Master's Admissions 2017(MA,MTS, ThM or Mdiv)

[Johnny.S]

Hi folks!  Didn't seem like anyone had started Masters threads up this year. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best to everyone on your M.T.S./M.A./M.Div./Th.M. applications. 

I hope this thread could be somewhere we can talk about our Master's applications. 

 

--
And this is my story so far, and questions. 

I applied to Two MA programs(Duke U and U.Chicago-Divinity-) and one MTS program(HDS). Any news on these schools or programs? 

I only received an offer from Duke yesterday(Thanks GOD). And there was no mention about funding condition from the decision letter and this worries me. Is this normal? Duke is definitely my first choice, but if Chicago Divinity offers 80-100% funding and Duke gives me lesser than 40% funding, that would be a whole different story. If you know about Duke's funding policy and schedule, please help me out

And, according to Gradcafe result postings, I believe U.Chi would release their admissions within few days, and HDS on March 10-16. I'd like to know if there is any news from these programs.

 

Good luck to every applicants!

[avocet]

Applied to three M.Div. programs -- BU, HDS, and Union. Haven't heard back from any of them yet. A little nervous about BU because I know some other M.Div/MTS applicants have heard back already...

[MayaK]

3 hours ago, Johnny.S said:

I only received an offer from Duke yesterday(Thanks GOD).

Congratulations! I'm assuming you are the international result on the results page?  What was your subfield for Duke? 

[misterrager]

I also applied to the MA at Chicago Divinity and they said they would be releasing decisions in the first full week of March. Harvard releases around the same time Yale does, Mid march. 

Congrats on Duke!

[neat]

I'll be attending Princeton Seminary in the fall for an MDiv, and I'm afraid that I'm no help on some of these other schools- since they do rolling admissions, I went through my application deadline stress in the fall, and didn't finish even my app to Duke or Yale once I got the acceptance letter and financial aid offer from PTS, since they were my first choice anyway. Probably a bit lazy of me, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

To the OP, I can't speak very specifically to your situation, but I've always been told that in the divinity school, the average master's student can expect to get somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30-35% scholarship, and that they do a handful of 50% scholarships per year and full scholarships in rare situations for exceptional applicants. I've also been told that the field placements (in the MDiv) are paid, and that many students rely on that money for whatever other short fall they have in funding. I have no idea how that compares to funding for RS at Duke U, though. It's probably not very pertinent to your situation, since I don't know how that stacks up to the Graduate School at Duke U, but thought I would throw it out there in case funding at the divinity school bears any resemblance. 

Edited February 24, 2017 by 918Philosophizer

[Johnny.S]

8 hours ago, MayaK said:

Congratulations! I'm assuming you are the international result on the results page?  What was your subfield for Duke? 

Thanks Maya:) Yes, I am the Intl. poster on the results page. I'm in Religion and Modernity subfield. This will be my second Masters.

[Johnny.S]

7 hours ago, misterrager said:

I also applied to the MA at Chicago Divinity and they said they would be releasing decisions in the first full week of March. Harvard releases around the same time Yale does, Mid march. 

Congrats on Duke!

Thanks  

 

And it looks like U.Chi releases their decision much later than expected. 

 

6 hours ago, 918Philosophizer said:

To the OP, I can't speak very specifically to your situation, but I've always been told that in the divinity school, the average master's student can expect to get somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30-35% scholarship, and that they do a handful of 50% scholarships per year and full scholarships in rare situations for exceptional applicants. 

 

Thanks for the info. I've also been told that Duke will allow me somewhere between 30-50%, which is not enough resources to pursue my second master. It seems like HDS and U.Chi.Div. are more generous..

 

Anyway, your posting have gave me a sense of how competitive it is likely to be. Thank you so much!

[Kuriakos]

I'm fairly certain that Duke does not usually offer more than 50% funding for MA students

[ibn daoud]

Hello! Glad someone started this thread--I wanted to get one started but I am a newcomer here so I thought I would let someone else do it. I applied to the MDiv programs at Harvard and UChicago Divinity and MA at Union. As a Muslim, there aren't too many choices for me but those three programs were good fits. I figured if I didn't get any good news, I could apply to other programs out west or more traditional Islamic seminaries.

I had the opportunity to visit UChicago last week and had a really wonderful time. The director of the ministry program is an incredible woman and was so very welcoming. I got to sit in on one of her classes and she later spent an hour talking to me about the program and my goals! I also met with the assistant dean (very sweet himself) and he told me decisions would be released first full week of March. The director of the ministry program wrote me yesterday and said decisions would be made next Friday (a week from today) and the week after we would start hearing back. I don't know about MA students, but MDiv kids at UChicago receive between 70-100 percent funding according to the assistant (associate?) dean. Those numbers are, however, much higher than the school's MA students.

As for Union, I called yesterday (after leaving numerous messages and hearing nothing back for two or three weeks... c'mon, y'all) and was told that MA students should hear back by the end of February/beginning of March. Historically, decisions were released the second to last week in February (24-25, I believe, per the results section here) but I guess we will have to wait another week. That doesn't stop me from checking the portal every hour or so. By the way- any other Union applicants get the "your status cannot be viewed at this time" message when they try and check their application? I would love to study at Union, but so far my experience with the application process has been... confusing. I called a month ago (I submitted my application 28 December) and was told "no news is good news..." That didn't help my anxiety.

I haven't been able to speak with anyone at HDS so far other than a friend in the MTS program. I've sent some emails to arrange meetings with professors if possible for next week. I want to go and visit (I think I'm better in person than on paper) but don't want to make the trip all the way to the east coast just to take a silly campus tour. They're definitely mid-March though, as per their website and the results page of this site.

Anyways, I've been making plenty of duaa for people on this forum that we end up where we should and that we are best situated to accomplish our goals even if we end up somewhere we couldn't have imagined. Rejections or acceptances, I wish you all the best!

[avocet]

1 hour ago, ibn daoud said:

As for Union, I called yesterday (after leaving numerous messages and hearing nothing back for two or three weeks... c'mon, y'all) and was told that MA students should hear back by the end of February/beginning of March. Historically, decisions were released the second to last week in February (24-25, I believe, per the results section here) but I guess we will have to wait another week. That doesn't stop me from checking the portal every hour or so. By the way- any other Union applicants get the "your status cannot be viewed at this time" message when they try and check their application? I would love to study at Union, but so far my experience with the application process has been... confusing. I called a month ago (I submitted my application 28 December) and was told "no news is good news..." That didn't help my anxiety.

I have also had issues contacting Union via phone. They've also told me contradicting things about the application process in person vs. via email.

I'm also getting the "your status cannot be viewed at this time" message. Glad I'm not alone!

Good luck in your application process!

[BeeKayCee]

Applied to UChicago's Middle Eastern Studies MA, Oxfords Mphil in Islamic Studies, HDS's MTS, Columbia's Islamic Studies MA (which doesn't answer until APRIL?!) and SOAS MA in Middle Eastern Studies.

Already heard back positive from SOAS in December, but getting nervous about the others as they are reaches for me. 

Most reply in Mid-March, Chicago says "early March" I wonder if that is the same as the Div results in being a little later than expected/usual, or if it may be next week.

Needless to say I'm compulsively checking gradcafe results list, forums, and my email. 

Good luck everyone! 

[rheya19]

I did the MA program at UChicago, and my husband did the MDiv program there. He got almost 100% funding, I got 50%, which I think is the standard.

[Lysdexia]

I applied to BU SoT, Harvard Divinity, and BU Graduate Division of Religious Studies.  I was accepted to BU SoT and may possibly receive additional funding through their merit process (fingers crossed)on the 12th, and I know GRDS doesn't give results until April 20th, and HDS March 15-16.

Edited February 26, 2017 by Lysdexia

[hhbchis]

Applied for another master's (finishing MA this may) to do one or maybe two more years of study before PhD. Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Notre Dame, PU, Vanderbilt, Emory, BC, BU (theology), and BU (religious).

[ibn daoud]

On 2/25/2017 at 9:01 AM, avocet said:

I have also had issues contacting Union via phone. They've also told me contradicting things about the application process in person vs. via email.

I'm also getting the "your status cannot be viewed at this time" message. Glad I'm not alone!

Oof. You and I are two peas, huh.

On a happier (?) note, looks like (from the results page) us Union folks might be hearing back at the beginning of this week? Apparently two people (one MDiv, one MA) heard back on Friday. Not sure why they would send acceptances over a couple of days, but... On the flipside, I've been following the PhD thread and that always meant that folks who didn't receive acceptances were denied. 

Funny how I come here looking for answers and peace of mind but only leave with more questions and anxiety. 

Edited February 27, 2017 by ibn daoud

[avocet]

1 hour ago, ibn daoud said:

Oof. You and I are two peas, huh.

On a happier (?) note, looks like (from the results page) us Union folks might be hearing back at the beginning of this week? Apparently two people (one MDiv, one MA) heard back on Friday. Not sure why they would send acceptances over a couple of days, but... On the flipside, I've been following the PhD thread and that always meant that folks who didn't receive acceptances were denied. 

Funny how I come here looking for answers and peace of mind but only leave with more questions and anxiety. 

Hmm, weird about sending acceptances out over the course of a couple days. Hopefully that doesn't mean rejection, though I don't see why they would wait to send out rejections. Perhaps those who were accepted submitted their applications much earlier than the deadline? I submitted mine a day before the January priority deadline.

Did you get an email invitation for the Union Intersections Diversity Recruitment event a couple weeks ago? It said "top applicants" were invited, though I'm not sure how many other applicants received it. 

Hoping I hear from Boston University tomorrow. Nervous because others have received acceptances, though it's rolling admissions.

Edited February 27, 2017 by avocet

[ibn daoud]

Just now, avocet said:

Perhaps those who were accepted submitted their applications much earlier than the deadline? I submitted mine a day before the January priority deadline.

Yeah, I submitted mine on December 28 hoping to hear back sooner, but I think a couple of my LoR's were submitted closer to the January 17 deadline (early Jan at best). Apparently they do rolling admissions, but now it just seems like they make paper airplanes out of the applications and throw them in groups of two and whichever gets farther gets admitted. Jokes. But by far the least transparent process. 

Just now, avocet said:

Did you get an email invitation for the Union Intersections Diversity Recruitment event a couple weeks ago? It said "top applicants" were invited, though I'm not sure how many other applicants received it. 

I did get that email and at first thought that meant I got accepted, until I read through and it was clear it wasn't specific to me at all. Who knows, maybe we're top applicants? I filled out the whole thing but didn't send it out because I wanted to use my very limited time off to go to Chicago for a visit. I also figured they would have made decisions before now.

I'll send you all my positive vibes for BU tomorrow. Lord knows I'll have this page open all day. Even if in some cases we're 'competing' for admission to the same program, we're all in this together!

[avocet]

5 minutes ago, ibn daoud said:

Yeah, I submitted mine on December 28 hoping to hear back sooner, but I think a couple of my LoR's were submitted closer to the January 17 deadline (early Jan at best). Apparently they do rolling admissions, but now it just seems like they make paper airplanes out of the applications and throw them in groups of two and whichever gets farther gets admitted. Jokes. But by far the least transparent process. 

1 hour ago, avocet said:

All my letters were submitted very close to the deadline too. And yeah, the process has been so unclear, it's really frustrating. 

8 minutes ago, ibn daoud said:

I did get that email and at first thought that meant I got accepted, until I read through and it was clear it wasn't specific to me at all. Who knows, maybe we're top applicants? I filled out the whole thing but didn't send it out because I wanted to use my very limited time off to go to Chicago for a visit. I also figured they would have made decisions before now.

 

I didn't send it in either. I had visited Union for a day and did not know if it would be necessary to stay for several nights and miss so much class (finishing up my senior year of undergrad and it's right in the middle of midterms). Though I do wish I applied. Because if I was accepted into it, I would probably know right now if I was accepted into Union. I can't imagine them having rejected applicants attending! Maybe those who were notified of their acceptance already were also those who got into the Intersections event? 

11 minutes ago, ibn daoud said:

I'll send you all my positive vibes for BU tomorrow. Lord knows I'll have this page open all day. Even if in some cases we're 'competing' for admission to the same program, we're all in this together!

Thank you  Let's hope we both hear from Union tomorrow! And yes, even though we're competing, we're all in this together (and may even be future classmates!). 

[lurking]

As my username indicates, I've been poking around here for a little while and thought I'd finally chime in, as it might be helpful to some folks here.

I applied to M.Div programs at BU, Union and Candler and have so far been accepted at BU and Candler. I also got the email about Intersections and was accepted into that event, but I still haven't gotten a letter saying if I'm officially accepted or rejected into the M.Div program for fall 2017, which is a bit confusing.

 

Also, good luck to everyone here!

Edited February 27, 2017 by lurking

[xypathos]

11 hours ago, avocet said:

Did you get an email invitation for the Union Intersections Diversity Recruitment event a couple weeks ago? It said "top applicants" were invited, though I'm not sure how many other applicants received it. 

I was invited to the Intersections event back in 2014 and attended. I was notified about a week or two before hand of my acceptance to Union, though several students were notified while they were there.

From what I recall, everyone in attendance was accepted to the school and those invited who hadn't heard back before Intersections started, it was a chance for faculty and administrators to hear about your passions, as there are several meet and greet functions with faculty.

I will give it to Union though, they wine and dine the shit out of you while you're there. Unfortunately, they give next to no aid, even for their top applicants.

[Johnny.S]

15 hours ago, hhbchis said:

Applied for another master's (finishing MA this may) to do one or maybe two more years of study before PhD. Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Notre Dame, PU, Vanderbilt, Emory, BC, BU (theology), and BU (religious).

I'm with you. I also applied for my second master's degree hoping it would serve as a bridge  to  more prestigious PhD program. 

[Johnny.S]

On 2/26/2017 at 5:28 AM, rheya19 said:

I did the MA program at UChicago, and my husband did the MDiv program there. He got almost 100% funding, I got 50%, which I think is the standard.

you meant MA program at U.Chicago does not usually offer more than 50% of tuition? Because I'm hoping 70%-80%  funding right now.

I know 50% is the standard according to the results page, but I'm kind of curious how many applicant would get more than 50% offer from the MA decision..

Edited February 27, 2017 by Johnny.S

[ibn daoud]

Just now, xypathos said:

From what I recall, everyone in attendance was accepted to the school and those invited who hadn't heard back before Intersections started, it was a chance for faculty and administrators to hear about your passions, as there are several meet and greet functions with faculty.

I will give it to Union though, they wine and dine the shit out of you while you're there. Unfortunately, they give next to no aid, even for their top applicants.

Well, hindsight is 20/20. I'm just going to hope that an invitation helps my chances. I had a dream last night I met with one of the admissions folks and they told me I wasn't accepted, then their family came up and they all started throwing snowballs at me. And to think I'm usually the one throwing snowballs.

[avocet]

40 minutes ago, xypathos said:

I was invited to the Intersections event back in 2014 and attended. I was notified about a week or two before hand of my acceptance to Union, though several students were notified while they were there.

From what I recall, everyone in attendance was accepted to the school and those invited who hadn't heard back before Intersections started, it was a chance for faculty and administrators to hear about your passions, as there are several meet and greet functions with faculty.

I will give it to Union though, they wine and dine the shit out of you while you're there. Unfortunately, they give next to no aid, even for their top applicants.

Hmm, interesting to know. Wish I applied, but it's too late now. 

Union is my last choice, largely because of the lack of aid. So if I don't get in I won't be too upset, but I'd still like to have that option especially if I don't get into BU and HDS. 

Edited February 27, 2017 by avocet

[rheya19]

1 hour ago, Johnny.S said:

you meant MA program at U.Chicago does not usually offer more than 50% of tuition? Because I'm hoping 70%-80%  funding right now.

I know 50% is the standard according to the results page, but I'm kind of curious how many applicant would get more than 50% offer from the MA decision..

I don't know for certain about every MA student, but the people I knew were getting 50%. And it was generally known that the MDivs were getting much more than the MAs. I'm sorry I can't help you more. Good luck!