Complicated Situation for phd

[ewrobinson]

I am currently serving as a pastor but really feel the pull back to academic life. Ideally, I would love to teach at the university level, and seeing that I only have an Mdiv, that means more school.

This is where I run into trouble. Five weeks after I started my Mdiv program, I was diagnosed with fairly advanced leukemia. As one might imagine, this made studying tricky. Out of sheer will power I decided to remain at school, even though I knew it meant my grades would suffer. It was almost funny - once or twice I had to drive myself to the ER, get something-or-other checked out or fixed, and then proceed onto class. I had multiple other health issues while there, including a nasty back injury from a car wreck, about 5 kidney stones, etc. I am now in remission and relatively healthy.

Blah blah blah, cry me a river.

Now I want to go for a phd (New Testament). The problem, as you might imagine, is that my gpa is a bit low - 3.25. You can actually tell when I was feeling horrible or decent based on the ebbs and flows of my transcript - like a dendrochronology for health.

My GRE will be high, I have some decent professional accomplishments, am very competent in Greek, etc. But will I automatically be disqualified from the better programs based on my gpa? Would getting a ThM help, as it would be a better indicator of my real abilities? I just don't quite know what to do at this point. I know I wouldn't get into Yale, but I do have my eye on Baylor...

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Edited June 16, 2011 by ewrobinson

[aselfmadewinter]

If I were in your position, I would probably apply to a few PhD programs, but I would also consider applying to some MA programs. You might be able to find some great references and put together an excellent writing sample, and maybe get into a PhD program, but it might be difficult because most schools have minimum GPA requirements for PhD programs. Now, I don't know what it's like south of the border, but in Canada, an MA degree is always preferred over an MDiv, and often, it's a must-have for admission. That could be different in the U.S., but if you want to be able to demonstrate that you can be a capable researcher at a doctoral level, doing an MA is an excellent way to do that. MAs usually require you to write a thesis along with your coursework, and writing a good thesis is a pretty good way to demonstrate your abilities as a researcher at a graduate level.

So, my recommendation is that you consider an MA. MAs are also usually pretty short, so it might not even be too much of a detour. The only thing to consider is that MA programs are rarely funded, and scholarships and even TAships are hard to come by, so they can be financially difficult.

Anyways, good luck to you in whatever you decide!

[ewrobinson]

If I were in your position, I would probably apply to a few PhD programs, but I would also consider applying to some MA programs. You might be able to find some great references and put together an excellent writing sample, and maybe get into a PhD program, but it might be difficult because most schools have minimum GPA requirements for PhD programs. Now, I don't know what it's like south of the border, but in Canada, an MA degree is always preferred over an MDiv, and often, it's a must-have for admission. That could be different in the U.S., but if you want to be able to demonstrate that you can be a capable researcher at a doctoral level, doing an MA is an excellent way to do that. MAs usually require you to write a thesis along with your coursework, and writing a good thesis is a pretty good way to demonstrate your abilities as a researcher at a graduate level.

So, my recommendation is that you consider an MA. MAs are also usually pretty short, so it might not even be too much of a detour. The only thing to consider is that MA programs are rarely funded, and scholarships and even TAships are hard to come by, so they can be financially difficult.

Anyways, good luck to you in whatever you decide!

Great, thanks for the recommendation.

[JonathanEdwards]

Would getting a ThM help, as it would be a better indicator of my real abilities?

E.W.,

It’s possible that an explanation of why your grades don’t truly represent your academic potential will still gain you admittance into a Ph.D. program. However, I’d also encourage you to pursue a graduate degree with a thesis (the Th.M., S.T.M., M.Th., and M.A. are all equivalent degrees). It could make the difference between your getting in somewhere despite the bump in the road, or getting multiple offers from better schools including funding. In addition, you’ll be significantly better prepared - beyond the additional year of coursework, the experience writing a thesis will be really helpful to you in your research doctorate.

Best wishes on your journey,

W.

[ewrobinson]

E.W.,

It’s possible that an explanation of why your grades don’t truly represent your academic potential will still gain you admittance into a Ph.D. program. However, I’d also encourage you to pursue a graduate degree with a thesis (the Th.M., S.T.M., M.Th., and M.A. are all equivalent degrees). It could make the difference between your getting in somewhere despite the bump in the road, or getting multiple offers from better schools including funding. In addition, you’ll be significantly better prepared - beyond the additional year of coursework, the experience writing a thesis will be really helpful to you in your research doctorate.

Best wishes on your journey,

W.

Thanks - all good things to think about. I'm slowly trying to piece together my options, and this makes a few things more clear. I appreciate it.