Atypical Student. Help!

[perplexed101]

Hello,

I am currently at a well ranked US Business School (T20) studying economics and mathematics. GPA around 3.5-3.6 due to heavy quant basis& one really awful grade. Strong ECs, study abroad. Not URM.

This is going to sound a bit out of the ordinary, but I am quite interested in theology. I have taken two courses over the past two years, receiving an A and A-. Also took an intro philosophy, received an A. Same grades in all of my core humanities courses. Catholic & particular interest in St. Francis. I read a variety of texts for fun, and personally enjoy the ancient through early medieval period. Interests: Christian History (Franciscan). Lack of language probably precludes me from studying Biblical I suppose....

I will be graduating a year early due to various factors, and have the ability to take 2-3 more humanities/theology/philosophy courses in addition to fulfilling all outstanding requirements prior to graduation. I have no modern language ability outside of HS Spanish & a semester of intensive Italian abroad (yikes!), and absolutely no experience with Latin/Greek/Hebrew.

Does anyone have suggestions for graduate programs which would accept me and meet my needs? Many of my professors have encouraged graduate studies, even my humanities professors; it is my dream to finish a PhD and teach. Bottom line, I love just about everything I study except business. Econ is not business, and math is pure logic (beauty for that matter)! I wish I would have figured this out ages ago, but better late than never Not to brag, but I am often praised for my writing & speaking ability from professors and peers (although I do not agree, relative to the authors I read). This is somewhat encouraging from my perspective.....

1)Is MTS the best option? MDiv, MA etc?

2)Should I take intro Latin (Greek not a possibility) over humanities type courses?

3)Thoughts of becoming a Brother Minor, but primarily interested in academic route at the moment.

4)Financial Aid would be wonderful. Looking to avoid very expensive programs, max 15k/year.

Finally, I want TRUE Catholic theologians: AKA NO modernist garbage!!!

Looked into the Franciscan School of Theology (FST). The ND MTS would probably not accept me with my background....

Thanks a million! Suggestions sincerely appreciated!

[sacklunch]

From what I remember most masters programs want around 1/3 of your coursework in the humanities, although I'm not sure of anyone that has applied with a business background, ect.

What do you mean by "real" Catholic theologians? ND's program, like you said, might be a bit out of reach because of its free tuition. GTU has several Catholic departments, but might be a bit too "modern" for you. You might look into BC's MTS program, but there are rumors that next year all of the MTS students will be given free tuition (Like ND), which will likely mean it will become even more competitive. As far as the overall breadth of Catholic programs, I think BC pretty much has the best program just because of its department size, as well as access to courses through the BTI. It's a bit too Catholic for me at times (I'm not religious), but its academics are outstanding, so I suck it up .

good luck.

[Perique69]

First, I assume you realize that your salary potential will drop exponentially by moving from economics/math to theology. An MDiv would be a better option because of your lack of humanities background and Franciscan interests. Focus on languages for now. That will look better than a few more humanities courses.

[perplexed101]

I am not worried about salary at all. That is of no interest to me....

I was actually thinking about it, and within my business curriculum, I have taken 54+ credits from arts and sciences (part of the business core curriculum)..and that includes 11 math/science credits out of 28 expected math credits total for a minor. Everything else was humanities courses, english, philosophy, ethics, etc. Most intro, some upper levels but my grades are all mostly A's. Reguarl college curriculum I guess, at 123 credits to graduate but the school requires lots of liberal arts courses!

So I can take anything EXCEPT ancient greek...what do you suggest? So can take two semesters of any language....

What do you guys think? Help please! Any school recs...

[sacklunch]

Well it depends on what area you want to focus in. Latin seems pretty obvious if you are doing anything with Christianity (and not modern as you said).

Edited February 15, 2011 by jdmhotness

[Mathētēs]

Greetings,

A biblical language or biblical languages will be an important part of biblical studies courses. Since Hellenistic Greek is not an option for you at this time, you could consider starting classical Hebrew. Latin would be a good fit due to the interests you expressed. If you are sure you would like to go on to a PhD, then I would strongly suggest beginning either German or French. Having a biblical language and at least one research language will truly strengthen your applications, and also save time and money later.