JadeMagpie

Faith is important for me too, but I have to say -- I don't think Grad School is unique in its tendency to monopolize our time and take our focus off of God. Perhaps Grad School does this in a way other things don't; I wouldn't know exactly. I am not in grad school. But I am a busy professional (work full time, and own my own business), and between my personal and professional responsibilities, it is a significant challenge to continue making Religion a part of my life. I've found it is very easy to make excuses about time and exhaustion. When you really think about it, many church/temple services are only one or two hours, don't require much prep at all. Morning prayer and daily meditation doesn't take much time either. There are number of ways to worship and stay engaged through the the day. There are small groups, forums, devotionals, and sometimes (depending on your faith) religious leaders are available to talk to. Most campuses have various ministries present, and often have a college chaplain. The hardest part is finding a church home, or feeling safe and secure in a new situation. I imagine that since your life changes so much with grad school (new place, will be leaving soon), that it's not easy to fit in. Maybe you could go straight to a local pastor, or contact someone back home who can connect you with someone in the area? Or perhaps a friend of yours is willing to talk with you about faith on the phone from time to time. For me, I keep a few devotionals at my desk and prayers printed out in my area. I make it a point to pray whenever I think of it, and before bed. Fortunately, I can talk about God with my family. When I was in school, I tried to get involved in small groups when possible. I visit church when I can; I try to be gentle with myself when I don't meet my goals there. I listen to music that to me is spiritual, and sometimes I even sing (alone) in worship. I write my religious friends from time to time. One of the greatest things in the world is the internet -- so many churches publish or podcast sermons. I bet, no matter your faith, you could find some inspirational teachings online. If it's fellowship you're looking for, you're likely going to have to reach out (which is uncomfortable and awkward to everyone) and see if anyone in your area is willing to shepherd you in a positive direction! In any case, I understand how you feel. It is hard. Even beyond Grad School, you are not alone. *hug*

You could always ask the kinds of private sector / non-academic institutions you're interested in. Do what kuniklos suggested and create a portfolio of your accomplishments and speak to someone who is in charge of hiring. See if you can't call or e-mail and introduce yourself, say you're very interested in doing work for companies like this in the future, and that you are still in graduate school wondering whether or not to go on for further work. Ask for a tour of the company/organization, ask about how your expertise might fit in, and whether or not it is a significant advantage or disadvantage to have a PhD. For many employers, you may have to quantify exactly what having a PhD might mean (I will come away with X amount of knowledge and experience and expertise). One thing to carefully consider is that you do not want to be over-qualified for jobs in this market, indeed, probably no in any market. If having a PhD means that they think you'll be expecting a higher income, or that they feel you have too much expertise in your given field, then perhaps walking away with only a masters is the best plan. In my experience working for non-profits, it is what you can do rather than what you know that counts. Have you done it before? Can you quantify your accomplishments in such a way that can make your future employer imagine how you might be able to do the same for them? This is just generalist information, but I think you will find it more helpful to talk to people outside academia, and most people love to talk about themselves. Good luck! (P.S. -- It's just my personal opinion, but if you are not passionate about your present course of action, then I think it's definitely time to consider what's missing. It seems like you already have your answer, and that you just need the courage and the validation to make a big change. One rarely regrets chasing one's passion, more often it is those who have chosen the safe or practical course that resent letting go of something meaningful to them. Be vigilant in your self-searching, and reach out to as many folks in your field outside academia as you can! Just do your best to examine the possibility of the "grass is greener" type thinking, and then you can confident in leaving your PhD, if that's what you choose to do)

@Balatro! I love your ideas, and I will look into them. Philosophy is an intimidating field for me due to the fact that I am not quite well-read enough in that area (and I have only ever taken one true philosophy course in my life). However, part of my app-plan, as I'm calling it, is to amass a really-awesome reading list and start making my way through it. I got my preliminary GRE scores back. I bombed the Quantitative part: 450-550 estimated score, and verbal is not too much better at 570-670. This is with one year out of undergrad and no test prep or time spent studying. So, if I gave myself a few months I could re-test much higher. Are these scores terrible for M* programs if they're on the mid to higher end of that scale? I am still waiting on official documents from both my universities. My SOP & LoR will be the strongest points of my application, so my main goal is that my GRE/GPA scores don't immediately disqualify me from consideration or set me apart in an obviously negative way. From the narrowing I've done, I am looking at M* programs @ Drew Duke ND Marquette Vandy Boston College I've decided I don't want to be in New York City or California presently - trying to avoid living directly in big cities and I'm not an out west kinda gal. I am hoping to stay in the Midwest, East Coast, or South. Lastly, I am starting to lean towards M.Div programs because they seem to, in many ways, offer a more thorough education and I'd be starting out with little in the way of language proficiency. Recommendations? I plan to continue researching schools and programs -- should I skip apply this year? Should I skip it, re-take the GRE and work hard on reading and language skills? Do both, see what happens? Thanks folks.

Read "What Color is Your Parachute." Networking, portfolio prep, and a tailored resume for a very particular position are very important. Strong work experience that is applicable to your position is important, if you don't have that you need to volunteer or intern if you can. This all depends upon what you want to do. Do you want to teach? Do you want to consult? Do you want to work in non-profits? Do you want to work in sales? Each field has different requirements and expectations for their applicants. Most professional jobs want a cover letter and a resume. Letters of recommendation upon request only.

You should really look into Alverno College in Milwaukee, they're highly rated, and their unique and innovative approach to Education is mind blowing, empowering, and amazingly diverse.

These are such helpful and thoughtful answers! Thank you so much! The more research I do, the more I think I am interested in systematic theology (which obviously relates closely to ethics). The idea of an M.Div kind of appeals to me for another reason too, as long as it wouldn't hurt my chances at a PhD program -- I have an interest in chaplaincy, but I am pretty certain that 1. I wouldn't want to do this for my whole life, and 2. Theology is my first love, and I adore writing non-fiction. I think that I have the capacity to make significant contributions in my field, and potentially beyond in terms of spiritual memoir or creative projects, social initiatives, etc. Eventually, that is. I just sent away for my transcripts, and by October I should know what boat I'm really in and how much work I'll need to do to re-direct. I've also been making a reading list and spending a LOT of time on departmental websites/researching other schools; so I am especially grateful for everyone's suggestions regarding programs. I've done a lot of Googling, but I don't have enough of a baseline knowledge of grad schools to tell exactly which ones might have funding AND relevant programs for me. Plus, what a program advertises is often much different from how it is perceived by others, etc. I am also want to avoid fundamentalist seminaries and colleges, or programs that are focused predominantly on biblical theology or are overly entrenched in any one denominational tradition -- while I know most programs have some of this, critical thought and rigorous study and compelling research need to be more important than dogma and politics (is this absurdly idealistic?), at least on a global level. But at the same time, there needs to be an atmosphere of creativity and spirituality (not that professors need to be spiritual, but the study of, say, mysticism should be an option). I can bring a lot of my own​ creativity and mysticism, but would like to feel challenged and understood, too.

As someone starting the application process now, I really value the information and experiences posted so far. I'll keep checking back for more! Thanks folks.

Hi! Recently I've decided to face a rather significant fear and simultaneously pursue a passion; I want to apply to graduate school to study Religion, particularly ethics, with the eventual goal of obtaining a Ph.D. Academically, I'm interested chiefly in Ethics. I feel I need more understanding of Christian history and world religious thought. I am mostly interested in inter-faith dialogue and ethics on issues of sexuality and gender, with a sub-focus on humane education/peace studies. I am personally interested in religious literacy, inter-faith dialogue, and inter-disciplinary connections (particularly in art and literature in practice, with a contemporary focus. I am less interested in historical artwork -- I am interested in art as part of the religious experience, art as part of theological dialogue, and creativity as part of religious community, etc.) My educational background is interesting, non-traditional in some ways, and I am concerned it will handicap me in this process. First, I did not attend high school (excepting one semester) and graduated with a HSED (GED+civics+financial literacy). Despite this, I ended up testing average on my ACTs and attending college. While at school I studied art, had no initial study skills, but managed to earn a cumulative 3.5 before having a small crisis which resulted in dropping/failing/incompletes in a few classes (final grades unknown). I transferred schools and started the very next semester (spring) at a new school, and therefore never had a look at my GPA after that fact. After transferring, I changed majors to Religious Studies and did very well. However, the school I graduated from had a very small (and relatively unknown) religious studies department. Potentially more to my detriment, however, is the fact that this school (Alverno College) does not use grades, and therefore I have no GPA. Only a glowing narrative transcript of all the work I've done over the two years I was there. They do offer a service to translate my narrative record into a cumulative GPA for schools that require this, but I haven't the slightest idea of what it would be. The feedback I got for all my classes was good, if not great, and in many cases (as with my major courses) excellent. If I had to guess, I'd say 3.5+ given my scores at the previous college. GRE to be taken in one week. Stats: -B.A. Alverno College, Religious Studies -- Unknown GPA (estimated conservatively at 3.2) -Attended North Park University, Art (studio, for 3 years) 3.0-3.5 GPA -Excellent employment record (Run three community programs, lots of autonomy and achievement in a professional setting, massive teaching experience -- but with children and teens, not adults) -Excellent recommendations, but only one recommendation from a Religious Studies faculty (took courses mainly from one prof, many adjuncts and transfer credits) -President of the College Art Association at NPU -Student Speaker at Graduation (auditioned and was chosen to be commencement speaker) -Peer Academic Advised (similar to TA) at NPU, two semesters -GRE: unknown -No stats or research classes taken, no work published or presented. -No language skills - passed French 1 & 2 but currently have only a basic understanding. Could change this with hard self directed study -Religious affiliation (currnet): Society of Friends/Quaker (unofficial, attend but am not a member yet) -Religious Background: Lutheran and non-denom evangelical Questions - please feel free to address one or all or make comments, all feedback is appreciated! Are my interests too broad for graduate school applications, or do you feel these topics are inter-connected enough? Do I lack focus? For M.A. in Religion or Theology, how important is it to find a faculty member that has similar research interests? Given my interests (above), is there a particular school I should be looking at? Currently on my list are: Notre Dame, Duke, Harvard Divinity, Marquette, and possibly University of Chicago. (Possibility for funding is a requirement) Any thoughts/experience with narrative transcripts, how big of a setback will this be for me? The school itself is well recognized, but in fields other than religion. Given my background and qualifications as they are, is it possible that I am a qualified enough for some of the programs I'm looking at, or does my candidacy sound sort of like a long-shot at best? How many, if any, masters candidates start out with zero language competency? What is the best way to learn reading-level proficiency in a language, and which languages are best? It seems French & German for my purposes, but what about biblical languages? Do all schools require an interview, do schools interview at all? How does this work? I've read about it some places, but it doesn't seem to be listed among formal admissions processes. Keeping my personal and academic interests in mind, do you have any reading suggestions? My library is full of books and journals that I feel are meaningful and important, but I feel like I could be missing some very big things. My background in history is shoddy at best. (I've always been sort of wrapped up in my own little world of self-discovery and contemplation that sometimes I lose what's important in the big picture, hence my potentially impaired qualifications.) --- I realize this is long, so thank you in advance for taking the time. I have little to no frame of reference, I did not have a professor pushing me to pursue grad school (at the time I had a great job with lots of potential for a secure career, she felt that despite the fact I'd do well, the job outlook is very grim -- also, at the time, I was still very torn between creative writing, art making, and religious studies. I also was worried about being a woman - my faith growing up considered women to be ineligible for theological training and religious teaching/leadership outside Sunday school). Anyway! At the end of the day, the study of religion, writing about religion and spirituality, exploring the religious experience and cultural expression -- this line of thought is where I feel most at home, most compelled to move forward, and it's what I keep coming back to (albeit with many confusing inter-disciplinary interests attached). Thank you thank you!