Chances at MDiv Programs, and ideas?

[CharlieP123]

Hello all! I was wondering if any of you may be able to help me out with a grad school search. I am hoping to study Buddhist-Christian dialogue in an MDiv program in preparation for pursuing Buddhist chaplaincy and/or Protestant ministry. I have read quite a lot on this topic, especially from writers Thich Nhat Hanh and Paul Knitter. I find the conversation between these two traditions to be fascinating, and I am interested in finding ways to put it into practice. I am considering applying for MDiv programs at UChicago and Harvard, as I have heard they have the greatest assets for multi-faith interested students. Any other ideas of good programs to explore would be appreciated!

I have an undergraduate GPA of 3.72 from a small liberal arts college, and a GRE score of 163V, 146Q and 5AW. I read on the UChicago website that they do not consider the Quant section for an MDiv program, which is why I decided to focus my time on the Verbal and AW. Is it possible my low score on the Quant will be a problem? I'm currently pursuing a Masters of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, gaining experience in practicing therapy. 

If you have any time to share your thoughts I would appreciate it! Thank you! 

Edited June 3, 2019 by CharlieP123

[xypathos]

Yea, when it comes to Buddhist-Christian dialogue - Harvard and Chicago are probably top of the field.

I don't generally encourage people to apply to less than four schools for a MDiv - having options is nice and being able to compare financial aid packages helps!

So, there's obviously Naropa University in Boulder, CO. They use to do exceptionally well at placing M* graduates with intensive language preparation into programs at Harvard, UCLA, Chicago, Oxford, etc. I ran into an alum from there that went onto Harvard and she said that's harder to pull off now because of how they schedule language and critical analysis courses. Still possible but you need to hit the ground running. If you're looking for a practice-focused approach to inter-religious dialogue, Naropa would be worth considering.

There's also the Institute for Buddhist Studies at Graduate Theological Union. You'd need to affiliate with a member school but would certainly be able to do Christian-Buddhist dialogue. I imagine there'd be a lot of resources available as well in the Bay Area.

[ChristoWitch87]

Union Theological Seminary also allows its M.Div students to specialize in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement.

https://utsnyc.edu/life/institutes/buddhism-program/