Duke or Emory?

[mks114]

For their MTS? Similar financial package with merit scholarships (though not full tuition).

Any thoughts? My interests lie in probably doing a PhD in New Testament down the road.

THANKS!

[thumbnail72]

For their MTS? Similar financial package with merit scholarships (though not full tuition).

Any thoughts? My interests lie in probably doing a PhD in New Testament down the road.

THANKS!

I think a lot of it depends on your approach. But, having recently graduated from Duke with an MTS, I'd say they're the place to be, hands down. The faculty resources of the Divinity School (to say nothing of the rest of the university) exceed Emory's by far. Plus, Durham is a great place to live and there's nothing quite like watching a basketball game with fellow divinity students at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Lastly, I got into 3 PhD programs after graduating from Duke and was wait-listed at two others; prior to Duke my previous two graduate degrees in theology didn't get me in anywhere. Anyway, that's my two cents. Hope it helps.

[flynnkc]

Duke.

[X-Cathedra]

Duke. Hard to compete with National Champions.

[Mathētēs]

.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Mathētēs

[PhdWannabee]

No surprise that Dukies are all homers. Don't let Duke grads tell you that Emory's faculty isn't as good as Dukes, that's ridiculous and dependent on the field and actual research topics in which you are most interested. If I were you, I would basically look for 2 or 3 people at each program that you would be willing and able to study with enough that they would write you a glowing recommendation. Two year Masters degrees give very little time to establish good relationships with letter writers, so you basically need to decide now whom would be best to get a letter from. Letters will make all the difference since subdiciplines and particular research interests are very fraternal. Certainly as far as academic reputation is concerned either Duke or Emory would be a good choice.

Also, as someone who has spent plenty of time in the Research Triangle area, I can say Durham is not a desirable place to live. Compare that to Emory's campus bordering Atlanta and Decatur, two of the coolest cities in the southeast, and it blows Durham away. The only thing that might make Durham cool is its relative proximity (10-30 miles) to cool places like Raleigh and Chapel Hill, which are very exciting digs but a bit of a drive. Durham, not so much.

Edited April 12, 2010 by PhdWannabee

[thumbnail72]

Also, as someone who has spent plenty of time in the Research Triangle area, I can say Durham is not a desirable place to live. Compare that to Emory's campus bordering Atlanta and Decatur, two of the coolest cities in the southeast, and it blows Durham away. The only thing that might make Durham cool is its relative proximity (10-30 miles) to cool places like Raleigh and Chapel Hill, which are very exciting digs but a bit of a drive. Durham, not so much.

Obviously we could argue for days about which university/faculty/program/degree is better, Duke or Emory. I don't see that being too productive in the end, so I'll just limit myself to the Durham issue. Frankly, I've loved living in Durham. Being within 5 miles of Eno River State Park, getting to hang out on 9th St. or at the Tobacco Campus downtown, going to Durham Bulls games, frequenting the local restaurants and farmers market, experiencing the citywide Duke vs. UNC rivalry first hand, strolling through the expansive beauty that is Duke Garden - I don't see what's not to like! The weather is much more mild in Durham than in Atlanta and it's 2 hours from the beach to the east and 2 hours from the mountains to the west. Plus, Durham houses a far superior university than does Atlanta (both of which shall remain nameless). The other thing I should mention is that there is a free bus that goes from Duke to UNC several times everyday, allowing students to take advantage of the incredible academic opportunities of both universities without having to drive to Chapel Hill at all.

Edited April 12, 2010 by thumbnail72

[mks114]

Obviously we could argue for days about which university/faculty/program/degree is better, Duke or Emory. I don't see that being too productive in the end, so I'll just limit myself to the Durham issue. Frankly, I've loved living in Durham. Being within 5 miles of Eno River State Park, getting to hang out on 9th St. or at the Tobacco Campus downtown, going to Durham Bulls games, frequenting the local restaurants and farmers market, experiencing the citywide Duke vs. UNC rivalry first hand, strolling through the expansive beauty that is Duke Garden - I don't see what's not to like! The weather is much more mild in Durham than in Atlanta and it's 2 hours from the beach to the east and 2 hours from the mountains to the west. Plus, Durham houses a far superior university than does Atlanta (both of which shall remain nameless). The other thing I should mention is that there is a free bus that goes from Duke to UNC several times everyday, allowing students to take advantage of the incredible academic opportunities of both universities without having to drive to Chapel Hill at all.

Thanks for all your input... for thumbnail, I know you mentioned you just finished the MTS at Duke, is the program pretty rigid in their structure or will they allow you to tweak the curriculum to your own interests? I'm also coming from another master's degree so I prefer not to repeat introductory classes...

[thumbnail72]

Thanks for all your input... for thumbnail, I know you mentioned you just finished the MTS at Duke, is the program pretty rigid in their structure or will they allow you to tweak the curriculum to your own interests? I'm also coming from another master's degree so I prefer not to repeat introductory classes...

The faculty prefer all students to "stay on paradigm" as they put it, but I ended up getting out of all my prerequisite courses except for OT 1 & 2. I showed up on campus coming from a conservative evangelical seminary with a 4-year ThM (essentially a 3-year MDiv and 1-year ThM all in one degree), set up meetings with the relevant professors during orientation, and convinced all but the OT prof (who, as it turns out, doesn't let anyone get advanced placement) that I knew my stuff sufficient to receive advanced placement. So I got to spend 14 of my 16 MTS courses in upper level seminars, directed readings, and courses outside of the department. Granted, I don't think that kind of large-scale course replacement is common, but it does happen. Just make sure to set up those meetings early and bring all of your pertinent prior syllabi for the profs to review. And be ready for some on-the-spot questions to test your basic knowledge in a given area. Best of luck! And please feel free to private message me with any other questions or concerns you might have. Duke is a fantastic place - I hope you wind up there. Peace.

[Jack Horner]

No surprise that Dukies are all homers. Don't let Duke grads tell you that Emory's faculty isn't as good as Dukes, that's ridiculous and dependent on the field and actual research topics in which you are most interested. If I were you, I would basically look for 2 or 3 people at each program that you would be willing and able to study with enough that they would write you a glowing recommendation. Two year Masters degrees give very little time to establish good relationships with letter writers, so you basically need to decide now whom would be best to get a letter from. Letters will make all the difference since subdiciplines and particular research interests are very fraternal. Certainly as far as academic reputation is concerned either Duke or Emory would be a good choice.

Also, as someone who has spent plenty of time in the Research Triangle area, I can say Durham is not a desirable place to live. Compare that to Emory's campus bordering Atlanta and Decatur, two of the coolest cities in the southeast, and it blows Durham away. The only thing that might make Durham cool is its relative proximity (10-30 miles) to cool places like Raleigh and Chapel Hill, which are very exciting digs but a bit of a drive. Durham, not so much.

The New Testament faculty at Emory is incredible. Probably the finest in the country. Overall, Duke's program might be better, but for New Testament studies, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place to study than Emory. Luke Timothy Johnson is the MAN. Carl Holladay and David Peterson are also excellent.

Never been affiliated with either program/school, so this is as objective as it gets. That said, you can't go wrong with Duke either. It just happens to be that Emory is in a class of its own when it comes to NT/Scripture studies.

[LateAntique]

I actually think Duke has the superior NT faculty. Richard Hays, Mark Goodacre, Joel Marcus, Doug Campbell, etc - pretty tough crowd to beat. On top of this, the resources at Duke are pretty amazing. If you have any interest in early Christianity, you have J. Warren Smith, Lucas Van Rompay, and Elizabeth Clark. Emory's big early Christian guy (Ayres) moved to Durham (UK). On top of this, you have UNC right down the road. I know people in the Religion program are able to go take classes at UNC, but I'm not sure about the Div school (I don't see why not, though). That opens up classes with Zlatko Plese (Coptic specialist), Bart Ehrman, etc.

Durham is also a very affordable place to live with plenty going on. I would go to Duke.

[sacklunch]

That's a really hard decision, but I would go with Duke as well. They were my first choice since their faculty (in my opinion) is really good.

[ddsdevil]

I'm from GA and visited both schools twice. Emory seemed like the logical choice for me, but I fell in love with Duke. Both are excellent schools and it really depends on what you are looking for. But for me, it was Duke.

If you are planning to study NT, it's really hard to beat Duke. Douglas Campbell is our NT professor (1st year's intro. to NT) and he is amazing. Some of the stuff that he is doing is ground breaking (The Deliverance of God). Richard Hays is the star of the faculty, but keep in mind that he will be assuming the role as Dean for the next two years. Therefore, I doubt that he will be offering many classes, if any at all.

I have also found the theological approach to scripture here to be a breath of fresh air. Laced through the courses is the understanding that scripture is for the church. There is room for other views, but this post-liberal view is certainly dominant.

Blessings to you as you search!

[X-Cathedra]

I'm not gonna bash Emory by any means (*bows humbly*), but good LORD Duke's NT faculty is insanely good. It is just littered with all-stars.

I also got out of all my core classes except the OT and I decided to take the NT one as well. They really try to drive the paradigm thing home but I don't think it actually applies to the MTS folks. No one has given me the slightest trouble trying to take upper level courses. And if you've done work in theo/religious studies before, you can opt to be on the "MTS paradigm #2" which basically lets you do what you want as long as you do your thesis and get a few classes in each area (theo, biblical, historical).

Pax Christi,