goodbye I

You hover over the small crimson diamond. Some of the results list them, some do not.

Sigh of relief. Congratulations EcoBren!

I was thinking the same thing. One of the Emory interviews is also sub 160; that was a bit surprising. Perhaps it should make us all more hopeful as more results begin to come out. The quantitative scores, however, are certainly higher than mine--maybe a cause for concern?

Those are unfortunate results to see. Congratulations to whomever congratulations is due--it is certainly well earned. While not getting interviews is a hard pill to swallow, it's good to have some kind of information back. Here's to hearing (positive) results from other top choices sooner that later, said the man drinking whiskey in a dark room.

I've been checking the results search religiously the last few days and have lurked over the conversation going on here--I thought it was high time I joined in. I've applied to Duke, Emory, Marquette, UT, Baylor, and two evangelical schools: McMaster and Fuller (I guess this is the [dis?]advantage of applying to NT PhD programs as an evangelical?). I've had some cordial correspondence with faculty members from most of these schools, along with a few pleasant meetings at SBL; we'll see if any of that pays off in the near future. Its seems as though we will (hopefully) have some more information from Duke in the next week or so. Has anyone heard (read: have insider knowledge) from other schools? By my perusal of last year's results, Baylor sent out interview notifications around this time last year. Good luck to all!

This SoP centers on you and your personal interest in theology. Obviously this is important to some extent. What is missing, in my opinion, is why Boston College is a good place for you to pursue your interest in theology generally, or reconstructivist analysis, or whatever else you may pursue at BC. You need to talk about their program and why your interests fit the interest of the faculty there. What you bring to the program is also missing here. Why should BC choose you? How will you benefit the program and how is this demonstrated in your past work, even if it is not in theological studies. You cannot be reserved here. You may not have a groundbreaking theory that is going to take the theological world by storm, but you need to puff yourself up a little more. Saying things like "probably not terribly original" is not advised. They may recognize that this is not a new thought if you don't include the caveat, but there is no need to demean your own interests and thinking, there are plenty of other people in academia who will do that for you as you continue your studies. I would also avoid the excessive use of unnecessary adjectives ("large interest", etc.). In sum, I think that you have a good start to introducing yourself and why you want to study theology at the master's level. I think this should be one to two paragraphs of your SoP--at most. You should work on demonstrating your specific interests, how BC fits with those interests, and what you will bring to their program. Good luck!

This is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I have my suspicions that it may be a bit contrived and produce a few eye rolls.

I am considering using this brief conclusion (or something like it) for two or three of the highly competitive programs I am applying to. It's an attempt to set me apart and make me a more memorable applicant for programs that have a 5% (or so) acceptance rate. I have mixed feelings about it and have gotten variegated feedback. Let me know what you think. No criticism is too harsh.

For most of the program's I am applying to I was dependent on certain faculty members' scholarly output for portions of my thesis or for term papers. This provided a segway for most of my 'professors I want to work with' paragraphs. I would say something like "In my thesis on Blah Blah Blah I was dependent on Dr. Blurgh's methodology in How to Get into Grad school for dirka dirka. I find his argument that la dee da is especially pertinent to my interests outlined above." I think this provides a good opportunity not only to demonstrate you are familiar with their work, but that you have been influenced by it and believe your future output will mirror theirs in some way. I'm interested to see what others did for this paragraph.

That sounds right for most programs. I have seen 700 words as a pretty common recommendation/requirement. This particular program asks for four pages. Four pages single-spaced would be a dream come true, which makes me lean towards the assumption that they mean four pages double-spaced.

If a school states that your statement of purpose should be approximately x number of pages, is it assumed that this is x number of single spaced pages?

I am looking for someone to review my SoP. I am hoping for feedback specifically on my introduction and if I am focusing too much on the way my interests fit one of the faculty's interest. Let me know if you'd be willing to look it over!

That's right the Bible department is a little more scarce right now. The website may not be accurate either because the program is joint with Denver University. I think you have to look at both websites to get an accurate representation of the faculty. Dr. Pam Eisenbaum and Dr. Greg Robbins are the two on the NT side of things (though Dr. Robbins wears a few different early Christian hats--he is primarily a Eusebius scholar). Dr. Ann Brock has recently stepped down and (I believe) they are looking for someone to fill her role sooner than later. Dr. Mark George and Dr. Amy Erickson do HB there.

I'm looking for suggestions of programs I may not have thought of as well. My interests are in intertextuality, how literary techniques help form identity in the gospels (especially Mark), performance criticism and orality, Pauline counter-imperial interpretations (more specifically, how the Pauline communities interact with empire), and aspectual theory/discourse analysis of the Greek NT. I am an evangelical Christian, but my MA is fron a non-evangelical institution. This makes me a little more flexible in terms of programs I am looking at; I intend on applying to both seminaries and universities. This is my list thus far: Marquette, UT-Austin, Emory, Baylor, Duke, McMaster Divinity School, and Fuller.

11Q13, I finished an MA at the Iliff School of Theology this past spring and there is a lot of conversation about "the parting of ways" of "Judaism" and "Christianity" going on there. It is one of the interests of Dr. Eisenbaum, especially in regards to book technology. Much of the conversation is reflective and dependent on Boyarin's 'Border Lines', which might give you a good frame of reference for the kind of conversation taking place. While it is not necessarily one of the big name schools, it may certainly be worth checking out given your interests. I would suggest sending Pam an e-mail, she's very cordial and I'm sure would be willing to discuss your interests and how they match DU/Iliff's.

MBI and servant of the book (I'm taking the liberty to presume this a fair translation of your moniker...), Thank you both for the information. I had (obviously) posted this a while ago and have since had a cordial e-mail correspondence with both Drs. White and Friesen. They were both really friendly and extremely willing to answer my questions and dialogue about my interests and how they fit with UT's program. I am hoping to meet with one or both of them at SBL in November to discuss the program further. δουλος, perhaps you can answer some questions about the general population of students in the program. I was curious as to where graduates of the program intend to pursue positions upon matriculation. Obviously there is no placement data yet, making this information is a little bit more difficult to come by. Are there many students who intend on seeking employment in more 'evangelical' institutions--seminaries and Christian universities? On a completely different note, do most students get ample teaching opportunities during their time in the program? I was a little fuzzy on how the stipends related to TA and RA positions. Do you have any idea on the general stats of applicants in regards to GRE, GPA, what kinds of institutions they are coming from, etc? You had mentioned that everyone in the program has a masters degree (I completed my MA in the Spring), do many have more than one degree? And are most MA/THM types? Or are there a number of students coming in with MDivs? Finally, does the program have a set number of students they accept per specialization? I'm trying to get general idea of where I stand amongst the competition at UT... Thanks for the info above; I look forward to hearing more!

Does anyone have much familiarity with UT-Austin's program in NT, Christian Origins, and Ancient Christianity? I am interested in the social world of the NT, performance criticism, and intertextuality. Drs. White and Friesen have significant overlap in my interests. I know the program is newer and have heard it is very much up and coming. Is anyone currently pursuing MA/PhD work there? Having a significant background in NT (BA and MA), how much MA work would I expect to do before moving into doctoral level work? What does funding look like there? Any information from an 'insider' would be greatly appreciated.

The Iliff School of Theology in Denver is certainly worth checking out. While they don't have a resident Queer theorist, the conversation is certainly vibrant there in most of their fields. The funding won't be anything to write home about, but neither will admittance to the MA program be painstakingly competitive.

I got an e-mail a couple of days ago, but was told financial aid is still pending. I applied to the JCA program, specifically NT. I didn't know this site existed until tonight when I was trying to get information on when funding decisions are made at Marquette. Good luck! Hope you got good news!