overseas but funding was an issue as was distance from family, so I think I'll be sticking to applications within the U.S. for now (potential Toronto). I'll be very brief.

How does this format look for an e-mail to a POI: Greetings, Dr. _________ : I hope this message finds you well. My name is ------- and I recently completed my Master of Divinity degree at ---------------------. I was introduced to your work during my M.Div. program and I drew on it heavily for the construction of my senior project, in which I explored --------------------------. I am making applications for doctoral programs and wanted to touch base with you to ask if you are accepting students for the 2014 fall term. I hope to build off of this research and broaden the scope of my project to include -------------------------------------. I wanted to see if this was the sort of research in which ----------------------------- is interested. I am most grateful for your time and assistance and hope you are having a wonderful semester. With thanks, --------------------------------- Too long? Too short? I feel like it's a little short but as a stranger I also don't want to clog their inbox with an unnecessarily long LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME letter. Any suggestions for additions or revisions would be much appreciated.

I'm feeling pretty abysmal about my chances--but I guess I'm my own toughest critic. Part of the reason is that I'm interested in studying queer theology and the intersections of religion, gender, sexuality and violence but I can't find many second- or third-tier programs. All of the programs I'm aware of that offer resources for research like this are at Harvard, Yale, Vanderbilt, etc. Le sigh.

I went to Vanderbilt and you'd fit right in there. Your narrative is as important to the admissions committee as your GPA, GRE and recommendations (they may not require GRE--I don't remember). There were many students with stories like yours.

Is anyone being bogged down by the "you're not smart enough, your GPA isn't high enough, you'll blow the GRE, what, what, what are you doing?" goblin? That's where I am at the moment. I'm reading books by my POIs so I can better cater my statement of purpose towards them but still... can't imagine who'd want little old me.

Hi there, If I could narrow it down a bit, I'd say Christology and violence through the lens of gender and sexuality (ie queer theology). I did a theology of the cross in light of bullying of/hate crimes against LGBTQ people. GTU is definitely on my list. I did my MDiv at Vandy. I'd considered applying to it but wasn't sure if a more diverse pedigree is more attractive to potential employers or if a different school's perspective would help me develop further.

Hi everyone, I've got some pretty decent schools in mind but I'm wondering about some good second and third tier programs in constructive Christian theology because I know it's competitive. My specific interest is Christology and violence.

Some professors don't like *** kissers? Delightful! I was surrounded by that sort of PhD student when I was in my MDiv program. I have an awful case of transparent face syndrome and just can't be that insincere no matter how hard I try. I can be pleasant, courteous, etc. but the kissing up thing just doesn't entice me.

It sure does! I'm applying to doctoral programs in theology and some in ethics and society. Thank you both for weighing in. I'm interested in studying the intersection of theology, gender/sexuality and violence. There are a number of scholars who've done great work in this area. I've heard it's good to touch base with professors beforehand because they recognize your name when reviewing applications. But I also didn't want to shoot myself in the foot by contacting them with empty questions or the wrong ones.

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask if others had any advice about contacting faculty members under whom they'd like to study at potential programs. I'm a painfully shy person so striking up conversations with strangers (read: fabulous scholars with whom I'm obsessed) doesn't come naturally to me. What kinds of questions are and aren't appropriate to ask? It's October now and applications are due December - February, so I hope I'm not doing this too late in the game. Any stories of past experiences or recommendations would be helpful and cherished.

Hi everyone, I've found several schools already in this area, but I wanted to ask for recommendations from you all. I'm interested in studying Christian theology with specific regard to issues of gender and sexuality. In my M. Div. program I constructed a theology of the cross in the light of the anti-LGBTQ bullying/youth suicides epidemic and I'd love to further my study in this area. Can anyone recommend good programs/scholars for someone interested in an area like this?

I definitely want to do theology. I just recall so many constructive courses in my M.Div. program requiring texts that we students eviscerated because they didn't really do any biblical work. Since many of us were training to do the clergy thing, we all thought, "Yes, this is great for graduate classes, but how do we bring this to our faith community when biblical concerns are a huge issue for our parishioners?"

Hi everyone, I'm interested in studying British literature from 20th century onward. I have a background in religion and would love to find a program where my religious interests would be well-nourished, even though I'd be predominately working with literature. I'm concerned with the role literature plays in the development of identity, especially at the intersection between religion and gender/sexuality. The reason is because as a gay man raised in an evangelical home, literature provided me both a safe haven and a space to wrestle with all the questions I felt the Church discouraged. When I got to college, Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit became a permanent fixture in my library. I've also loved Hollinghurst, Isherwood and Forster. I'm wondering if anyone here knows of any good literature programs or scholars that might suit this interest.

Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone might be able to recommend the best doctoral programs for theopoetics. I'm a process theology fanboy and theopoetics seems a great area to do my work because it incorporates process with narrative/postliberal theology and concerns of postmodernism. As someone who's done a lot of queer theology in the past, I also think this would be a good area since it focuses a great deal on embodiment and lived experience, which are crucial for LGBTQ people. I'd also like to work a little bit with Bible faculty. One of my greatest fears during my M.Div. program--and a fear voiced by many other LGBTQ people--was that the Bible had been monopolized by those on the anti-LGBTQ side of the argument and that LGBTQ people of faith had allowed it to be appropriated from them. I want the Bible to play a role in my theology, though it might be a different one than those on the other side of the theological fence. Are there any programs/faculty you'd all recommend? Especially ones that have resources for queer theologians?

Hi everyone, I'm whittling down potential doctoral programs to which I may apply but my interests in religion are vast and it's hard to know what area precisely I fall into. Would casting a wide net as far as study areas are concerned--and constructing different purpose statements for each individual program based on its strengths and faculty--be a terribly bad idea? Would anyone be willing to recommend programs if they know any that might fall under my interest areas? This will be quick and dirty, so apologies for lack of clarity. Will be happy to provide further info if needed. First, I terribly miss the study of literature. My undergraduate majors were English, writing, philosophy and religion. As a queer person who, during a very spiritually formative time in his life felt estranged from the Bible, literature became almost a sacred text to me. It allowed me to wrestle with questions of faith I couldn't elsewhere. I wonder about the relationship between religion, literature and queer people. Amongst my favorite books are Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Mel White's Stranger at the Gate. It's like memoir-witing becomes for these authors a practice of scriptio divina. I also love Bible study, though I have no preference between New Testament and Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. I'm once again interested in queer matters here, because I think it's important for queer people to know what to do with the Bible when they often have such a complex relationship with it (to many it's intimidating and has been used as a weapon against them) and they also may struggle to find themselves in it. I find the prophets especially intriguing, because of the language about the body that they so frequently use, and I think a lot of antipathy towards LGBTQ persons has to do with the body. I'm also interested in theologies of the body. My graduate thesis dealt with the Church and violence against queer people. I'd love an opportunity to expand on that. I also miss existentialism quite a bit from my philosophy major days. To work with figures like Kierkegaard, Barth and Tillich would be wonderful. I'd also love to explore absurdism. D Do any programs stick out as a good fit for any of these concerns? I think Emory's ethics faculty might be strong when it comes to religion, literature and queer people. I also think Drew might be a good choice for theologies of the body. Willing to consider any recommendations others may have.

Hi everyone, Ever since graduation (Dec. 11) life has been pretty tough. I left the city where I got my master's degree because I was encountering a lot of anti-LGBT bias during my job hunt. I thought I'd move back home, save up some money and then move elsewhere with better prospects. A year and a half later, I'm still stuck at home and in such a rut I'm losing faith I'll ever get out. The only job I've found thus far is a part-time secretarial position at a church. I find myself replacing toilet paper and picking up dead birds for the woman who teaches Spanish downstairs. I attended a top-ranked, private university for a Master of Divinity degree and am in substantial debt. I'm going nuts living with my family having experienced eight years of freedom. I don't know what to do. I've developed anxiety, depression, chronic back pain as a result of the tense muscles, an alarmingly high heart-rate (I'm not obese but in fact I'm pretty slender) and my psychologist has even said she thinks I'm dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder from some violent encounters I had with some bigoted strangers. I was told that if I got into a top-ranked program I'd be able to find jobs easily. On top of that, my financial counseling was utter crap and I'm wondering how I'll ever manage to pay off this debt. I was just wondering if anyone else was struggling with a situation like this. I had a wonderful time in grad school but am not sure it was worth what came after.

If you're looking for a position--tenure track or no--in an English department on a university campus, would a PhD with a creative writing dissertation be a sure way to shoot yourself in the foot? I love writing and would love to teach writing but would also like to be able to buy food and have a roof over my head.

That sounds, for lack of a better phrase, wicked awesome. I'm definitely going to put some research into Brown.