Kuriakos
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Posts posted by Kuriakos
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On 4/11/2020 at 6:36 PM, ask2266 said:
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I am starting an MTS this fall at a local seminary, but I'm planning to eventually apply out to a PhD program. As a 48-year-old who has been out of school for over 20 years, I'm trying to get a jump on the process now-- to come up with a sound thesis for my MTS paper (upon which I can build an eventual dissertation)-- because it takes me double the amount of time to complete projects I could zip through in my 20's. I have lots of ideas, but I would like to read some of the scholarship of current scholars in my fields of interest and learn about the PhD programs where they work. So far, I know there are people in Gnostic/Pagan roots of Christianity at Harvard, Rice, Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, Princeton U, UC Santa Barbara, Ohio State, and Brown.
Anybody here know of any additional schools or people I should look into?
Also, what the hell am I going to do about the GRE? I absolutely hate standardized tests.
Thanks for any insight.
An MTS is not going to be enough. For this kind of project you are going to need to be able to read Greek and Coptic at a minimum before even starting, but ideally also Latin and Syriac. You could probably acquire German and French during your PhD but you will have to learn them. If you apply to a department that has a traditional Biblical Studies background you will be expected to know Hebrew before beginning as well. The chances of you reaching satisfactory mastery in these languages in two years are extremely low. You will at least be in your 50s before you are ready and you will certainly face age discrimination as a result. You might be able to get an unfunded PhD at a decent school with bad funding like Rice but you will be in debt for the rest of your life. I'm not saying don't do it, but go into it with open eyes.
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Lack of Hebrew may not matter in a state school "Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean" type program, but any school that still uses area titles like "New Testament" will expect you to have Hebrew. Some even specifically list Hebrew as a prerequisite and may pro forma reject your application when they realize you have not learned it. Frankly, it is silly as many NT people let their Hebrew get very rusty, but it is what it is.
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4 minutes ago, hannibal254 said:
Hi all,
Hoping to solicit some advice/wisdom here on choosing a program! I've combed through previous threads on this topic—both in this forum and across gradcafe—but I'm still feeling at quite a loss.
It seems that the most consistent advice is to find a good advisor and to choose the program that most closely fits your interests. But do those two criteria need to coexist in one person? By which I mean, does the advisor have to be a perfect fit? And where does "fit" need to be located within the school? To make this less abstract, a brief summary of my options:
Program A: One absolutely wonderful PoI who is a 100% match with my interests. Wonderful person, wonderful scholar. However, there is really no one else within this program or within this university who is even remotely close to my interests. (Edit: with the exception of one other person who does really interesting work in a particular methodology I want to learn to incorporate)
Program B: Two PoIs who, combined together, match my interests quite well; neither works on my topics exactly, but they've worked together in the past to advise projects similar to mine. A few other people throughout the department and university who work on similar subjects/geographies/time periods and would be good secondary resources.
Program C (no colon because automatic emoji): A LOT of people who are very close to my interests, but no one who's an exact match. Advisor would be in a pretty close field/topic.
Program D (again with the emoji): One exact match and one very good match, both of whom are in different departments than the one I was accepted to. The department itself would give me good breadth within RS and would let me take a lot of coursework with the professors in other departments, and my advisor would be in my general field/time period, but with fairly different topical interests.
Could all of these scenarios be fruitful, just in different ways? I'm especially confused and curious about Program D; for a lot of reasons, I'm very interested in this program/school/location, but would having an advisor who is a little further from my topic be a huge problem? Or an inconvenience? Or would it be an opportunity for broadening?
Many many thanks for any thoughts anyone might have! I appreciate you all.
They could all work (others have made these scenarios work). I would strongly suggest considering job placement in your calculus, and I'd ask for hard numbers from PoIs. Don't forget things like cost of living, too. People are often overly idealistic in making these choices, but you should really be brutal in your assessment of the financial benefits both during and after the program.
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2 minutes ago, rejectedndejected said:
Seriously--congratulations. Does Baylor interview? Did you have any hunch/inclination that you were going to get in? I can only imagine what it feels like to open a letter of acceptance. Has to be cathartic and surreal.
Interview weekend was last weekend. Typically Baylor notifies their chosen candidates fairly quickly after interview weekend and starts sending out wait list notifications around this time too.
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Many schools offer dual degree programs like MDiv/MBA, MDiv/MSW, or MDiv/JD. These are often springboards for non-profit work and worth considering.
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On 9/27/2018 at 2:59 PM, NTAC321 said:
Okay, that info is helpful. Here’s a revised plan:
First, If you’re going to be in the DFW area for the next couple of years, you should apply to either MA or ThM programs at both Baylor and TCU this round (the deadlines are typically in late December/mid January, so there’s still plenty of time for a Master’s app). Rabbit Run mentioned Perkins at SMU, which might also be a good option (I don’t know anyone there, but I’m sure they have a couple HB folks). Especially if you’re applying to an MA program, you’ll likely get in, since divinity schools appreciate the money. I’d be in contact with current students and some prospective faculty to get their input on which degree you should be pursuing.
When it comes time for scheduling next semester, take the heaviest possible dose of language classes you can handle. Language skills are perfectly transferable, and that has to be the best use of your time while you’re still at Southwestern. Language skills are make or break in biblical studies, and you should be preparing now so that by the time you’re applying to PhD’s, your letter writers can proclaim your vast knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, etc.
Regarding recommendation letters, you should be able to use a mix of professors from prior institutions alongside maybe one professor at your current institution that can testify to your language ability, writing skills, or something basic like that before you submit your application file in December.
Regarding the evaluation of TCU vs Baylor, I think TCU has a stronger reputation. You can work closely with Ariel Feldman, Will Gafney, etc while also learning from good NT scholars like Shelly Matthews and Patricia Duncan who can round out your knowledge. Baylor, moreover, is seen as a pretty conservative institution, so in your particular case TCU might give you the opportunity to show some distance from your SBC past. But I think either one is going to be good enough for lots of schools. Baylor, Emory, Duke, and Princeton Seminary seem to have a good deal of mutual respect for one another, in particular.
I don’t think a reputable online Master’s program exists, to be honest. And I’ve never heard of anyone going from an online degree to a legitimate PhD program.
One last note: I don’t know whether this would work or not, but you might email admissions offices at Baylor and TCU to see about transferring and beginning in the spring. Masters admissions is honestly not all that rigorous, and I think, if you explained your situation and your desire to go somewhere that’s more in-line with your values, they might allow you to enter in the spring, perhaps as a provisional student, then admit you officially a couple of months later. The worst they can do is tell you that you’ll need to wait until fall 2019, which is what you’d have to do anyway.
Rabbit Run, Southwestern may very well be the most moderate SBC school (I have no idea), but I don’t think John Collins at Yale or Michael Fishbane at Chicago is going to appreciate that nuance. SBC seminaries are associated with inerrancy and misogyny, despite Russell Moore’s best efforts, and most PhD admissions committees are going to want to see that an applicant has moved on.
FWIW, Baylor is not conservative. Half the department faculty attend gay-affirming liberal churches. I'm about as liberal as it is possible to be and still retain the label Christian and I've had zero problems here. There's no inerrancy or heresy hunting or any of the bullshit you get in SBC schools.
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On 9/21/2018 at 10:31 PM, Pizzas of Eight said:
Looking at programs related to history of early Christianity, especially in terms of Christianity in its Hellenistic context, pagan-Christian interactions, Gnosticism, Coptic Christianity...
Most interested in U. Chicago and Princeton so far, but also looking at U. Texas, UC Berkeley, Yale. If anyone has helpful suggestions for those programs or other programs I might be interested in, I'd greatly appreciate them.
I'm going to second the recommendation to look into UNC. I took seminars at UNC while I was at Duke and they were great.
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When I was a ThM student at Duke, they encouraged people to apply to both. I did not because at that time the ThD stipend was far far lower than the PhD stipend. Not sure how it is today. I'd also say having a ThD instead of a PhD hurts your marketability when applying for jobs.
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Your verbal score matters a lot more than your AWA. Retake it if you want, but I doubt it will be any sort of deal breaker.
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I think the decision between Baylor/Marquette is basically a wash. It really depends on your area and who you might work with. If you want to do Second Temple Judaism, for example, get thee to Marquette! There are also peripheral financial considerations beyond stipend+tuition. What is the cost of living where you are going? What is travel support like? In both of those cases (and these are just two examples), Baylor is the hands down winner. Waco is much cheaper than Milwaukee and Baylor provides extremely generous travel support which I know far exceeds Marquette's (I roomed at SBL with a Marquette student). Then there are non-monetary consideration, too. Milwaukee is far more interesting than Waco. Milwaukee also offers more networking opportunities due to its easy access to Chicago (which has a lot of good networking events because there are a ton of decent religion programs there). Just try to consider multiple angles. If you tell me your specialty, I can say more.
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6 hours ago, didymus said:
I am less interested in the confessional theology of the school itself and more interested in the opportunity to study under a faculty member who is the current president of the North American Patristics Society, an experience which I feel would not be "worthless." Thanks for the comment...
Dr. Bingham is a solid dude and a fine scholar, but that doesn't change the fact that an SBC Seminary doctorate is the kiss of death for an academic career
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A PhD from an SBC seminary is worthless. They have literally hundreds of doctoral students and they are inerrantist (i.e. require students and faculty to believe things that are factually untrue)
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22 hours ago, xypathos said:
Any thoughts on the reputation of Radboud University (Netherlands)? I submitted a late (by US standards) application after looking over the website and being assured by a prof there that they have generous scholarships specifically for US students. As well, should you not get it their annual tuition is cheaper than a 3-credit course at most colleges.
Well, I found out was I accepted and extended a stipend of 25k euro, so just over 30k USD. The university has extended an offer for housing at 750 euro a month which seems reasonable.
Teaching in the US would be ideal but I don't "have to." Going abroad for a while seems really tempting too. It's stay at Villanova, FSU, or Radboud for the time being.
It's a good university in general. I imagine it depends on your specialty and who you'd work with whether it would be the best choice for you.
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3 hours ago, archibald said:
Agreed on not just choosing a school for the POI, there are other important factors, but I have literally heard the exact opposite on "name brand." Scholars in the field, who will be on your hiring committee, aren't going to be starstruck by a Harvard Ph.D just because it's from Harvard. What will impress them is evidence of high quality research. I think they would much rather hire a Ph.D from a "non-brand" institution which has a solid Religion department and whose research has obviously benefited from good mentoring rather than hiring a Harvard Ph.D for the sake of the name. (Disclaimer: no hate on Harvard)
I'm talking about elite in terms of grad department. No one gives a shit how exclusive the undergrad program is.
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For those of you with multiple offers. Be ruthless in your evaluations. Don't let POIs sweet talk you. Don't assume that because your POI is famous they are good at helping their students get jobs. Check track records. Look at their last 7-10 supervised dissertations and see how many of those people got jobs. You'd be surprised how many slightly less famous professors have a better placement record because they go out and do work for their own. Ask for department placement statistics. Also, don't pick a school just for a POI. You have to take classes with a lot of people and you never know what the internal politics are like. Pick the school that is most likely to land you a job. The reality is that the quality of the education is essentially the same at tier 1 and near tier 1 schools and everyone knows it, but the name of your school matters a lot in the job hunt. If you have a POI you love at a near tier 1 and a POI you just feel pretty good about at an elite place, (assuming there aren't other factors) you should go with the more elite school. Don't worry about anyone's feelings. They didn't give a shit about yours until they decided they wanted you.
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8 hours ago, jmarvin_ said:
My only thought is that they're hedging their bets just in case, by some freak incident, they go through their entire waitlist and need to scramble for someone to accept. It'd be much worse if they ended up in that situation and had to call up a nominally rejected person saying 'nevermind!' than the contrary possibility - even as it feels much worse to us!
I know for a fact this is the case for some schools. When I applied to UT, they did not send me a rejection when all the others rejections went out but they did not send me a waitlist email either. Only after emailing the chair did I find out I was waitlisted, but they went four deep on the waitlist and never got to me. I suspect they had basically three tiers: first choice, genuine waitlist, and safety candidates.
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David Whitford at Baylor is the editor of Sixteenth Century and surely could supervise a dissertation of this sort.
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Anyone with Baylor questions feel free to shoot me a PM
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Palmer being a genuine accredited institution will almost certainly not take transfer credit from a non-ATS school, especially one like Luther Rice. Luther Rice is, deservedly, considered a diploma mill, and if you want an accredited D.Min you will probably have to do a real MDiv first.
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3 hours ago, sacklunch said:
I was thinking of his recent book. I have heard two classicists (professors) poke fun at the notion that Christian artefacts survive from Pompeii ("only a Christian would propose such nonsense"). I'm not saying Longenecker is wrong; I don't know the material record well enough (though to be honest my initial reaction is very skeptical). The point I was making was scholars who approach such topics from other disciplines such as classics would be alarmed and, I think, immediately question his motives. cheers.
There is no apologetic motive which is clear from reading the book (and what really would be the apologetic benefit anyway???!?). The book acknowledges the previous consensus and argues the way a book taking a minority position should. I, personally, do not think the book proves its thesis, but what it does do successfully is show how the consensus that there were no Christians in Pompeii is often predicated on sloppy arguments (like confusing two artifacts for example).
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48 minutes ago, sacklunch said:
I don't know Longenecker, nor should I given my interests. Some of his publications listed on Baylor's website and, especially his recent book, would, however, raise eyebrows in some scholarly sectors. When I look at the publications of Levenson, I imagine a very different reaction. I don't think it's terribly productive to criticize Longenecker for (what I assume to be) deep theological commitments in his work. But others will. Even if you do not count yourself among whatever camp Longenecker may or may not locate himself, others will. But because others will, this can all work in your favor. It just depends on where you hope to work.
What recent work strikes you as theological?
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43 minutes ago, sacklunch said:
I have heard similar comments over the years that support Baylor being slightly more prestigious than FSU. But I'm not sure it's well-founded. Funding being equal (unfortunately, it's not), I would actually lean in favor of FSU for your interests. As you mentioned, David Levenson is a big name, bigger than anyone at Baylor, at least for Josephus. Who at Baylor do you want to work with?
I would agree that if one really wanted to focus on STJ and not NT/EC, then Baylor is not the best fit. Baylor desperately needs to hire a STJ specialist, but the Religion department has some legacy divisions that make that difficult.
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Which way to take? Old Testament and ANE
in Religion
Posted
Baylor would not be a good fit for this sort of thing, nor does it belong in a list with a bunch of fundamentalist institutions