Higher education after MTS

[Christlove]

Having said that the job prospects of divinity school graduates are very dull nowadays, what are the chances of finding a spot into other disciplines after taking MTS from any one of the top divinity schools? Are there many graduates who navigate through this background? If so which are those streams which can easily align with theological studies?

I'm putting this up here because I'm currently doing my undergrad in psychology and I'm interested in neurological aspects of spirituality. Is there any chance for me to do a masters in psychology or neuroscience after MTS if I prepare some thesis on this area during my time in theological studies.

[xypathos]

Depends on the school and your preparation before/after the MTS.

If your background is in psychology, presumably you could make quite a strong case for transitioning back to psychology, looking at neurological aspects of religion.

If you attend a larger M* school you will likely even be able to work some electives into your curriculum from the school's psychology and/or neuroscience departments. I myself took graduate courses in English and History while a M* student. I had colleagues taking courses in the French department, Social Work, law school, education, medicine, etc. Many of these opted to go get their PhD in those respective departments rather than religion. Generally two big reasons, 1) job prospects suck in religion, and 2) religious studies PhDs take an obscenely long time to do in comparison to other departments, even within the humanities. 

[Christlove]

Thanks for that. I hope my chances of getting into a PhD in theology won't be affected if I take courses from Psychology department. I have not yet decided whether I want a PhD in theology or psychology. So I want to leave no stone unturned.

[sacklunch]

I would avoid theology right now like the plague. Perhaps if you have interest in doing some kind of clergy/pastoral work. But if you don't, run away. I can't speak to psychology as an academic discipline (or non-ac career options in that field), but theology, as well as religious studies, is a dying discipline. There are no academic jobs and programs are each year pumping out graduates who are applying for the same jobs. Don't believe me? Look around at the job postings. If you have interest in mixing the two and want some kind of prep, do not do an MTS, unless it's free or mostly free; you're better off doing a) a religious studies MA (e.g. Duke) or b) a more general liberal arts MA/AM that will allow you to take whatever classes you want (e.g. Chicago). Unfortunately such programs are rarely well-funded.

[sacklunch]

On 9/30/2021 at 4:12 PM, JohnNatal32 said:

Don't friggen quote the spam bot.

-t

Reported. Please take your spam elsewhere <3.