DivSkool

Here's more info about Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago: http://divinity.uchicago.edu/islamic-studies Feel free to PM me with questions.

Chicago notified internal applicants via email tonight (2/18).

Come to Prospective Students Day! We're all pretty nice

This is pretty common, especially at Chicago. If you apply for a PhD in a humanities division like NELC and they reject you, your application will be recommended to CMES, or MAPH and MAPSS instead. These programs are typically unfunded, but it's possible to get some funding.

Well, definitely apply to UChicago! I can tell you more about the program if you PM me.

Chicago Div. Just finishing up my MA now, I was an internal applicant accepted to PhD starting in the fall.

Islamic Studies student here. I can tell you a lot more specific things about my experience, just PM me. As other posters have said, languages languages languages. Start learning Arabic right now. Most programs will want you to specify your Arabic background in your application, and having even a little will set you apart from the others. It's a tough language - you simply cannot be learning Arabic from scratch and trying to do research in the language at the same time, so most programs are going to want to see applicants who are already at at least an intermediate level. Don't bother with German or French now, you'll have plenty of time to tackle those later. Work on your Arabic. Having another Islamic/ate language like Persian, Urdu, Turkish, etc. will be necessary depending on your subfield. I can give you lots of advice on summer/study abroad programs for all of these languages, like I said, just PM me. Being Muslim is an interesting balance in this field. I think that it will largely depend on who you want to end up working with. For some people, the "insider" perspective is a necessary factor in the study of religion. Others think that it is in fact a huge hindrance to critical scholarship. If you're going to be working as a theologian, then great, but if not, then you're at some point going to have to prove that being Muslim is not going to be an issue when it comes time to examine whatever aspects of Islamic thought, history, literature, politics etc. you're studying from an objective or critical perspective.

At least for all internal applicants, emails were sent out by the Dean of Students on Friday night with offers/waitlist/rejections. As for external candidates, I don't really know what the deal is. I know my status but I don't want to say too much more on here because I don't want to be immediately identifiable by other people at Chicago...

I'll see what I can find out and then PM you. Hang in there!

As a relative "insider," I know that despite only one acceptance to Islamic Studies being posted, at least all the internal applicants to that field have been notified of their status. So it seems that for UChicago Div, the decisions - acceptances, waitlists, and rejections - went out on Friday evening. That being said, I personally know of at least a couple people who have been admitted to various PhD programs in the Div School after having been waitlisted or even outright rejected, so I definitely wouldn't lost hope and I would get in touch with your POIs to see what the situation might be or become for your field.

I know personally of one internal applicant who was accepted to the PR section. It seems like, at least for the internal applicants, UChicago Div sent out individual acceptances/waitlists/rejections yesterday evening, alphabetically by department (which is why there were gaps in when people were being notified - Ethics before Theology, for example). I have no idea whether this was for all applicants, or just the internal ones.

UChicago's the place to be, both in the Divinity School and in SALC (South Asian Languages and Civilizations). Now, if only they would ever let us know...

I personally know of two people who were offered acceptances to Chicago NELC last week, one internal (as in a CMES student) and one external. Their subfields are not archaeology/any kind of ancient stuff. However, I also know of people who have simply not heard anything one way or the other, and I'm not sure whether the accepted students heard officially from the department or unofficially from their POIs. Anyway. That's what little "insider" information I have.

In terms of South Asian languages, that's pretty much it. CLS and AIIS are in effect the same thing - the CLS scholarship simply provides you with the funds to go to one of AIIS' many programs. I've actually done all of the programs you mention so just PM me if you want more specific info.

Easiest option. Leaving it off the CV. thanks!

Hi everyone, After hours of fruitless Googling, I thought I'd ask around the forums. At my undergraduate institution I was once asked to introduce a visiting speaker; the speaker was high-profile and the invitation to give introductory remarks was really an honor. I'd like to include this on my CV, but I have no idea 1) the proper citation for it, or 2) where to put it - I have a section for conference papers and workshops but it doesn't really fit there, and it feels stupid to create a whole "invited talks" section for one line that isn't even technically a full talk. Any advice?

Don't let money keep you from applying! You are guaranteed tuition plus stipend for five years at Chicago Div, hands down, at minimum. From the web site (http://divinity.uchicago.edu/admissions/financing.shtml): All PhD students admitted to the Divinity School in every area of doctoral study receive a 5-year University of Chicago Fellowship, which provides full tuition, a $22,000 stipend, two summer research stipends of $3000 each, and coverage in the University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP) for the student.

Are you asking if Duke doesn't offer five years of funding, or if other schools don't? I don't know the details for other institutions, but at Chicago Div you are guaranteed funding for five years in the doctoral program.

I searched through my email for what I wrote when I reached out to the professor who is now my advisor when I was applying for M* programs right out of undergrad, and visiting schools. I think it's important not to be too specific, since it's just a master's program, but examine more whether or not your interests are a good fit with the school and the faculty. I emailed introducing myself and asking if we could set up a meeting when I visited the area. We had a meeting, it was great, and I got in. My (ultimately successful, I suppose) email went like this: subject line: prospective graduate student visiting chicago Dear Professor X, My name is GRAD STUDENT and I'm a senior WHATEVER major at Secular Liberal Arts College currently in the process of applying to the Divinity school. I study both THIS LANGUAGE and THAT LANGUAGE and am mainly interested in THIS THING as well as the relationship between THIS THING and THESE OTHER THINGS. It seems as though Chicago has the perfect combination of interdisciplinary resources and scholars like yourself who work in areas that I have a background in and want to explore more deeply. I'm going to be in Chicago for a few days after THIS SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD and I was wondering whether you would be on campus and willing to have a conversation about the WHATEVER program in the Div School, and whether you think it's the right place for someone with my background and interests. Thank you, GRAD STUDENT

I noticed a few people here are applying to UChicago - I'm there now, so hopefully I can answer any questions you may have...

Have you applied to Chicago? Some of their MA slots are fully funded; most are 50% or 25% funded. Better than nothing.

Hi dcrechie, I can only speak for the Middle Eastern and South Asian languages with regards to FLAS - the competition is very different for each of the areas they cover, and funding varies from year to year. If you want more detailed info, just PM me.

I posted about language prep in the other thread about Chicago specifically, but just as an NB for if you're thinking of pursuing the MA at Chicago - one of the requirements of the MA program is that you pass the university reading exams in either French or German, in addition to strengthening whatever languages you'll need in your chosen field. I honestly don't know anybody in the current cohort who came in without significant background in the languages they would need, especially in Islamic Studies and History of Religions. Also pretty much everyone I know is spending their summer picking up an additional language that is relevant to their field of study.

I can't really speak for "stats" like GRE scores or GPA (since I don't think they matter as much on their own, rather they are just another part of a well-rounded application), but in my experience everyone that I've met in the MA (AM, whatever) program has had extensive language training in their field before they get here, and once they're here, continue to study relevant languages over the course of the year and into the summer. So, if you know that you're going to need to have Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, etc., you should focus on including the training you've already had in your statement of purpose, and definitely plan on taking more language classes if you don't already have a background in what you need.

Last year I received an email offering admission to the MA program on March 14, so probably not for another couple weeks at least...I don't know when MDiv or AMRS students heard, but I would imagine at more or less the same time. They just made offers for the PhD program a couple days ago, so they need to figure out the PhD yield and funding packages before they make offers for the various masters-level programs.