Religion PhD - Results Page

[r&sstudent]

It seems that I've sparked an interesting discussion . Thanks so much for your thoughts...my housemates are going to Harvard for public policy and education policy, and they keep trying to tell me that I should go to U of C because I need to think of my future, blah blah. I tried to explain the shortcomings of U of C, but I wasn't really successful (not that it's their decision to make, but it was frustrating nonetheless. The more I thought about it, I would be very foolish to go to U of C, as my current hope is to teach at a Catholic university. If I wish to do so in my field, I would need to go to a Catholic university for my master's degree (and probably the Ph.D., as well). Religious ethics does not equal moral theology . Plus, it seems that my beliefs (and doubts) would be much better integrated into my work at a place like BC. Thanks for the assistance, and best wishes to all of you! I was pretty shocked to have been offered a full scholarship and, given the other factors, I'd truly be a fool to decline BC's offer.

[naham]

I was accepted to U Chicago MA Divinity School, and several other places. My interests are in Indian religions (Hindu and Buddhist) and culture. Other acceptances are in both religious studies and South Asian studies. I would appreciate any information about the U of C Divinity School History of Religions program. First, how many of the MA students are in H of R? Second, what proportion of them get admitted to the U of C H of R PhD program after finishing the MA? I was offered what seems to be the usual half tuition funding. Is there any chance of getting it increased?

[bah]

"First, how many of the MA students are in H of R? "

Varies from year to year. In a class of 40 I would guess around 10-15. It's a popular area.

"Second, what proportion of them get admitted to the U of C H of R PhD program after finishing the MA?"

Impossible to say. Not many now that Chicago has changed its funding structure. HR is known for preferring its own MA students but starting this year Chicago is taking about half the students it used to take and giving them quadruple the funding.

"I was offered what seems to be the usual half tuition funding. Is there any chance of getting it increased? "

Sadly, probably not. A very small number of incoming MAs receive full tuition scholarships.

[religiousphilosopher]

So there is a chance of increased funding at Chicago for MA students?

I was thinking about e-mailing them and asking if more could be available to me.

[Philmajor]

The chances of an MA student receiving more funding is very, very unlikely.

UofC Divinity has raised the amount that they give PhD students to $19K including health insurance from $13K (I think).

This increase caused them to cut back on the number of students admitted. My specialty, Phil of Rel accepted 2 students which meant I was out in the cold!

[naham]

Did Chicago find you another program, or help you do it? Do you find out early enough in the year to make other applications possible after the ax comes down? (apologize for my metaphor). I don't want to get booted after 2 years with nothing to show for it (except debts).

naham

[Philmajor]

Naham, Your response makes me laugh not at you but at the thought that U of C really cares enough to help out a waitlisted and then rejected student. I found out at the same time as everyone else - the week of March 17th which was much too late to apply anywhere else. I knew it was risky not applying elsewhere but I didn't feel I could do other applications justice and stay on top of my class work. The quarter system (10 weeks) doesn't allow for any time to "catch up" if you fall behind.

To give you an idea of how many were accepted - the class started with about 50 students, a few left before the first year ended and the majority submitted for the PhD. Only 18 were accepted and that includes the MDiv students. It's a small class this year and I wonder if it will remain small for a few years to come.

Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!

[religiousphilosopher]

^^ This makes me somewhat glad to not be pursuing my Masters at U of Chicago. The semester systems at Yale and Harvard will allow me to work on PhD applications in a year and half from now.

As a general question, do you know any philosophy of religion AM students at Chicago that went on to apply to Philosophy departments, such as Notre Dame (or any other. Notre Dame just comes to mind for its strength specifically in philosophy of religion)?

Just curious.

[Philmajor]

Religiousphilosopher - I haven't heard of anyone because most of us only applied to UofC Divinity for our PhD program. I'm not sure what others will do for the next cycle of applications; I think most will stay within religious departments.

[Revolage]

Religiousphilosopher,

Just as an aside, this year, Notre Dame's philosophy department offered doctoral acceptances to 10 students. Of the 10, three of them were friends of mine from the philsophy department at Northern Illinois University (they were all M.A. students). For a great department like Notre Dame to accept three students from one school is very unique, and speaks well of NIU's philosophy program (of which I'm a proud graduate). None of the three want to focus on philosophy of religion (they want to do philosophy of mind and epistemology), but all three are evangelical Christians, for what it's worth.

Revolage

[Stud. Theol.]

In the ND philosophy department you're going to see grads from good MA phil programs like NIU, Western Michigan, and at least 1 every year from Talbot School of Theology/Biola University. I personally know about 5 people in the program from degree programs that I've been in.

There will also be a very large number of evangelical and theologically conservative Catholics in their classes. So if you have an MA in philosophy and a are interested in philosophical questions that are of interest to conservative, evangelical, Catholic thinkers (like open theism, perfect being theology, God and time, Molinism) then you probably have a fair shot.

[Stud. Theol.]

Also, if anyone is interested in philosophy of religion and comes from an evangelical background, you may want to contact Brian Leftow at Oxford. I emailed him a few times last year with my interests. He essentially said that I'd get in and he'd supervise my work if I got a 1400 on the GRE.

I thought that was odd, but it certainly leaves the door open. Anyone can get a 1400 if are simply dedicated to it. The GRE is basically a trick test and if you know your ways around the tricks you'll get the score you need. (Evidenced by the fact that everyone I knew who became a GRE trainer and basically internalized the whole thing--how to take the test, the kinds of questions you face, got over the nerves--got better than 1400. Becoming a trainer made the difference for them; they certainly didn't get magically smarter.)

I didn't follow through because I dread taking the GRE again and, with some thought, I decided that I'm in no position to move to the UK.

[fortunata]

Stud. Theol.,

I thought Oxford didn't require the GRE for the DPhil? That's one of the reasons I applied to the Faculty of Theology! Cambridge, on the other hand, does require the GRE, though evidently they're flexible when it comes to the minimum score required for entry (though their website states that their successful candidates usually place within the 90th percentile on verbal, I failed the GRE miserably and was accepted by Cambridge).

[Stud. Theol.]

Fortuna,

You're right, Oxford doesn't require it. I don't know why any non-US institution would. (I can understand why US institutions do, though I wish they wouldn't.)

Apparently Brian Leftow personally requires it... or he just wanted it in my case. As I understand it, individual professors have much more control over the admissions processes in the British system than in the US. I think he had a number of good candidates that he couldn't really differentiate so he just wanted some objective tool for doing that.

[Guest]

I applied to MA/MTS programs in theology (though I also have interests in feminist theology and social justice issues) and was recently accepted to Harvard, Vanderbilt, Yale, and Chicago. I was only offered 50% tuition at Chicago, and I've read the threads regarding its program and climate, so we'll leave that one alone. But I haven't seen too much about Vanderbilt.

I was offered a competitive scholarship (tuition + stipend) at Vanderbilt and a Divinity School Grant and Stipend (tuition + stipend) at Harvard. There are professors with whom I'd like to study at both schools, so I'm a bit torn. I'm drawn to Vandy's commitment to social justice, but I'm also attracted to Harvard's prestige (I know that may not be as important... but I sort of can't help it!) and diverse course offerings/faculty. Does anyone have thoughts on the theology/feminist theology/theology & social justice programs/faculty at Vandy or Harvard?

A couple additional factors - I know for sure that the scholarship at Vanderbilt is renewable, but Harvard's financial aid offer says, "Financial aid awards require a renewal application each year, and may vary as a result of changes in your calculated financial need or receipt of outside scholarships." I'm planning to apply to PhD programs, so preparation for PhD work is another consideration.

Thanks!

[deus_absconditus]

Anybody out there know the word on the street about the University of Dayton's program in Theology? Anybody heard of it? Know someone who goes/went there?

[religiousphilosopher]

I was offered a competitive scholarship (tuition + stipend) at Vanderbilt and a Divinity School Grant and Stipend (tuition + stipend) at Harvard. There are professors with whom I'd like to study at both schools, so I'm a bit torn. I'm drawn to Vandy's commitment to social justice, but I'm also attracted to Harvard's prestige (I know that may not be as important... but I sort of can't help it!) and diverse course offerings/faculty. Does anyone have thoughts on the theology/feminist theology/theology & social justice programs/faculty at Vandy or Harvard?

Sounds like you want to go to Harvard. But if you do choose Vandy, please send that Harvard stipend over my way.

[religiousphilosopher]

I went to Chicago's open house for newly admitted students. They kept on emphasizing that one's chances of getting into the PhD program are greatly increased by going through the M.A. program.

What do you all think? Is it worth it to go into twice as much debt so that you have a better chance of getting into the PhD program? I suppose that's a personal question, though.

[deus_absconditus]

I went to Chicago's open house for newly admitted students. They kept on emphasizing that one's chances of getting into the PhD program are greatly increased by going through the M.A. program.

What do you all think? Is it worth it to go into twice as much debt so that you have a better chance of getting into the PhD program? I suppose that's a personal question, though.

Going into debt in order to get into a tier 1 PhD program is a VERY difficult option to entertain. I think a lot of it depends on a person's situation in life. Are you single or married? Shackling one's family with debt for a M.A. that may or may not help one get into a program can cause considerable stress on a relationship. Also, it seems like the recent PhD recipients, regardless of the granting institution, always struggle to find jobs. Getting a job after one gets their PhD, I hear, has a lot to do with one's networking, publishing history, and ability to teach students. Almost no one goes from a PhD program into a tier 1 teaching appointment. So smaller schools are going to want someone who can teach, not just publish. All of this to say, is it worth going into debt in order to get into a Chicago, Yale, or Harvard in order to get a degree (that hopefully will be subsided with tuition remission and a fellowship) that will put one in a similar situation they would have faced if they had gotten a degree from a lesser known institution? That's only a question you can answer. Perhaps those tier 1 schools, reputation aside, legitimately have ALL the things you want in a school--faculty interests, location, funding, etc. In that case, maybe you could justify accumulating some debt.

[Philmajor]

religiousphilosopher - I did exactly what you're thinking of doing for the same reason. However, I wasn't excepted into the PhD program at Chicago. This year, the Divinity school made offers to a total of 18 applicants. From what I know that includes both internal and external - so what would your chances be in 2 years? Only you can decide if it's worth going into debt. Good luck!

[religiousphilosopher]

I've decided against Chicago. Kinda weird, since I'd wanted to go there for a long time.

I'm visiting Yale and Harvard this week, and then I'll finally make a decision. How do MAR/MTS students from Yale and Harvard generally fare in the PhD market? I assume they do quite well, but I'm curious if anyone has some more concrete information for me.

Philmajor: where did you do your undergrad? Philosophically, what are you interested in? Do you know the 2 who were admitted into the philosophy of religion PhD program? What are they interested in? Will you consider applying to a PhD in philosophy program? And finally... what are your plans for next year?

[Philmajor]

religiousphilosopher - send me your e-mail address and I'll happily answer your questions.

[r&sstudent]

I was at the UChicago open house, as well. I'm not impressed...and by that I just mean that I was put off by their claim that it's more likely that you'll get into the Ph.D. program if you go there, and that most of the M.A. students don't apply for the Ph.D. Of course it's more likely, but that doesn't make it likely. Additionally, I had no idea that they took so many people. They said something like 55 M.A. students (they probably end up with most) times two (since it's a two-year program), 15 M.Div students times two, plus Ph.D. students and the AMRS students who are only there for a year. I'd feel like cattle...and I don't want that. I know they have great people and all, but I also know that they were putting their best face on for the event. Granted, the students who were there were very frank, and I really appreciated that. Also, when I had a one-on-one conversation with the dean of students (and with the academic dean), they were very forthright, for which I am quite grateful. It's nothing against UChicago...I just don't think I'd be happy there. I'm so glad I got in, and I'm so glad that I don't have to say yes.

[Philmajor]

As a current student, graduating in June I would love to hear what the other students had to say (I didn't attend the event) and the Dean of Students. Are you comfortable sharing?

[religiousphilosopher]

Well, they had three students share to the group. One was a PhD student, one was an MDiv student, and the other was an AM student. Now that I think of it, the PhD student did not do her masters at Chicago, the MDiv student was waitlisted at Chicago and will likely go somewhere else for her PhD, and the AM student is going to do his PhD in a different department at the university (if I remember correctly). That isn't what we want to be seeing...