PhD directly from undergrad?

[derpyderp]

Hi all,

I'm currently a rising junior at a top 5 school. I'm doing an undergrad in religious studies/theology and want to do a PhD in biblical studies focusing on the OT. I'm wondering what the likelihood is of getting into a top PhD program from undergrad? I'm using this to plan my future course load wisely.

As of right now, upon graduation I will have completed: 4 semesters of German, 2-4 semesters of Attic Greek, 4 semesters of Biblical Hebrew, 1 semester of Aramaic, and I have 4 more slots, was aiming to take Russian, but still considering the best use for those open courses. I will have completed a year long sequence of OT/NT courses and will aim to take exegesis courses in OT (Genesis/Pentateuch/Song of the Sea) at a partner university (HDS/YDS). I'm wondering if me taking master's level courses and performing well will look good on my application? I understand that this isn't very common, but I would like to give myself the best chance possible. Any help would be wonderful and I thank you for taking the time to read this :)

[xypathos]

Your chances aren't 0 but you're seriously hurting your chances by not having an M* degree. If you're wanting to be competitive take your pick - HDS, YDS, Chicago, and maybe 1-2 others for the purposes of comparing financial aid offers.

It use to be that the top schools set aside a single slot for an exceptional undergrad student but those students are rarer and rarer. Too, you often saw them in history or some field that I just broadly refer to as 'cultural criticism.' By and large most undergrad students just don't have the languages fully under their belt for a PhD for NT or HB.

Your languages are good. Russian is a bit of an outlier but perhaps it's pertinent to your research interests. If you're at a T5 school I'd look for a language a bit closer to your field. You'll need a basic familiarity with translating written French but given your language exposure, self study.

Also if T5, you have access to faculty that are perhaps sitting on a PhD AdCom in religion and/or have worked with students that have gotten into such programs. They'll be far better sources of wisdom.

[derpyderp]

20 hours ago, xypathos said:

Your chances aren't 0 but you're seriously hurting your chances by not having an M* degree. If you're wanting to be competitive take your pick - HDS, YDS, Chicago, and maybe 1-2 others for the purposes of comparing financial aid offers.

It use to be that the top schools set aside a single slot for an exceptional undergrad student but those students are rarer and rarer. Too, you often saw them in history or some field that I just broadly refer to as 'cultural criticism.' By and large most undergrad students just don't have the languages fully under their belt for a PhD for NT or HB.

Your languages are good. Russian is a bit of an outlier but perhaps it's pertinent to your research interests. If you're at a T5 school I'd look for a language a bit closer to your field. You'll need a basic familiarity with translating written French but given your language exposure, self study.

Also if T5, you have access to faculty that are perhaps sitting on a PhD AdCom in religion and/or have worked with students that have gotten into such programs. They'll be far better sources of wisdom.

Okay thank you. I'll have to reach out to faculty and see what they say. With this profile, assuming test scores and gpa are in a competitive range, would this be competitive for a T5 MAR program? 

[sacklunch]

On 7/27/2021 at 6:03 PM, derpyderp said:

Okay thank you. I'll have to reach out to faculty and see what they say. With this profile, assuming test scores and gpa are in a competitive range, would this be competitive for a T5 MAR program? 

T5 M* programs are not difficult to get into, at least when compared with most other M* programs at those schools in other fields. In other words, you will have an easier time getting into Harvard Divinity M* than you would, say, getting into a Classics M* at University of Arizona. It's a bit odd, but there it is.

Regarding going straight into a PhD, you might be able to swing it. Some good programs take fresh-from-UG students (e.g. UNC-CH comes to mind), but most do not. The good part is that you will probably get a full ride to nearly any M* you apply to, well, because you're a rare applicant. Most of the masters and doctoral students at T5 schools didn't go to a top school. Why? Because majors at top schools have been leaning STEM+ more and more over the past few decades. This will work in your favor throughout academia, should you go that path. Having that T5 UG on your CV will help get you one of the 5 tenure-track jobs available per year in this country!