[2009 Application: Religion-Theology-Philosophy of Religion]

eskidd said:

Sbyoda:

It sounds like you are pretty competitive, I would apply anywhere and everywhere you want to go. The only thing that would keep you out of any school would be pure arbitrariness (which is a strong factor, I admit). BC/Weston places students in awesome programs. And from what I can tell, Catholic sexual ethics is a niche that will actually help you (unlike philosophy of religion and patristics, which should be avoided like the plague). I imagine that BC is the best place for you to be, what with Lisa Cahill. Don't worry about not being published, it's pretty rare, by no means expected, and I don't know anyone who was accepted in ND's incoming PhD class who was. Emory and Fordham might also be a good place to look, they have awesome people for feminist studies and I'm pretty sure Fordham does a lot in sexual ethics. You should also check out ND, it wouldn't be as strong in that area I don't think, but there are a couple of people you could work with (Cathy Hilkert is wonderful).

Sbyoda, I agree with eskidd about your competitive credentials and the not worrying about publishing, but also about the unfortunate uncertainty of the doctoral admission process. With so many strong applicants and so few spots, it's just really difficult to gauge the likelihood of admission, especially at a top-tier school (which is what a lot of us are going through right now). But several professors have told me the significance of the SoP and submitting a polished writing sample, which is probably advice countless others in this forum can attest to have heard as well. In terms of where you have done masters work (and where letters of recommendation come from), I've heard applicants from more well-known programs have a slight advantage, but I was at Emory's Finalists Weekend a few weekends ago and there were applicants (I think about 40 in all) from a myriad of schools: Duke, Union Sem, BC, BU, Harvard, Yale, Princeton Sem, Emory, Columbia Sem, ND, Chicago, Vanderbilt, TCU, WUSTL, Rice, Villanova, and I didn't come close to meeting all of the folks there.

[Yale or Princeton?]

Thanks for the info on Yale, Sinope and cavedan. I am waiting to hear from both Princeton and Yale, but I'll admit that I'm less hopeful after being put on the alternate list with Duke.

[2009 Application: Religion-Theology-Philosophy of Religion]

On a happier note, congrats to the folks accepted to Emory! :mrgreen: (green with envy)

And congrats to those who got into the doctoral program at Graduate Theological Union! From what I hear, it's a nice blend of university and seminary in the Bay Area. Hope you get more good news when it comes to funding.

[Recruitment Weekends]

Schools, from what I know, vary with how they do their recruitment weekends. Some schools do them in Feb. and early Mar. in concert with interviews for their finalists. Other schools do them in late Mar. and Apr. for admitted students only. Baylor, Emory, and Notre Dame invite all finalists for (very important) interviews during their recruitment weekend. In the past, I've heard Duke and Yale had interviews for finalists as well, but don't know how they are going to do it this year. Hopefully, some other folks can be of better assistance in answering your question.

[GRE scores/Application strength]

Duke's GPR posts the average GRE scores for matriculating doctoral students every year. In 2007-08, it was 760V and 720Q. In 2008-09, it was 729V and 739Q. I'm sure some scores were higher and some were lower, but it provides a general (and more official) idea of what they are looking for in applications.

[Religious Ethics]

On Jan. 23, Emory's GDR website announced their Finalists Weekend. I think all of the finalists in their ten courses of study were contacted two weeks ago. Other than Notre Dame's Finalist Weekend (Feb. 26-28), I don't know about any other schools.