Fall 2021 Religion PhD

[Guest]

Hi guys—happy to see there is a thread for us! I love how diverse our field is.

I haven’t figured out grad cafe but on one of the pages it listed that Stanford requested interviews around this time last year.. has anyone heard from them?

Feb is going to be a little crazy..

I applied for Philosophy of Religion to a few different places. 

good luck to all of us!

[alizeh55]

Hi all, I’m so glad to see the thread is getting responses. When I started it I didn’t expect any responses considering how small our field is in comparison to others on this platform, so this feels great to see! 
 

I just wanted to share something that has helped me stay calm and avoid anxiety. I was listening to a podcast that basically said that whenever we really really want something to a point where we can’t imagine life without it, we are often ruining our chances of getting it. This is a manifestation technique, by the way, and I’m not fully into manifesting but I felt that I had a handful of personal examples to go with it.

 

anyway, the point is, one needs to accept that whatever the outcome, things will be okay. At the end of the day we will each end up wherever we belong — whether that’s at a certain school or a completely different career path. We have put in the hours and work into these applications, and that is the most we could do. Now we wait, but practicing this idea of being okay with whatever outcome might be the best thing that we can do for ourselves!

 

ive been occupying my time by working out a lot and watching movies. I wish each and every person good luck, but also hope that this entire process doesn’t take a toll on your mental health. Grad school is tough, guys, let’s try to alleviate some of the anxiety while we still can. 
 

[beorn1968]

hi all, after  little over a decade I'm returning to academia to get a phd. have a masters in history. my area is modern U.S. religious. I presented at a major academic conference this year to a positive response.  I'm applying to a mix of History and RS programs at Northwestern/Harvard/ Yale / Virginia / Notre Dame. I've had positive email contact with  POI at Harvard, Yale, NW and Virginia.  Have not heard anything since early Jan and no interview requests, is this bad or good? thanks, good luck and solidarity

[CafeConGabi]

52 minutes ago, beorn1968 said:

hi all, after  little over a decade I'm returning to academia to get a phd. have a masters in history. my area is modern U.S. religious. I presented at a major academic conference this year to a positive response.  I'm applying to a mix of History and RS programs at Northwestern/Harvard/ Yale / Virginia / Notre Dame. I've had positive email contact with  POI at Harvard, Yale, NW and Virginia.  Have not heard anything since early Jan and no interview requests, is this bad or good? thanks, good luck and solidarity

Oh how exciting! 

I applied to Notre Dame's history program: No email/no interview (yet?)

And Yale's history program: No email/no interview (yet?)

I did email my POI before applying but that was pretty much it.  

 

[beorn1968]

2 minutes ago, CafeConGabi said:

Oh how exciting! 

I applied to Notre Dame's history program: No email/no interview (yet?)

And Yale's history program: No email/no interview (yet?)

I did email my POI before applying but that was pretty much it.  

 

good luck, trying to not to be on here and checking my email 80 times a day lol

[CafeConGabi]

Just now, beorn1968 said:

good luck, trying to not to be on here and checking my email 80 times a day lol

Same!! You too! Eek! SO exciting! : D

[alizeh55]

1 hour ago, beorn1968 said:

hi all, after  little over a decade I'm returning to academia to get a phd. have a masters in history. my area is modern U.S. religious. I presented at a major academic conference this year to a positive response.  I'm applying to a mix of History and RS programs at Northwestern/Harvard/ Yale / Virginia / Notre Dame. I've had positive email contact with  POI at Harvard, Yale, NW and Virginia.  Have not heard anything since early Jan and no interview requests, is this bad or good? thanks, good luck and solidarity

From what I know Harvard doesn’t do interviews (if you applied to CSR, phd in religion, that is.)

 

[KungFuKenny]

2 hours ago, beorn1968 said:

hi all, after  little over a decade I'm returning to academia to get a phd. have a masters in history. my area is modern U.S. religious. I presented at a major academic conference this year to a positive response.  I'm applying to a mix of History and RS programs at Northwestern/Harvard/ Yale / Virginia / Notre Dame. I've had positive email contact with  POI at Harvard, Yale, NW and Virginia.  Have not heard anything since early Jan and no interview requests, is this bad or good? thanks, good luck and solidarity

I haven’t heard anything from Yale yet. Can’t speak to the others!

[crossroadsph]

9 hours ago, KungFuKenny said:

I haven’t heard anything from Yale yet. Can’t speak to the others!

Same here, nothing from Yale (RS, theology). Though I asked a non-admissions related question to someone there and I got a reply that made me laugh.

[AnxiousinSyriac]

Perhaps, this is the week that we'll hear back from some programs. Any traction thus far? Hope everybody is well. 

[amam]

Waiting to hear back from ND. Any news from ND guys?

[dougy]

3 hours ago, amam said:

Waiting to hear back from ND. Any news from ND guys?

Based on prior years, ND seems to make first communication during the first week of February, though sometimes the communications go out in batches. So, if you see results pop up and haven't gotten yours yet, give it a couple days before you give up hope.

Duke Divinity normally communicates during this week. On the results board, someone posted that they were accepted to the Duke PhD program and that they had interviewed for the ThD. I suspect the candidate was top of the list for both programs and did one interview for both, but I can't be certain. 

I see many of you are troubled by the silence. Look back at previous threads and note how much activity happens mid-late February. Not to mention people getting pulled off wait lists mid-late March. Silence at this point (from many programs) is simply what we should expect. Next time you reach to check your email or GradCafe, take a very, very deep breath, and pray. (Now, I'm off to try to follow my own advice!)

God bless you all in the waiting! 

[Cold Latte]

Hi all, does anybody know if Georgetown's PhD program (Theological and Religious Studies) do interview? Many thanks in advance.

[cdhtrigger]

What 

On 1/19/2021 at 7:20 AM, Averroes MD said:

If you don't get in this round, ask them to waive the 3-strike rule based on COVID and your diminished chances due to that

What is the three-strike rule?

I applied to two PhD programs last year and was denied to both. I applied to one of those again this year. I want to focus in Global Christianity so I applied to UC Riverside and University of Florida.

[Averroes MD]

1 hour ago, cdhtrigger said:

What 

What is the three-strike rule?

I applied to two PhD programs last year and was denied to both. I applied to one of those again this year. I want to focus in Global Christianity so I applied to UC Riverside and University of Florida.

Harvard GSAS has a 3-strike rule: you can only apply 3 times in your lifetime. If you apply to 3 different departments in one go, for example, that's 3 strikes.

Personally, I don't like the rule. 

[CafeConGabi]

3 hours ago, cdhtrigger said:

What 

What is the three-strike rule?

I applied to two PhD programs last year and was denied to both. I applied to one of those again this year. I want to focus in Global Christianity so I applied to UC Riverside and University of Florida.

I went to UCR for undergrad. Majored in Religious Studies. I LOVE their department. Super small but I LOVED it!!! 

[cdhtrigger]

14 minutes ago, CafeConGabi said:

I went to UCR for undergrad. Majored in Religious Studies. I LOVE their department. Super small but I LOVED it!!! 

Did you ever take any classes with Dr. Chang or Dr. Lucia? I talked to these professors and I have some similar interests. Are you in a PhD program now?

[KungFuKenny]

Is it ever alright to contact a POI during this waiting period? I connected with professors at each school I applied to but that was weeks/months before submitting the app. I’d like to jog their memories of our interaction by reaching out but I worry that this would be construed (rightly, I suppose) as manipulative. Thoughts?

[Guest]

Just now, KungFuKenny said:

Is it ever alright to contact a POI during this waiting period? I connected with professors at each school I applied to but that was weeks/months before submitting the app. I’d like to jog their memories of our interaction by reaching out but I worry that this would be construed (rightly, I suppose) as manipulative. Thoughts?

Go with your gut! With all the Covid stuff I would only press them on so called "real" questions.

I personally did not contact the professors I requested in the American programs. I had emails drafted to them--but thought against it, in part because some of the websites do not have the faculty addresses listed and explicitly say please do not contact the faculty, so... Just go with your gut. They will see from my application the networks we have in common and anything I would have said in a "cold call" email.

I did contact the supervisors in the UK, but they have a different system where the PhD does not involve coursework.

22 hours ago, Cold Latte said:

Hi all, does anybody know if Georgetown's PhD program (Theological and Religious Studies) do interview? Many thanks in advance.

I would be curious to know this as well. I received a generated email from them today asking me to sign up for their prerecorded webinars. I do not like it when programs send unnecessary emails because the initial banner across the phone makes me sweat!

I am tempted to say because of all the craziness of covid a lot of places are forgoing the interviews.. But this is not based on fact.

[CafeConGabi]

55 minutes ago, cdhtrigger said:

Did you ever take any classes with Dr. Chang or Dr. Lucia? I talked to these professors and I have some similar interests. Are you in a PhD program now?

I am not currently a PhD student. I applied to PhD programs this fall. 

Dr. Chang came in the year I left (2016) BUT I did hear him give a lecture at some point and thought he was great! I didn't interact with him too much (I was focused on other things) but he was always very helpful when I spoke to him. Very friendly. 

I was in a seminar with Dr. Lucia in 2015. She made me cry. ? But I think that's only because I was just getting my feet wet in the department/field of religious studies and would stumble with asking questions. I felt intimidated by her. She was also the advisor for the Religious Studies Undergrads. I was the president of the group so I spoke to her often.  However, over time I realized how amazing she is as a scholar/researcher and now have a friendlier relationship with her. I definitely admire her. 

[crossroadsph]

On 1/26/2021 at 3:58 AM, dougy said:

Based on prior years, ND seems to make first communication during the first week of February, though sometimes the communications go out in batches. So, if you see results pop up and haven't gotten yours yet, give it a couple days before you give up hope.

Duke Divinity normally communicates during this week. On the results board, someone posted that they were accepted to the Duke PhD program and that they had interviewed for the ThD. I suspect the candidate was top of the list for both programs and did one interview for both, but I can't be certain. 

I see many of you are troubled by the silence. Look back at previous threads and note how much activity happens mid-late February. Not to mention people getting pulled off wait lists mid-late March. Silence at this point (from many programs) is simply what we should expect. Next time you reach to check your email or GradCafe, take a very, very deep breath, and pray. (Now, I'm off to try to follow my own advice!)

God bless you all in the waiting! 

Thank you for noting that Duke Divinity contacts people this week. While I haven't got any word yet, it's good to know.

Also, I did look at the survey: much of the activity starts in early February and continues until late that month. I know that one of the schools I applied to posts acceptances or wait-list entries at the end of the month and rejections much later (I should know, I applied to that school last year). 

7 hours ago, courtak said:

Go with your gut! With all the Covid stuff I would only press them on so called "real" questions.

I personally did not contact the professors I requested in the American programs. I had emails drafted to them--but thought against it, in part because some of the websites do not have the faculty addresses listed and explicitly say please do not contact the faculty, so... Just go with your gut. They will see from my application the networks we have in common and anything I would have said in a "cold call" email.

I did contact the supervisors in the UK, but they have a different system where the PhD does not involve coursework.

I would be curious to know this as well. I received a generated email from them today asking me to sign up for their prerecorded webinars. I do not like it when programs send unnecessary emails because the initial banner across the phone makes me sweat!

I am tempted to say because of all the craziness of covid a lot of places are forgoing the interviews.. But this is not based on fact.

It's tempting to think that most schools are foregoing interviews. From a look at the current cycle's survey, I only noted a few references to interviews: Duke (GPR and Divinity) and Marquette. Usually, I see quite a few in January. I hope that is the case this year, but we'll never know. Maybe people were asked not to post on Grad Cafe?  

[CafeConGabi]

Update: Just heard back from UCSB's Chicano Studies (Latinx religions). It was a no-go. Not crazy hurt but maybe a little bit. Ahh! 7 more to go! >.<

[Theobuckeye]

On 1/25/2021 at 6:03 PM, Cold Latte said:

Hi all, does anybody know if Georgetown's PhD program (Theological and Religious Studies) do interview? Many thanks in advance.

Georgetown's Theological and Religious Studies Program does not do interviews, unless for some reason they've changed things since I started here two years ago. I didn't hear anything until my decision was posted in early March.

[Cold Latte]

23 hours ago, courtak said:

I would be curious to know this as well. I received a generated email from them today asking me to sign up for their prerecorded webinars. I do not like it when programs send unnecessary emails because the initial banner across the phone makes me sweat!

I got the email too lol. Yes it's both exciting and frustrating to get an email from programs that says nothing about what you want to know!

4 hours ago, Theobuckeye said:

Georgetown's Theological and Religious Studies Program does not do interviews, unless for some reason they've changed things since I started here two years ago. I didn't hear anything until my decision was posted in early March.

Thanks for the input!!

[_Athena_]

Hi, friends! It's great to see some activity on this forum. This is my second PhD application cycle (I was rejected from every program my first go-around, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!), and I've applied to several programs in Hebrew Bible/Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Yale EMWAR, Harvard CSR, UVA, UNC, NYU, Fordham, JTS). I have received an offer of admission from UNC (yay!) but have yet to hear from any other programs. Wishing everyone the best of luck in this stressful process!