Question about work experience when applying for PhD programs

[hailstate92]

So I have a question about the effect of  work experience when applying for PhD programs. 
 

For some background, I have a BS from Mississippi State University in aerospace engineering and currently work as an engineer for NASA. In addition, I’m on staff at a church and am working on my MDiv at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. 
 

I would eventually like to pursue a PhD in New Testament, early Christianity, or patristics. I know that attending an evangelical seminary (especially a Southern Baptist one) severely limits my chances of getting into top tier programs, but does my decade of engineering work experience help me in any way? Or would my best route be to finish the MDiv, do a second Master’s at a non-evangelical school, and then look at a PhD?

 

Just looking for some advice since my background is a little different than most folks going into this field. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[sacklunch]

Your background should make you highly competitive, but honestly I don't know how much it will matter. The academic field of religion is (some say hopelessly) conservative and does not generally value skillsets in the sciences. I know there are exceptions. Perhaps someone else can chime in? In my opinion, I don't think you're going to be very competitive at R1 programs with that MDiv. Heck, even if you were enrolled at an R1 MDiv I don't know how competitive you would be for the simple reason that you have little coursework in the NT/EC. MDiv degrees require too much irrelevant coursework, leaving you with at most 1.5 years of relevant coursework (in NT/EC I mean). Languages will of course be your biggest hurdle for R1 programs in these subfields. Your competition is going to have BAs in Religion, Classics, et sim. + M* degrees (some more than one) from R1s. While in theory your background in engineering is super rare in NT/EC, there really isn't much benefit, from the standpoint of 99% scholars in these subfields, of having an engineering degree -- besides some vague/cliché notion that you will be a very 'logical thinker'. The problem, really, is that none of the faculty in these fields have science backgrounds; most were trained in the glory days when there was no talk of interdisciplinarity. Many of course talk about promoting diversity etc. and to a large extent they are doing just that, but it's the kind of diversity that rarely extends to disciplines like engineering. 

I might suggest looking at more interdisciplinary doctoral programs at R1s. Perhaps you have some interest in applying your background to the study of (later) antiquity? Such perspectives are indeed needed and valued (even if not to depts. of religion). 

[xypathos]

If you were doing a subfield that looked at religion + science, your engineering and NASA experience would be invaluable. In biblical studies, not so much. It's neat and will help you stick out as "that NASA person" but that's about it.

[Pierre de Olivi]

As others have said your relative lack of coursework, and especially coursework in the relevant languages for the study of NT/EC/Patristics, is a much bigger drawback than any benefit you may have from your unique background. However, if your science background included significant quantitative or coding work, it may provide a slight benefit if you apply to programs that favor digital humanistic approaches. You would still probably want to do a second master's, a post-bacc, or at least some language coursework, but if you can find a way to bring together your interests in a cohesive project proposal it could help out in the long run. Feel free to reply or DM me if you want more info on where to look if you're interested in DH.