RD_Paul

Hi all, I have commented on here quite sparingly, but I could use some advice for any who have experience or who are willing to give some advice. Here's the situation. I have a BA (4.0 GPA) from a "highly selective" state liberal arts school, and I am finishing my M.Div. at my denominational seminary this semester. It is a good school, but it is small and certainly won't get me in anywhere on prestige. I will graduate with a 4.0 with advanced knowledge of Greek and Hebrew and with intermediate knowledge of Latin, Aramaic, and Syriac. I even have a bit of teaching experience, having taught Beginning Greek one semester. I have a decent GRE score but am retaking it this summer. I have also had the chance publish a few articles. Lastly, I am confident that my letters of recommendation would be outstanding. I feel quite ready to do PhD work (I would apply this upcoming fall), but I applied to Notre Dame's MTS in Biblical Studies this year, and I got in (They rejected me three years ago, so I wanted to try again just to see if I would be competitive). I just visited, and it's certainly a great place. Anyway, I am trying to decide if I should spend two more years on an MTS or just wait until the fall and apply to the doctoral programs in which I am interested: Duke (ThD, PhD), Baylor, Emory, St. Andrews, Notre Dame, Fuller. As I see it, Notre Dame is a fantastic program, but I'm not sure if I need/want to spend two more years of my and my wife's life in class if I don't have to. I met with James VanderKam at ND, and he said that, yes, it seems that I am ready for PhD work, but that an MTS from Notre Dame would certainly "open a lot of doors" for me. Anyway, this is a tough decision, as you might imagine. I would appreciate any advice.

It's worth noting that ND's MA (a summer program not meant to prepare for PhD study) is a different program than their MTS. You may have been talking about the same program, but I just thought I'd mention that. Their MA has a very high acceptance rate, but their MTS does not. I'm guessing any switches from the MDiv to the MTS are very rare, if they happen at al.

I was also notified by Notre Dame on March 5th, then sent an e-mail about a week later telling me to check my online application for the official letter. Maybe they're still making invites, though.

No, it was official. I was called by the Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies early this morning. He told me that I have until April 15th to decide, and encouraged me to visit to meet some of the faculty in my area. Not sure why they told you differently.

Just got a call from Notre Dame. Accepted to the MTS program (Biblical Studies)! This is my second Masters, the only program I applied to this time around. They rejected me last time, so I'm thrilled!

I did four years of Classical before I really started studying Koine closely, and I think the difference is emphasized a little too much. Now, I don't mean to downplay the fact that Classical (Attic, Doric, Ionic) is, generally speaking, more syntactically complicated than the NT, but going from "Biblical" greek to Classical won't be that difficult...as long as you're motivated. The more you study Classical, the more the mystery of the language begins to fall away (which is the problem most folks who only study "Biblical" Greek are faced with...they don't know enough of the language for it to become beautiful and interesting, more than a hoop to jump through). Anyway, I've taught introductory Greek to first year seminary students twice now, and I've helped one of my former students pick up Classical with Athenaze and Steadman's very helpful texts, which Petros already mentioned. Also, for Homeric Greek, read through Pharr's text, and not only will you have read a huge bulk of Homer, you'll begin to grasp the way the language changed from Homeric-->Classical-->Hellenistic. One other thing that I recommend (adding to Kuriakos' recommendation to de self-study rather than another M*) is to find a few people with whom to read, if they exist in your area. For me, it has sometimes been difficult to maintain my commitment level unless there are others to hold me accountable. It's also just a lot of fun to read Plato/Herodotus/Zenophon with others. A very different experience than reading the NT with others.

What I was trying to say is that with the GPR you are applying to one specific subfield (like NT), and what I got from Hays is that you're primarily competing against the other folks applying to your specific subfield, not against the whole applicant pool. The ThD (as I understand it), however, is interdisciplinary in focus, so you aren't competing for only one spot with folks in your sub-discipline, but you're competing for one of several spots in the ThD program as a whole. That's my understanding as to why it might be less competitive.

Yeah, sacklunch is right, he was speaking of the PhD in the GPR. He didn't speak to the competitiveness of the ThD, but yeah it seems to be slightly less competitive, one reason being that when one applies to the ThD, one's not applying right away to a specific field.

Just a note on this: I have been e-mailing with Richard Hays at Duke (Dean), and he said that for both OT and NT, they only accept about 1 in 50 students per year. Because of the economic situation that has effected every seminary/divinity school/university, the program has become even more competitive. I'll just quote directly what he told me: "In recent years Duke has experienced the same financial constraints that have affected many graduate programs in the humanities. Consequently, our admissions situation, which has always been highly competitive, has become even more so. In recent years we have admitted fewer than five percent of the applicants in the field of New Testament. In terms of specific numbers, that has normally meant one admitted applicant out of more than fifty applying to the program each year. Nearly all applicants are highly qualified. Our faculty finds this a frustrating state of affairs, but for now this is the reality with which we must deal. Successful applicants nearly always have GRE scores above 700 in both verbal and quantitative categories (with the verbal score the more important of the two). Of course, letters of reference and the cogency of the applicant’s personal statement are also important factors in the admissions process. In recent years, some applicants have sought to strengthen their credentials by doing an additional master's degree in a major university program before applying (Yale, Duke, Emory, Chicago, Oxford, Cambridge, etc.). A few students who have pursued this line have gained admission. But I want to emphasize that there can be no guarantees, and students are always well advised to apply to a number of programs in order to maximize their chances for admission."

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I think I will take it and move on. Gladly.

Hi all, I'm applying to doctoral programs (Duke ThD/PhD, Notre Dame, Baylor, UVA, and Emory), and I'm wondering about my GRE scores, whether they're high enough as to not hurt my chances. My scores are 163 V, 156 Q, and 4.5 Writing. I feel good about the verbal (92nd percentile, I think), and Ok about the quantitative. But the writing seems like it certainly won't help me. I hated taking it, so I'm hoping that these are good enough. Anyway, what do you all think about these scores and their potential for hurting/helping my application?

Thanks for the suggestion. UVA looks very intriguing.

I'd say having a Greek exegesis course on your transcript will only make your application stronger, but I don't think it will hurt you to just have English if you're not going into NT studies.

Classical Hebrew Thomas O. Lambdin's Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (I've read and tutored now out of a handful of others, and I still think Lambdin's is the best BH grammar I've seen) Ronald J. Williams' Williams' Hebrew Syntax (Third Edition) Resnikoff, et al. Tall Tales Told in Biblical Hebrew (this is fun. My professor had us read from these to practice recitation. I found them really helpful...here's a link) Ethelyn Simon's Og the Terrible (a comic book written for children learning Hebrew in synagogue and written in BH. Also fun...here's a link) Waltke & O'Connor, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (huge, but really good) Rabbinic Hebrew Fernandez's An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew Ugaritic (haven't personally used any of these, but they come highly recommended) Schniedewind & Hunt, A Primer on Ugaritic: Language, Culture, and Religion Huehnergard, An Introduction to Ugaritic Aramaic Greenspahn, An Introduction to Aramaic (second edition) (covers Imperial, inscriptional, Targumic, and Dead Sea Scrolls, and even has a chapter on Midrashic) Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (I think this can be found online) Torah with Targum Onkelos and Rashi's Commentary (link) Johns, A Short Grammar of Biblical Aramaic Greek I've taught Greek once, and I used Mounce. It's not my favorite, but I think it's the most student friendly. I also think Metzger's Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek is helpful. When I learned, I also used Athenaze. Schoder, et al., A Reading Course in Homeric Greek (books 1 and 2) are also really good if you're interested in Homeric Greek. Latin Shelmerdine, Introduction to Latin Goldman and Morton, English Grammar for Students of Latin is helpful Coptic Lambdin, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic (I haven't used this one yet, but I've heard good things) Syriac In addition to what's already been mentioned: Muroaka, Classical Syriac for Hebraists You can also find The Laughable Stories of Bar-Hebraeus online (just google it). These are fun and easy to read.

What do people think of Baylor for NT studies? Opinions seem to vary so much that it's difficult to nail down. My sense is that most people think they are either at or nearing a "First-Tier" school, especially with the hiring of Beverly Roberts Gaventa. Does anyone else have any insight?

Hi everyone, I've been away from this forum for a few years, but I'm starting the process of applying for doctoral programs. I'm wondering about thoughts on letters of recommendation. One of the professors with whom I've formed a magnificent relationship is a well-recognized leader in his field (OT/HB, Biblical Theology), but my plan is to apply to NT/Early Christianity programs. Will the fact that he's not in my program matter? I assume not, but some pointers from those of you who've had experience would be much appreciated! Other than this professor, I have another NT faculty member with whom I've formed a good relationship, but other than him, I don't really have any that stands out in my field except other men. I've done an independent study with a retired professor of Early Church, but he's another white man. If we're going simply on quality of scholarship/reputation, these three would be fantastic. Will it hurt me if I just have white men recommending me? What do you think?

What degree? PhD and ThD, maybe a few M*s What area? New Testament/Early Christianity. Specifically, I'm interested in ecological/agrarian hermeneutics of the NT. Do you know where? Duke is my first choice. Also PTS, Notre Dame, Emory, Baylor at this point. What have you already done to prepare? Studied languages like crazy, have a few articles accepted for publication in some really good journals What are you working on now? MDiv at my denominational seminary, teaching Greek adjunct, presenting at conferences, working hard in my current program, helping a professor with an upcoming book on the growth of the Early Church, keeping up with other languages And what else do you need to do between now and September when the application cycles actually open up? Get my GRE score up, more language, get LORs and work on my SOP! Side note, does anyone have any other recommendations for possible programs/mentors that match my interests? I'd like to add a couple more to my list.

I called a few weeks ago, and they told me that the second round of scholarships had already been awarded. So, if you didn't get a call already, you will have to wait until April.

Has anyone heard from Duke yet regarding scholarships for the second round?

Just heard back from Vanderbilt..offered the Dean's Scholarship!

It was an e-mail, and it wasn't (unfortunately) officially an offer. It was just informing us that we are being considered for the Fellowship. Still a nice surprise, but no acceptance yet.

I do the same thing! I keep my phone on me at work just in case a school calls. Also, I just found out from Notre Dame today that I am being nominated for the Dean's Fellowship!

Well, I'll start us off I guess. I've so far been accepted to PTS and Duke, which happen to be my first two choices (in uncertain order). I've so far received an 80% grant from Princeton, but I'm still waiting on word from Duke regarding funding. Duke is so much more expensive than PTS, so without substantial funding, I'll probably end up in Princeton come fall. But there are just so many scholars at Duke I would be so thrilled to work under, especially Norman Wirzba, Ellen Davis, and Richard Hays. I really can't say the same for PTS.

I just got my acceptance to PTS last week, so if you want to PM me what you have so far, I'd be happy to help you out.

I spent time talking with one of the PTS profs when I visited there in the fall, and he said that PTS admits about 50% of each application class. Your background is certainly such that you are firmly within that 50%. No worries. I met a lot of people who didn't even have a background in Religious Studies at all, let alone Greek and experience in a campus ministry. Hope this helps.