Funding

[Church Mouse]

I've figured out that I need to do a ThM or STM or MTS or some such in preparation for a PhD. With a lower GPA, I will probably not qualify for a funded grad program. It would be lovely if the other parts of my application outweigh the GPA, but I'm not going to hold my breath. So, where does a starving student-to-be go for grants for studying theology? I have done the usual Google search and come up with a few possibilities and tons of articles that are not extremely helpful. If you have been here before and discovered some gold mine of a resource, please enlighten me. I would really appreciate some good pointers.

[sacklunch]

I've figured out that I need to do a ThM or STM or MTS or some such in preparation for a PhD. With a lower GPA, I will probably not qualify for a funded grad program. It would be lovely if the other parts of my application outweigh the GPA, but I'm not going to hold my breath. So, where does a starving student-to-be go for grants for studying theology? I have done the usual Google search and come up with a few possibilities and tons of articles that are not extremely helpful. If you have been here before and discovered some gold mine of a resource, please enlighten me. I would really appreciate some good pointers.

Just curious, what is your GPA? Do you not plan on taking out any loans, or you just want a large portion of tuition out of the way?

I think you would be surprised. I know most of my friends at top schools, even ones with not "great" stats ended up getting 30-50% scholarships. It's worth applying, at least.

[Church Mouse]

Just curious, what is your GPA? Do you not plan on taking out any loans, or you just want a large portion of tuition out of the way?

I think you would be surprised. I know most of my friends at top schools, even ones with not "great" stats ended up getting 30-50% scholarships. It's worth applying, at least.

3.2 No, I do not plan to take out loans. I wasn't going to take out loans for the MDiv, but I kinda got backed into a corner on that and I'll still be paying on those when it's time for the next degree program.

There must be a better way to find grants than through a Google search. I must be missing something.

[sacklunch]

3.2 No, I do not plan to take out loans. I wasn't going to take out loans for the MDiv, but I kinda got backed into a corner on that and I'll still be paying on those when it's time for the next degree program.

There must be a better way to find grants than through a Google search. I must be missing something.

Just based on the experience with my friends, it seems like if you want it paid for you just need to be awesome...haha...and get a full ride. Sadly, most of us didn't get it all paid for, although most of us did get a good chunk of it comped.

Perhaps there is some free money associated with your church, or denomination (if applicable)?

[student35]

Try the Fund for Theological Education (fteleaders.org).

Perhaps there is some free money associated with your church, or denomination (if applicable)?

Right. I know the Disciples of Christ have fellowship opportunities. Other denomination might also as well.

[11Q13]

I'll save you the trouble. There is next to nothing. If you were doing an MDiv you would have some scholarship opportunities, or if you are a woman or a minority in particular because they deserve more scholarships for some reason. What you ought to do is simple apply to the programs with good or at least not bad funding. For example, Vanderbilt's standard offer is something like 70%, and with the low cost of living in Nashville, you wouldnt break the bank.

[Church Mouse]

I'll save you the trouble. There is next to nothing. If you were doing an MDiv you would have some scholarship opportunities, or if you are a woman or a minority in particular because they deserve more scholarships for some reason. What you ought to do is simple apply to the programs with good or at least not bad funding. For example, Vanderbilt's standard offer is something like 70%, and with the low cost of living in Nashville, you wouldnt break the bank.

It's more than a little disheartening that there isn't much funding out there for programs between the MDiv and the PhD. After getting this far, there really isn't a lot of room left in our lives for more loans. I'm also in a denomination without resources for funding me through. They're spending most of their money on church planting and missions. I cannot begrudge them that at all! I'll just have to lean a little heavier on the other parts of my application. Those other parts are very good, but as the GPA is such a standardized requirement I had hoped to find a safety net in funding.

I am a woman, and I don't know why women need or deserve more scholarships than men. I think the funding bodies just want more women in the field because we are a bit of a scarce breed there. However, as I need funding as much as anyone, I'll take a woman specific scholarship if I can find one. We all take what we can get. That being said, the gender particularity in scholarships does go both ways. We all deal with it.

With funding sources being so specific and scattered to the four winds, it's just plain frustrating to find whatever suits the individual. That is why I asked for help from others in the same boat. There really should be a website where the various funding bodies can list their scholarships, grants, etc. Perhaps someone about to study business should take that on. The Craig's List of graduate funding, as it were. It would make life easier for both the funders and the students. Thanks for the input everyone. I guess this is an area we all struggle in, not just me. Good luck to all of you!

[11Q13]

It's more than a little disheartening that there isn't much funding out there for programs between the MDiv and the PhD. After getting this far, there really isn't a lot of room left in our lives for more loans. I'm also in a denomination without resources for funding me through. They're spending most of their money on church planting and missions. I cannot begrudge them that at all! I'll just have to lean a little heavier on the other parts of my application. Those other parts are very good, but as the GPA is such a standardized requirement I had hoped to find a safety net in funding.

I am a woman, and I don't know why women need or deserve more scholarships than men. I think the funding bodies just want more women in the field because we are a bit of a scarce breed there. However, as I need funding as much as anyone, I'll take a woman specific scholarship if I can find one. We all take what we can get. That being said, the gender particularity in scholarships does go both ways. We all deal with it.

With funding sources being so specific and scattered to the four winds, it's just plain frustrating to find whatever suits the individual. That is why I asked for help from others in the same boat. There really should be a website where the various funding bodies can list their scholarships, grants, etc. Perhaps someone about to study business should take that on. The Craig's List of graduate funding, as it were. It would make life easier for both the funders and the students. Thanks for the input everyone. I guess this is an area we all struggle in, not just me. Good luck to all of you!

I'm probably a little biased coming from Harvard, women are certainly not the rare breed here. There are a bunch of websites that show scholarships, however we seminarians are a breed that doesn't fit well into the categories that are available. Your best bet would be to look into scholarships for something related, like language study, gender studies, social work, etc.