PhD in Religion

[Yogita1]

I needed an advise about the issue ...  I have a bachelors in Business Administration (3.97 GPA) and then I did corporate job for 3 years and 1.5 years work at Non profit .. and after that I did Professional degree that is Masters of Liberal Arts majoring in Ethics & Leadership 3.81 GPA. from University of Chicago.. and i really wants to pursue PhD In religion with major in Ethics ... I am  fluent in sanskrit language .. and all the papers produces in MLA was related to religion ... can anyone advise on ... that shall i go ahead and apply .. what will be my chances to get selected into Harvard Divinity and Columbia Divinity..

 

any response and advise are welcomed...

[Averroes MD]

24 minutes ago, Yogita1 said:

I needed an advise about the issue ...  I have a bachelors in Business Administration (3.97 GPA) and then I did corporate job for 3 years and 1.5 years work at Non profit .. and after that I did Professional degree that is Masters of Liberal Arts majoring in Ethics & Leadership 3.81 GPA. from University of Chicago.. and i really wants to pursue PhD In religion with major in Ethics ... I am  fluent in sanskrit language .. and all the papers produces in MLA was related to religion ... can anyone advise on ... that shall i go ahead and apply .. what will be my chances to get selected into Harvard Divinity and Columbia Divinity..

 

any response and advise are welcomed...

Hi there.

Harvard Divinity School no longer has a PhD program and there is no such thing as Columbia Divinity as far as I know.

To be very honest, I think your chances at a fully funded PhD program in religion are just about nil. 

But, that's OK! I don't mean to discourage you but basically alert you to the fact that you need to first get a master's in the study of religion before thinking about a PhD.

Additionally, based on your major, it seems that your master's degree was from UChicago's Graham School (equivalent to Harvard's extension school). I think it can come across as misleading when you say UChicago full stop, although maybe others disagree with me here. Whatever the case, all of this reinforces what I said about the need for a master's degree in the study of religion. This is not just so you can stand a good chance of admission but also to learn about the basics of the degree program... Most importantly of all, you will get a better idea of if you really do want to traverse this path to begin with.

Your knowledge of Sanskrit is definitely a huge plus. You should use the extra time to learn another language as well. French or German is good, or another research language. 

Finally, you should be aware of how grim the job market is.

Having said all that... Good luck!

Edited December 3, 2020 by Averroes MD

[xypathos]

I concur with @Averroes MD - getting into a PhD program in Religious Ethics without specific coursework in that field, probably won't happen.

If you want to study religious ethics at Harvard's Committee on the Study of Religion you'll need to look through their faculty and find one that has a field in relation to yours.

Columbia doesn't have a divinity school but Columbia University has a very close relationship with Union Theological. The latter does have a PhD program where you can specialize in ethics, and you'll see Columbia and Union students taking courses at the other school.

I will also add that Columbia University has their own program in Religious Studies with a strong emphasis throughout Asian religions so I know they'll have faculty that will be of interest to you. We just don't get a lot of posters interested in Columbia and I don't think I've personally met a Columbia grad (I think they're exceptionally strong in asian and broader ME studies and I'm just not in that arena so it's ignorance on my part).

I think I agree with Averroes MD's comments regarding your degree from Chicago's Graham School. Religious Studies, and the academy at-large, is largely still an old white man's club and part of that is pedigree and not intentionally misrepresenting yourself. People from Graham and Harvard Extension have gone on to great PhD programs, just be mindful of how you represent yourself.