Neem217

yhujikol, also, you may be admitted to the PhD program! I'd imagine Harvard GSAS will notify acceptances around very late Feb./early March, and rejections will be sent soon after. I believe the stipends are generally the same. There were previous years where HDS' stipend was higher, but no longer. Anyways, again, congratulations!

I don't believe an internal transfer is possible between programs. I have never heard of that being done. Furthermore, Harvard faculty view the two degrees as basically the same - though I know a ThD may be viewed differently from a PhD in some settings. Yet, there are enough people with Harvard ThD's who hold professorships in academia for the wider academy to recognize the strength of the program/and the fact that they two degrees, at least at Harvard, are synonymous. It's almost random which one you get in to... Anyways, its a tough program to get into, so congratulations to you!!!!!

I'm not sure when the end of the ThD will come. The ThD program sent out acceptances/rejections yesterday, so they are still enrolling students into the program, though perhaps the numbers have lessen throughout the years. Hard to tell. Anyways, there's been no explicit talk of such things on campus. I think some of it may be simply be what people have heard, and not official announcements. I'd imagine that the ThD candidates will remain and complete their studies as ThD students -- as the sources of funding for the ThD and the PhD are different. The PhD is funded through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, not the Divinity School. Its hard to speculate though...

He's been ranking schools for a while. His rankings are pretty consistent. The list tends to veer towards more conservative programs as well as Catholic institutes, though he is aware of that. The question should be asked, what does Reno consider to be theology? What type of theology do you want to do? It is clear he is interested in orthodoxy. While Notre Dame is good for Catholic systematic theology, a person who is interested in constructive theology would do better at Drew or GTU. A ranked list in no way indicates fit. I think one thing Reno does not know is how these programs' masters students fare during doctoral application. How are students at Harvard doing in their doctoral applications, even in theology (as overall, the Harvard masters students fare pretty well in religious studies, and here I include HB/NT/Ancient Christianity as well as other religious traditions and comparative theology), compared with students who are doing their masters at BC STM? I would say Notre Dame masters students do well also. Funding is also another factor. Can Dayton grant you the same stipend as Yale? Probably not. I find Marquette to have an overwhelming male faculty, thus, for someone who was admitted to their masters program under the Trinity Fellowship ($18K stipend also with free tuition), but am interested in feminist theology -- it simply was not a good fit. A faculty member of a well-known Catholic institution who attended Catholic University advised me not to apply their for my masters or PhD. She didn't think their program was strong. As mentioned, they have no money. There are a lot of questions to be asked. I wouldn't take this list as the law. If you are interested in Orthodox systematic theology, then I would say, yes, overall, he's correct. But, I just think there's so much more to the equation and future of theology than orthodoxy.

La Sarar, I don't think your fear is baseless. I have known individuals that were recommended by a chaired professor or perhaps chosen by the individual department that were not admitted based up on the general admissions committee's review. Specifically, a good friend of mine was rejected for a doctoral program in religion though a chaired professor fought for her admissions. He said afterwards something to the like of "I wish you gotten to know more professors out of your area." Thus, there will be people who are recommended by the department in their "Top 5" or what not, and do not get admitted. The professor who recommends you may not be part of the general admissions committee. I think part of this is that the general admissions committee is always much broader in its interest than the department's, but of course, most of it is politics. It's also hard to know who is part of the admissions committee at certain schools, as the positions may change annually. I don't think its necessarily about meeting requirements, language, GPA, recommendations, etc. - as many applicants do. I apologize. This post gives you no solace, but I relate to your situation. Here's to the admissions committee seeing the talent your professor and the department see in you!!

I'd suggest UChicago's Philosophy of Religion Department, specifically the work of Arnold Davidson who is a Foucault scholar. Jean-Luc Marion may be a person of interest. He generally does modern philosophies, and his interests intersect more so with traditional theological paradigms. One of the areas of the comps. for doctoral students is "continental philosophies in the 20th century." From the course list, there are several courses. Check it out: http://divinity.uchicago.edu/academics/constructive-studies-religion.shtml I would also look at Harvard which is generally postmodern/poststructuralist in its orientation, but also post Christian. While you may get background in continental philosophy along side the study of religions, I don't believe you will gain a strong comprehension of Christian theology there, at least in systematic theology. But, there are thinkers there that are philosophical oriented towards the modern and postmodern, like Hollywood, Rivera Rivera, and David Lamberth. Lamberth may be a good fit: http://www.hds.harvard.edu/people/faculty/david-c-lamberth (It should be noted that Harvard is likely to hire at least one theology professor in the next year so there will be additions to the faculty. Chicago has been looking to hire for a will for someone doing constructive theology. I'd imagine they're close to hiring someone!) Notre Dame has a trend of producing doctoral studies strong in philosophy, and in particular, phenomenology. If that is a strand of continental philosophy you're interested in (though it is not postmodern in its origin, but has had postmodern applications), then I would suggest ND. If you're interested in a program that is flexible with you taking courses outside of the department, then I would do research. Some programs have rather rigid requirements, but Harvard's MTS has little requirements. As someone else said, I would also suggest reading Catherine Keller who is great theologian using postmodern sources. She's at Drew if you're interesting in her work. Best of luck!

Makes sense. Thank you, both!

Does anyone know what the average stipend for doctoral students in religious studies is? Or at least, the range? Many schools don't list their stipend amount on their websites. I know at Harvard GSAS, they list their typical stipend for the humanities to be $26,796. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/content/graduate-school-arts-and-sciences-gsas I'm assuming that this is a relatively high number compared to other programs...?

I would also agree that the quantitative portion of the GRE is not as important as the verbal and analytical for MTS/AM/MAR applications. I scored about the same on both sections, about 650. Specifically, I scored at the 59% for quantitative and about 93% for the verbal (it is more difficult to score higher on the verbal so the same number score will give rank you at higher percentile). I got into most of my programs. I would say though that the math portion is much easier to study for, thus, it is much easier to improve your score on the verbal section. This is coming from someone who has not taken a math course since senior year of high school. http://www.testmasters.net/gre/information/scoringscale.aspx The math and verbal portions of the GRE are going to change beginning August 2011 so I really can't speak of how that will affect admissions though I don't much as the test is supposed to "standardized." I would say one con about the change is that there is less study material out there to prep you for the upcoming changes while there are tons of books, flash cards, CD's, etc. out there that are geared towards studying for what will be in August the old GRE. http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/know

Thanks, Phenomenologist! My stats are: GPA: 3.7 Overall from Boston College, higher within the Honors Philosophy and Theology Majors (I took a year abroad at Oxford studying law and ethics and that lowered my GPA...) GRE: 1300 and 5 on the Writing So, I don't really consider myself a stellar applicant based on those number statistics. I think there were other factors like work experience (one year in corporate, two years of AmeriCorps through religiously affiliated service agencies) and my statement of purpose that bettered my application. I do plan to take the GREs again in July before ETS changes the test in August as to have higher score when/if I apply for PhD programs and so not to have to worry about them during the academic year. As for the latter question, I would say more Catholic schools or religiously affiliated ones are hiring in more numbers than secular ones. The programs at these Catholic schools (and I would like to say the same for other religiously affiliated school but I don't honestly know) tend to higher more people who have just finished their PhDs and that includes Boston College, Marquette (kinda) and Fordham. It also depends on what you want to study - so I can't say that everyone who gets a PhD in Theology or Religion will be wanted by Catholic universities but Catholic universities are truly attempingt to diversify their Theology Departments. While there are Catholic scholars at these schools, there are also scholars in a lot of other religions with a lot of other focuses, modern, Buddhist, Islamic, feminist, protestant, etc. Lastly, Catholic schools (for the most part) put a lot of effort in their Theology programs and with reason. Unlike some other secular schools, these universities are never going to cut the theology program and their classes are never going to be cancelled because the idea of theology and the religious are tied into the school's identity. I don't think HDS would be too liberal for me. I would consider myself socially liberal but more in line with preferential option for the poor and marginalized. I think that's different than to say I am a one who is against all forms of tradition and would like to rewrite and debunk all of theology. I don't find religion irrational or silly. I think HDS would be a good option if I found a community there. I'm not married. I have friends there from undergraduate along with other individuals like mentors. I just dont want to have to defend my faith all the time, while I think that's important to do so - I don't know if I want to be in a space where that happens at every corner and turn. So, I suppose I wouldn't be suffocated by the "liberalism", more so possibly tired from all the need to speak up about being religious. Again, thank you for your advice! It was helpful.

Highlanders, Thanks for the advice. I agree that the jobs are at Catholic universities but even those Catholic Universities, including Boston College, seem to mostly hire individuals that have PhDs from Yale, Harvard, UChicago, etc. Though I will agree that was another era and the trend is changing. I would agree that BC has a stronger community especially the School of Theology and Ministry which I consider to have very supportive and friendly atmosphere. It's nice to be in a classroom where what is taught can also be what is believed and practiced. Harvard, however, may be that challenge necessary to exist in a setting that will challenge how one thinks theologically. I've heard this from some Catholics and BC alumni at HDS, that it has been a rewarding experience because the need to reexamine one's faith in such a context. It'd be neat to be able to grow and respond adequately to those challenges/questions/accusations that are often post-modern and post-Christian, and still be affirmatively Catholic. I may be romanticizing the whole thing... Marquette has a lot going for it. I've read from different sources that in a few years Marquette will be a big name. It has solid and committed (though Judeo Christian focused) faculty. The fellowship I got requires 20 hours of service at an agency while completing the Masters. It's sort of the whole faith in action thing, so pairing studies with service/justice issues. But you're right, I really don't want to be in Milwaukee. Are you/did you got o Admitted Students Day at BC? If sways you that 1%, BC has amazing campus food. Thank you for your advice!

Hello, I'm new to the Grad Cafe but could use some advice/words to help me with this terribly agonizing discernment process. I applied to MTS programs (or whatever equivalent). I'm trying to decide where to go. In summary, I go into: -HDS: Full tuition funded and about 9k stipend -Marquette: Trinity FelloIwship: Full tuition funded and about 18K stipend -UChicago: Half tuition funded -Boston College: Full tuition funded So...where should I go? I want to study systematic theology (modern and post modern thought) with interest in feminist theologies. HDS seems like a good option but I'm concerned about what I've heard of the post-Christian atmosphere. Boston College is my alma mater so I'm unlikely to return. I absolutely loved it there but I think I want to change things up. I love UChicago from what I know but taking on all that debt makes me want to cry. Any words of wisdom?