MBIGrad

Lux Lex Pax is king (or queen) of GradCafe forum debates. Should be considered the authoritative voice on Ralph Waldo Emerson, University Religion Departments, et al.

Probably, Probably, Probably, Probably (and Probably).

NT and Church History departments at Baylor overlap little, and thus NT is not formally situated for study under the auspices of "Church History." Practically, if an applicant expresses interest in both departments it may hurt his/her application because you apply to one or the other, which is odd for someone studying early Christianity. This is not speculation; this is what I've been told by two senior faculty members at Baylor.

That sounds like good advice. Between Longenecker, Parsons, and Gaventa, along with "ancillary" Church History faculty (e.g., Willams; the school draws quite a line between these disciplines, which is lamentable) Baylor certainly has a top-notch NT program, depending on one's interests. As with any school, fit is determined by where you want to go, etc... Speaking of Baylor as "Tier-1" may be helpful if that term is understood to mean 1) most of their NT graduates get good jobs, 2) their funding is on par with other top programs, and/or 3) their faculty and alumni are active in important and interesting discussions going on today. I would say all of these, in general, imply a "Tier-1" school and all are true of Baylor; I would have no problem considering it "Tier-1." But if it isn't a good fit, or if you want to have the academic mobility afforded by a non-Christian school, it may as well be Tier-158. PS NT is fairly central to my areas of interest and the reasons I have not applied to Baylor are 1) they draw too much distinction between NT and Church History, 2) their NT program is focused on NT and less on "NT within the Roman World" than other programs, and 3) I was told that were I to get a 98%/70% on Verbal/Math on the GRE, I would be given an application fee waiver; I scored higher than this on both and was not given a waiver because the faculty had made assumptions about my interests given my academic background. It's just as well, because I ended up eliminating all schools with real religious affiliations off my application list (Duke, Emory, Baylor, ND).

belichick, Is your not posting whither you're applying deliberate? If not, may I ask where your applications fell?

For the schools to which I am applying, the normal dates for applicants to hear back last year fell between Jan 31 and March 16, mostly falling around Feb 19-22. I imagine that everyone thinks that in his/her application year it's much later than usual. Look at the results posted on this site last year from the programs to which you're applying.

The latter.

It is my understanding that ND's MA program is in no way designed to prepare students for doctoral programs, whereas the MTS is. Their MA is designed for continuing ed, whereas their MTS and Early Christian MA are language heavy, etc... things one needs for PhD programs. But of course, I've been on their campus only once ... as a tourist. This may not be so.

I had a similar background in Biblical Studies (3.67), w/ 1.5 Greek/1 Hebrew/.5 German. My GREs were 650/680/6.0 (these matter for funding). I applied to a number of schools, only Candler on your list. I was admitted with, if I remember, several thousand dollars worth of scholarship, which isn't much for master's programs (they're by and large cash cows). I also got into Duke, Marquette, etc... down the line, with varying amounts of funding, but only about a third of the tuition at the most. Those schools you listed fund well, however. At the same time, if you are applying to a ministry program (where your community service, etc..., would matter more), funding probably hinges less upon GREs than fit, potential, diversity, and so on. I applied to 15 schools, all of which offered at least the chance of getting full funding, was admitted to 10 or more of those, but only had 1 school offer full funding. But ministry programs are very different than "academic study of religion" programs. Either way, my opinion is that grad school is something for which it is best not to accrue debt. But you'll probably get some good funding offers at those programs, probably quite good from PTS.

I assume that many doctoral applicants are last semester Master's students. How is the application tension affecting your last semester? Motivated to write your thesis? Less so? Already done? My strategy has been to audit so many Greek/Latin courses along with my thesis and graduate courses that I don't really have time to hypothesize potential results. But then again, I have time to write on this forum...

Concerning the UNC/money thing, I'm not sure about you all, but it's made me apprehensive about several of my applications (UNC, BU, FSU, even UT), whether or not the stipends will allow for living in those areas; and that's if I get accepted. What up wit dat?

Any good journal should have a blind review process. Their name would probably do little for you, and they may not want it on there. I know that at least for certain of the top doctoral programs, master's level publications are not something over which admissions committees necessarily swoon; in fact, in some cases they frown upon it. I think that getting published is easier than making sure that everything you publish is super-top-notch research. I am not speaking from experience, because I've opted not to try anything other than regional journals until well along in my doctoral studies and then at the behest of a trusted advisor. In my undergrad a nationally recognized leading scholar at any ivy told me over the phone, basically, "I would wait as long as you can before publishing. It is better not to publish than to publish something you might not want your name on in twenty years." I have opted out of having my name on several books/articles. This having been said, different subject areas (mine is Ancient Mediterranean Religions) have different modi operandi. Grain of salt, I'm not expert.

If you can identify a thematic area of focus that could potentially encompass all three subject areas you would be ahead of the game for an MA application; you could then tailor that focus topic (say, "identity formation") to the strengths and faculty interests of your prospective program(s).

I believe the usual is $15.5k, with unusually high student fees (in the thousands) for which students are responsible. In my estimation, this has the potential to make life in Chapel Hill difficult, but who knows? I hope they give you more.

Congrats to UNC's Religion in the Americas admit. If you are on here, was your funding offer "the usual" from UNC, may we ask?

I heard a rumor that Duke opted to cut all funding for doctoral Religion applicants this year in favor of establishing a basketball team comprised completely of REL students...weird.

Unless, of course, it was that really good one about a religion prof, a priest, and a rabbi walking into a bar.

11Q13: Yes, I don't any of us would withhold our right arm for an opportunity to study under that trio, although Nasrallah, King, Schussler-Fiorenza make a solid team for my money. I hope South Bend is enjoyable.

You might consult my good friend Sam Adams, I think he's from around your area....just kidding.

11Q13: I'd be very interested in knowing where your applications are going to fall this year.

When you post where you applied, state your discipline.

Do all the ivies always do interviews, even with those whom they've met before?

People who work under those considered the most brilliant in their field are generally considered to have the most potential in their field and therefore apply to and attend the universities housing and producing "the most brilliant" scholars. In reality, it is my opinion that those who combine natural intelligence with consistent, hard work in study, teaching, writing, etc... can succeed; however, I wouldn't want to say anything in absolutes (student of the humanities...)

Hopefully runthejewels isn't a stickler for plagiarism.

You have neither shot yourself in the foot nor screwed up your chances. My read is that advanced studies are an exercise in maturity and fortitude as much as in any learned competencies. In fact, a year off enabled me at one point to develop language skills, etc... at a slower pace and thus preparing for further study while in many ways resting and refreshing. I think this is also a great period within which one may examine and bounce off of other people whether the ardor and sacrifice required for a terminal degree is something that he or she wants and will be the best fit for that person's life situation. As per the application, some schools will ask for an explanation of a gap year, and this provides an additional opportunity to distinguish yourselves from your beloved fellow students (read "competitors"). It can be made an advantage.