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braun_braun

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braun_braun last won the day on August 29 2011

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    New Testament PhD

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  1. LateAntique is,in my opinion, spot on: see who is working with whom on the department. A professor with 2 students in the last decade is probably not a good advisor. Other hints: look at your advisor's record as editor: Does he include former students in the contributions? This shows that he/she is really committed to help students thrive. Some advisors are known for not getting their students through: look at records, how long do students take to finish? compare statistics among advisors... and then talk to students to find out the rationale... and again, read between the lines.
  2. I am an advanced Phd student in a top institution. Just wanted to make a suggestion that very few people consider: adviser's personality. I am very very lucky and got the most wonderful one ever, but I know of many students that have dropped programs because the situation was untenable. Ask grad students in the program (sbl is perfect for that) and read between the lines.
  3. my advice was included in the thread: don't go to Harvard, Drew, Vanderbilt or Emory. Duke might be a good option and Yale have some people you might be interested in working with (others definitely not...). I don't know about Chicago or Notre Dame and how the "theological relationships" might work over there between catholics-evangelicals and other denominations. And that is pretty much the situation regarding the top programs (meaning fully funded programs). Seminaries are a whole different world in which you might feel much more comfortable but again they are hardly funded.
  4. I I fully agree with both statements, but i don't see how the author "then clarified in the post itself". To quote the heading post: "I want to study under professors who love Jesus as the Lord of their lives". I still think that my observation applies to such a qualification. In any case, to further a bit the conversation, Drew and Vanderbilt do not belong to that kind "of Jesus lovers", probably not Emory either. Duke might have some of them.
  5. Nobody sees a problem with the way the heading question is formulated? WHat does it mean to love Jesus? I know many people that "love Jesus" and stand on oppossites sites of the political/religious spectrum. If you mean "I want to study with mysoginists, homophobes and left-wing scholars, that's fine. Just say so...
  6. Well said, Libtheologian!!!! Yes, let's drop Duke off the list. I was just trying to be "objective" :-)
  7. I wouldn't say a 1st tier school is only about funding but that plays a huge role: it is also about a big research institution with top scholars, with a huge library not only in religion/theology but in humanities and all the other areas so interdisciplinary work can be easily carried out. It is about giving you the freedom to focus on your research and it is about funding you extensively when you go to deliver a conference or a paper.It is also about intelectual freedom with no pregiven religious agenda. My experience is that it is not only about those top scholars (obviously they play a huge role, or the name of the school, but also about the intellectual environment that surrounds them and the material oportunities you get: only research institutions can offer that. You know: yale, chicago, harvard, emory, vanderbilt, duke, notre dame....
  8. I know pretty well these people... they talk about the 'one and unique theology', dismissing any other attempt to be critical: " Like so many Jesuit theology departments, Boston College has drifted from the excitement of the post-Vatican II era to the banality of contextual theology" The banality of contextual theology????? Come on... Is there any theology that it is not contextual??? To me the problem whith this ranking is that it pretends to be objective and unbiased when it is probably the most ideological ranking I have ever met.
  9. I also come from an european background and that is why I label as 'traditionalist' those approaches that incorporate historical, sociological or literary criticism. By 'traditionalist' I mainly mean those programs which study the NT as a corpus of readings with an inherent meaning, regardless of the contextual circumstances of the reader. I consider 'critical' programs those much more focused on how we, as readers, construct the meaning in those texts. I realize that this division is an oversimplification but still it is very useful in order to choose a graduate program... Regarding this point i would consider the following question, do you want to focus on languages/history stuff or are you more prone to engage with Marx, Foucault, Derrida, Spivak, Butler.... so as to 'search for meaning' in the christian scriptures? This latter focus is hardly available in Europe and that's why I came to the States. On the other hand, rankings are so 'subjective'. Oikodendron if you search in internet for good advices to succeed in gradschool most webpages will tell you that more important than the prestige of the school is the prestige of certain professors. I would say this is a very good advice to follow as long as you balance it with a prestigious college. Again 'fit' is everything in the admission process. All those schools highly ranked only admit 1-2 students per year, out of a pool of 40-80. Even if you got an outstanding application they won't take you in unless you are a perfect fit. Finally, I think Drew and GTU (although not mentioned in those rankings) are excellent programs which have become more prestigious over time. The only problem there is funding.
  10. It obviously depends on the methods you want to master. I would say that for traditionalist focuses Yale (although I wouldn't consider Prof. Martin a traditionalist at all), Duke, Emory and Notre Dame are excellent bets. For postmodernism and critical approaches I would mention Vanderbilt, Drew and GTU.
  11. I will be attending Vanderbilt PhD Program in New Testament. I am excited about this extraordany opportunity but I have a lot of questions (I am an international student) and I would like to start contact with whoever will go there this year or someone who has been related to the Graduate Department of Religion. Luck to you all. Please post me!
  12. Yes! I got accepted at Vanderbilt, PhD in New Testament with full tuition and a six year plan with stipend!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definetely going.
  13. I am international. I was rejected at Harvard and Yale Divinity (PhD in Ancient Christianity) and my stats.... Bachelor in Philosophy (GPA 3.7) Bachelor in Theology (GPA 3.9) Master in Biblical Studies (GPA 3.9) All of this from top universities (in my country: Spain) I have a Fulbright Doctoral Scholarship, two years of Hebrew, Koin
  14. As Camenpete, I also would like to know your opinions on GTU. I have been admitted for the PhD in New Testament and I really felt from the beginning that they fully match my interests, but I do not know whether they are not enough prestigious enough or have any other kind of problems. Thanks and good luck to all.
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