Need information for MDiv/MA programs in South Asian Studies focusing on Sanskrit

[usera]

I am interested in doing MA/MDiv in South Asian studies after completing my Bachelors degree. I was interested in getting some insights in comparing different programs. I am more interested in Sanskrit Language/Literature/Ancient Hindu Scriptures/Texts.

[xypathos]

Any of your top schools will have access to Sanskrit resources, so Harvard (perhaps any school part of BTI), Yale, Chicago, Duke, maybe Princeton.

[LotusFlower]

May also want to look at MTS degrees. That’s a lot closer to an MA than a MDiv is. 

You can also look at University of California. I forget which campus exactly but they have a strong SA program. Also lots of resources on the West Coast

[Rabbit Run]

My guess would be to look at MA programs in Religious Studies or related fields as well as Divinity School/Seminary M.Div. or MTS programs that have people specializing in South Asian Religions. I'd second Harvard or Chicago's Divinity Schools; you might want to check out the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, which I believe has relations with UC-Berkeley

[usera]

Thanks for quick responses. How easy/difficult is to get in the top programs? What are the acceptance rates for the top programs? Also, do they look for high GRE scores or focus more on interest/essay?

[torontonian27]

Toronto also has a strong Sanskrit culture, especially in terms of its archival resources. You might want to consider the Department for the Study of Religion at U of T as a potential place to pursue a MA.

[marXian]

6 hours ago, usera said:

Thanks for quick responses. How easy/difficult is to get in the top programs? What are the acceptance rates for the top programs? Also, do they look for high GRE scores or focus more on interest/essay?

Divinity schools/seminaries are less competitive than religious studies programs. There are few RS programs that offer a terminal MA, and the div schools admit far more students each year (both in terms of number and percentage of applicants). GREs are not as important at the M* level; your SOP is probably the most important factor, even if your GPA isn't that high (i.e. low 3s or something.) Though if you happen to be interested in PhD work, getting competitive scores on the GRE (≥163 Verbal, ≥5 Writing, not completely bombing the math) will save you from having to retake it for PhD applications. Some div schools/seminaries don't even require the GRE though, so there's that too.

[usera]

Thanks all. I have one other question. How is the UPenn Phd program (UPenn don't have MA program) compared to the UChicago, Columbia, Harvard, Toronto,....any others programs? (focusing on Sanskrit/Religious Studies)

[MettaSutta]

On 2/9/2018 at 3:50 PM, usera said:

Thanks all. I have one other question. How is the UPenn Phd program (UPenn don't have MA program) compared to the UChicago, Columbia, Harvard, Toronto,....any others programs? (focusing on Sanskrit/Religious Studies)

Columbia University's South Asia Institute has Sanskrit courses. I just got accepted earlier this week!

[KA.DINGER.RA]

I have no idea if it is still the case, but while I was at the University of Georgia the head of the linguistics department was a fairly well known scholar focusing on Sanskrit and other Devanagari languages. There are also a couple of professors in the religion department focusing on SE Asian religion. It's not a tier-1 program, but the Religion MA set me up very well moving forward from there.