How hard is it?

[Coolidge]

Strange question I know, but I'm starting to get a little anxious. I got accepted to the MTS program at HDS and I'm scared that it will two extremely difficult years. So, what's your experience? Are the classes harder than you expected? What about the course load, how much reading do you have each week? How do the classes compare to the ones you took in undergrad? Is it at all possible to have a social life? 

 

Thanks guys!

[sacklunch]

Strange question I know, but I'm starting to get a little anxious. I got accepted to the MTS program at HDS and I'm scared that it will two extremely difficult years. So, what's your experience? Are the classes harder than you expected? What about the course load, how much reading do you have each week? How do the classes compare to the ones you took in undergrad? Is it at all possible to have a social life? 

 

Thanks guys!

 

I think that largely depends on what kinds of courses you take. And perhaps even which professors you take them with. I can't speak about HDS, but I have taken 900 level doctoral courses that were relatively easy, strangely enough, and 300 level undergrad/grad courses that I spent 10+ hours a week doing work for. Either way I suspect it will be much harder than what you have done previously. A general load for one (seminar type) course will be a term paper (15-20 pgs), weekly readings, and usually other smaller assignments throughout (perhaps book reviews, reflections, ect). Much of my coursework has been different levels of language, which is a different type of 'hard' and usually requires a lot of time memorizing. Though, at the advanced level it usually turns back into the seminar type of work, just that you are doing the readings in other languages.

 

cheers

[marXian]

I second everything that jdmhotness has said and would add, per your question about social life, that it is a really really good idea to have one. It is possible, especially at the Ph.D level but even in the M*, to spend just about every waking moment reading, studying, and writing.  You'll go nuts doing that. It's a good idea to come up for air, see a dumb movie, get a beer with friends, go for walks (not in that order necessarily!) Finding some balance is necessary in order to be successful.

[AbrasaxEos]

I think that the answer to this question depends to some extent on your undergaduate experience as well.  Some folks had an extremely rigorous undergraduate institution, and as such may find that the workload in a graduate program feels like a step up in difficulty, but an incremental one whereas some others may find it to be a really substantial jump that takes some time to adjust to.  Another area that sometimes takes a bit of adjustment is grading - with the ridiculous level of grade inflation that comes along with the politics of the undergraduate education, a lot of students who go on to graduate school of any sort show up with a very high GPA that they fully expect to maintain through their graduate education.  Such is not impossible, but expectations will be higher in a graduate program, and during my time as a TA at a particular divinity school that is not HDS I was often surprised at how many people seemed to think that they deserved an A on every assignment/course by virtue of their being at an elite divinity school!  So, manage your expectations here and don't be too hard on yourself if your grades take a small dip in your first semester.  Finally, on reading.  You will almost certainly be assigned more reading than you can realistically complete in a week unless you read extremely quickly, or don't plan on retaining anything you read.  Half of graduate school is learning how you learn - i.e. realize that the goal for the 350 pages of reading you get for one class is not just to say that you were able to read the words printed on those 350 pages, but that you were able to understand what is going on for that particular week.  You will find the rate at which you are able to read most efficiently and still remember what you read as time goes along, but it takes a little getting used to.  Again, don't beat yourself up because you were unable to complete every single page of your reading, you have to get into the rhythm of the thing. 

 

Remember one other thing, at a competitive divinity school there will be lots of grandstanding and boasting of great ability, and this might make you feel bad about yourself (e.g. "Oh yeah, I finished all the reading last Thursday and had some extra time to peek ahead for this week - plus I just finished my first draft of the research paper on Saturday!  I am so glad that I am this far ahead in the second week of the semester!").  My advice is to ignore it the best you can.  Half of these people are lying anyway.  Focus on yourself and what you hope to get out of these two years, which will go by really fast.  If you spend a lot of time worrying about how well you are keeping up relative to others, you'll waste your time and in that they are probably lying you won't really know anyhow.  My years at divinity school were really good, and helped me to develop a lot of the skills and practices that have served me extremely well as I move into my third year of a PhD.

[Yetanotherdegree]

I second (fourth? ) what others have said. For me, part of the difference was increased focus and a better work ethic in div school vs undergrad. I actually found much of the div school work easier because I was finally studying something that felt meaningful and relevant to me. And I had figured out that I had to work consistently, instead of putting in occasional great efforts as deadlines loomed. If you're a full-time student, treat it like a full-time job, put in the appropriate hours and develop discipline. The vast majority of my MDiv courses were not academically stringent. The exceptions for me were ancient languages and some of the more complicated theological courses. I once spent an hour reading seven pages of Karl Rahner, only to realize I had no idea what he was talking about. YMMV, however the vast majority of courses are not that taxing. They required preparation and effort, but most students could complete them adequately, while still maintaining some form of school-life balance. Choose courses that sound like fun as well as things that sound like they will be good for you, pick one or two things that build upon your strengths (in other words, don't plan on an all-ancient languages first semester, unless you happen to be great at them already ) and expect to work consistently to keep up with readings and to plan for assignments. You'll be fine.

[11Q13]

I finished the MTS at HDS in 2012. I wouldn't say that the years were extremely difficult, I would say they were extremely full. I was never doing anything I wasn't enjoying or wasn't interested in, and sure, I always had a few irons in the fire, but I like it that way. Hopefully your excitement about HDS and enthusiasm for your field will make the long hours enjoyable. As for the work load, as others have said, it depends on the professor, but you can often gauge it based on pre-reqs or at least the syllabus. You'll have to learn how to budget your time between social life and studying, no one will set your hours for you, but you'll figure out in the first semester what ratio you can expect. I never really encountered anyone grandstanding at HDS, if anything people were modest about their abilities.

[Coolidge]

Thank you guys for all those answers. I'm worrying that I won't be able to have a social life although I know that worrying will get me nowhere. I will attend in the fall and if I don't like it I might drop out...

[Perique69]

That's what she said. 

[MsBOOM]

Current HDSer here. My first semester, I was extremely OCD about doing ALL of my readings (two classes which required a book a week each!), took intensive Arabic classes, worked 10+ hours in Divinity Hall, and also worked at the Pluralism Project as an intern. I felt like I never had time to do anything except to read and study, but I still managed to have a social life as well... and it was great. I guess with my second year, I settled in a little bit - I realized that I don't have to do ALL of the readings (and can just skim through some of them... but not all, of course!), got promoted to research associate at the PP (so I got drop my student assistant job), and Arabic comes a LITTLE easier to me.

 

Nothing is SUPER hard to do, but you have to WORK hard. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has gotten me to the point to just give it all up, but that's probably because I absolutely love doing what I do here. In all honesty, the hardest thing I've ever done here at HDS is learn Arabic... now that is a real force to be reckoned with, haha.

[MsBOOM]

Also, another thing that I will throw in the pot is that at HDS, people seem to be extremely humble and do not boast of good grades or being able to get the entire reading done. Nobody really knows who is getting what grade and nobody really acts like they deserve the best grade in the world. In all honesty, it seems like there are no two people with the exact same interests, so I guess that's another reason as to why there's no competing.