Jufarius87 Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 I just found this page, so I'm getting a late start posting here. Broadly speaking, I'm interested in doing constructive theological work via insights from 20th century philosophy (particularly hermeneutics). My interests are centered upon two loci: hermeneutics/theological method and the point of intersection between Trinitarian theology, Christology, and theological anthropology. Anyhow, here's a list of the PhD programs I've applied to as well as my creds: Programs (in order of priority) UVA - Theology Ethics Culture - Religious Theological and Philosophical Studies Yale - Theology University of Chicago - Theology Marquette - Theology and Society Duke - Christian Theological Studies (Rejected) B.A. in Philosophy from Gordon College, M.T.S. from Notre Dame in History of Christianity: GPA 3.75. Recommendations from Cyril O'Regan, Matt Ashley, and Jennifer Herdt. GRE: 1450 (though a relatively low verbal). Koine Greek (advanced), Latin (intermediate), and French (reading). Article published in Lyceum (small journal). I am going crazy waiting and am checking my email as well as this site every ten minutes! -E.S. I will be shocked if you dont get into Marquette and at least one other place you apply to, assuming your UG record is solid. Out of Curiousity, would you recommend Notre Dame Theology for Non-Catholics? Doctoral work is something way off in the future for me, but I am curious as to how Catholic-focused their studies are.
thekidisalright Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 I will be shocked if you dont get into Marquette and at least one other place you apply to, assuming your UG record is solid. Out of Curiousity, would you recommend Notre Dame Theology for Non-Catholics? Doctoral work is something way off in the future for me, but I am curious as to how Catholic-focused their studies are. Thanks for the vote of confidence! It's a wonderful department, on the whole, with lots of funding and an incredible sense of community. However, there is an unwritten but non-negotiable rule about not accepting non-Catholics to Systematic Theology. I'm under the impression that there is a protestant student in now who just, ahem, checked "Catholic" on the application. Anyway, there are many protestants in Moral Theology and History of Christianity and both of those programs seem to be rather ecumenical (faculty include Jennifer Herdt, Gerry McKenny, Randal Zachman, etc.). As far as CJA, many aren't religious. What is your area? I would be happy to give you more (specific) advice as well as put you into contact with anyone (or at least give advice of who is worth contacting). -E.S.
studyordie Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 eskidd- Good luck on your apps, we applied to similar places so I hope we are both on some of the same short lists right now. Thanks for that info into ND's systematics program. I am on the way to Rome, so to speak, so your post just put ND back onto my list of apps for next year if I come up dry this season (since by then I will be in communion with the Systematics faculty, Benedict, and that crazy German Bishop). In the mean time, however, it is unfortunate they do not make that rule more explicit, as I wasted 45$ and a ton of time on that application. I only applied to 5 schools due to a lack of time, so I would have applied somewhere else if I would have known that.
Jufarius87 Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 Thanks for the vote of confidence! It's a wonderful department, on the whole, with lots of funding and an incredible sense of community. However, there is an unwritten but non-negotiable rule about not accepting non-Catholics to Systematic Theology. I'm under the impression that there is a protestant student in now who just, ahem, checked "Catholic" on the application. Anyway, there are many protestants in Moral Theology and History of Christianity and both of those programs seem to be rather ecumenical (faculty include Jennifer Herdt, Gerry McKenny, Randal Zachman, etc.). As far as CJA, many aren't religious. What is your area? I would be happy to give you more (specific) advice as well as put you into contact with anyone (or at least give advice of who is worth contacting). -E.S. No need to thank me, I call them as I see them. Im in a rather strange spot. I was a Methodist, but I will be converting to Eastern Orthodoxy. As far as doctoral programs in the english speaking world are concerned.... we gots near nothin So my next closest bet for being a theological match is probably Catholic institutions. My academic passion is the intersection of Political Theology and Early Church History. Basically studying the Christianized Roman Empire and finding cultural parallels to how Christians involve themselves in modern political institutions. Also have an interest in Church History as a stand alone, the Ecumenical Councils, Early Christology, Theology of the Church Fathers, etc. As I said though, it will be awhile for me. 3 years of M.Div + 3 years of chaplaincy work first.
thekidisalright Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 eskidd- Good luck on your apps, we applied to similar places so I hope we are both on some of the same short lists right now. Thanks for that info into ND's systematics program. I am on the way to Rome, so to speak, so your post just put ND back onto my list of apps for next year if I come up dry this season (since by then I will be in communion with the Systematics faculty, Benedict, and that crazy German Bishop). In the mean time, however, it is unfortunate they do not make that rule more explicit, as I wasted 45$ and a ton of time on that application. I only applied to 5 schools due to a lack of time, so I would have applied somewhere else if I would have known that. Good luck to you as well! Yes, I had heard the rumor, but then asked the faculty and they confirmed. I suppose they can't make it too explicit, or risk being the target of an anti-discrimination suit. Were you asked to interview here? I know ND contacted people a couple of weekends ago.
studyordie Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 No interview, I honestly didn't have the best app there given how competitive ND is, if I do end up reapplying there next year what faculty interests are there that correspond to the intersections between contemporary Continental stuff and theology? My app basically just talked about Cyril O'Regan a lot and given that he's never heard of me I didn't feel that great hitting the "submit" button.
thekidisalright Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 No interview, I honestly didn't have the best app there given how competitive ND is, if I do end up reapplying there next year what faculty interests are there that correspond to the intersections between contemporary Continental stuff and theology? My app basically just talked about Cyril O'Regan a lot and given that he's never heard of me I didn't feel that great hitting the "submit" button. Cyril's pretty much it, and that's just one of his interests. Rumor here though is that ND is courting Jean-Luc Marion, so things may be different in a year.
rollofthedice Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 I posted this on the other page but thought i would let you all know that I was accepted to BC this afternoon. I just got an email from the Grad Director. Accepted to Theology program with funding. I assume the rest of BC's offers will go out very soon. Best of luck to those still waiting.
ohwell Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 Just saw that another 2 people recevied acceptance emails from BC (Systematics and Ethics). Does this mean they sent them all at once? Anyone besides the 2 posted receive an email?
theostudent Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 I was curious if anyone had heard something about the reputation/quality of St Louis University's theology program. Unlike most people here, I'm applying to masters programs for this this fall. So SLU could theoretically be a (two year M.A.) springboard to a PhD somewhere else. But does SLU have the reputation to merit consideration from the top schools like ND, UVA, etc?
achowa00 Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 Congratulations to all of those who were accepted to BC! Looks like I might be rejected by default... theostudent, I would think SLU would be a good springboard in the Catholic world, as it's a solid Jesuit school. If you're interested in Catholic theology or ministry, then SLU is a recognized name and would feed into a PhD program like Notre Dame, potentially. I can't speak for non-Catholic schools (well, even for Catholic schools I'm just conjecturing), but I had a good experience when I applied to SLU several years ago. I was accepted into the MA program and then upon a chance visit (not official, just visiting a friend), I met the chair of the Theology department who offered me full funding. I ended up elsewhere, but they were very nice. Again, I think it depends on your specific interests.
Jufarius87 Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 theostudent said: I was curious if anyone had heard something about the reputation/quality of St Louis University's theology program. Unlike most people here, I'm applying to masters programs for this this fall. So SLU could theoretically be a (two year M.A.) springboard to a PhD somewhere else. But does SLU have the reputation to merit consideration from the top schools like ND, UVA, etc? An indirect answer, I saw that you were accepted to Edinburgh A while ago. They are something of a global powerhouse, and from personal exp I can vouch that their campus is flat out beautiful and the people are friendly. If you can muster any amount of Aid I recommend going there. That said I was accepted to the BD program there last cycle, and realize how hard aid is to come by. I cant speak to SLU.
thekidisalright Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 I was curious if anyone had heard something about the reputation/quality of St Louis University's theology program. Unlike most people here, I'm applying to masters programs for this this fall. So SLU could theoretically be a (two year M.A.) springboard to a PhD somewhere else. But does SLU have the reputation to merit consideration from the top schools like ND, UVA, etc? I don't know of anyone at ND for PhD from SLU--most students come from ND's MTS, Duke, Yale, Harvard, or BC/Weston (or from the UK). I would shoot high in applying to those programs (if its not too late). I got into ND's MTS from a rather no-name college and no coursework in theology, so its possible (and not that rare here, either). Anyway, it seems easier to make the transition to a brand-name school at the Master's level rather than for the PhD -- Last year only half of the people applying from ND got into first or second-tier schools, so even then it is a crapshoot. Anyhow, my point is that it is really ridiculously hard to get into the best PhD programs, and I've seen people coming from ND with incredible recommendations, publications/conferences, and 1500 GREs and not get in to top schools, so I would be wary in accepting anything but the best possible master's program you can get into. Find out where students at each Master's program get accepted before you apply.
theostudent Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks to everyone who offered advice. ND's MTS program is definitely in my sights, along with Duke's MTS and Marquette's MA. But if the planets don't align, I've viewed SLU as a very decent back-up. Particularly since I've heard that there's a chance for some funding at the MA level. With a kid on the way, money has become a very tangible concern.
studyordie Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 I hear you deamondeac, I am starting to think my only real shot is Villanova. If this year has been all for naught, next year I am going to go for a one year Master's in filing as many applications as I possibly can and simultaeneously apply to nursing school. Who knows what's going on in Charlottesville though? I just noticed that last year they ended up offering somebody who applied for the Ph.D. entry into the MA program, if they wanted to not charge me any $ that would be pretty tempting.
demondeac Posted February 17, 2009 Author Posted February 17, 2009 If this year has been all for naught, next year I am going to go for a one year Master's in filing as many applications as I possibly can and simultaeneously apply to nursing school. What might be the worst thing is that I've been working on this year's application cycle since last June, and so I'm not even sure I can compile a significantly improved application to these places for the next round. Maybe I'll take a few years off to recover?
studyordie Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 During one of my bitch fests the other week my wife said she would work and I could stay home and write for the rest of my life. When she saw how readily I agreed she backed off. Honestly, writing's what I want to do. Teaching Intro to Philosophy or Theology to communication-major undergrads for ten years on the way to tenure would be, at best, a mixed blessing.
rollofthedice Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 I received two letters today from the theology program at Loyola of Chicago....both telling me I was wait-listed. One would have sufficed. The letter(s) indicated that they had already made their decisions on primary candidates. I suspect those receiving offers should be hearing shortly...if they haven't already.
mconsul Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 who heard from BU?! what department and what professor? did they want to know you're still interested or to clarify something in the application? DETAILZZZ!
achowa00 Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 Finally got an email from BC last night.....waitlisted in Systematics. That's two replies, both waitlists. ARGH.
fionabird Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 FYI: This is simply to confirm - I got an informal email offer to Marquette early on. I'm waiting to hear back from other schools before I make up my mind. dumBox, Thank you for the confirmation. Did they offer anymore information about funding or when they would notify you of funding? Did they give you any deadline as to when they wanted notification on whether or not you would matriculate? Finally, was the email from someone in the department or was it from the graduate admissions office? If you are willing I would greatly appreciate anymore details that you are open to sharing. Additionally, I noticed someone posted an acceptance to Marquette's masters program but with no funding. The post said the notification came through the website. Did you receive an email that directed you to the website or did you just login to your online application and see that a decision had been made? Again if there are anymore details you would be willing to share they would certainly be welcomed. Thanks!
achowa00 Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 I haven't heard anyone talking about Union Seminary, Drew, or Fordham...is anyone else waiting to hear from any of these schools??
theostudent Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 fionabird, I posted the acceptance to Marquette's MA in theology. I noticed the decision early this morning on the website, but I also got an email notification this afternoon.
fionabird Posted February 18, 2009 Posted February 18, 2009 fionabird, I posted the acceptance to Marquette's MA in theology. I noticed the decision early this morning on the website, but I also got an email notification this afternoon. Thanks for the additional info, theostudent, and congrats on your admittance!
thousandsuns Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Has anyone heard from Emory? Any waitlisters? Any invitees?
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