theology background, applying for theory program this year

[jessideng]

hello everyone, I'm currently finishing up my second master degree in theology at an US research university, previously I've obtained a degree in philosophy overseas, I focus on comparative religious thoughts( relationship between political and religious thoughts, and some critical theory too) in both programs and I plan to apply this year, what I have in mind are programs with strong theory faculty, and if possible I might focus on the field of comparative political theory.

So I wonder if it is a big disadvantage not having a empirical social science background? Will it hurt my chances a lot?

Here are some schools on my list this circle:

Chicago

Johns Hopkins,

UCLA,

Notre Dame

University of Pennsyvania,

Georgetown,

[StrengthandHonor]

Hello, 

I am just speaking from my experience + what I have gleaned--YMMV. 

If you are applying to a theory program, your quantitative background is usually unimportant. I had a very strong quants background (good GREQ, a published quantitative paper, a double major in economics, and lots of classes in advanced methods and econometrics, etc). The DGA at several of the programs I applied to (T10 programs, too) informed me that they didn't really care about it, and that I could have left it entirely off my application and seen no difference. Generally speaking, theorists care about your ability to read difficult texts and return incisive and interesting writing about it. 

That being said, it doesn't hurt to demonstrate that you are broadly talented. A school will probably always prefer a great theorist who also has some quantitative chops to a great theorist who is numerically illiterate. 

Also, regarding your interests, you might look into Boston College. They have a strong and well-respected theory program and a great deal of interest in religion and politics. 

[rheya19]

Edited to: Oops, I misread the question and gave advice for a religious studies program. My bad.  Can the mods delete this post? Thx,

Edited July 3, 2017 by rheya19
Wrong program

[jessideng]

On 2017/7/3 at 9:25 PM, StrengthandHonor said:

Hello, 

I am just speaking from my experience + what I have gleaned--YMMV. 

If you are applying to a theory program, your quantitative background is usually unimportant. I had a very strong quants background (good GREQ, a published quantitative paper, a double major in economics, and lots of classes in advanced methods and econometrics, etc). The DGA at several of the programs I applied to (T10 programs, too) informed me that they didn't really care about it, and that I could have left it entirely off my application and seen no difference. Generally speaking, theorists care about your ability to read difficult texts and return incisive and interesting writing about it. 

That being said, it doesn't hurt to demonstrate that you are broadly talented. A school will probably always prefer a great theorist who also has some quantitative chops to a great theorist who is numerically illiterate. 

Also, regarding your interests, you might look into Boston College. They have a strong and well-respected theory program and a great deal of interest in religion and politics. 

Thanks for this reply! so I heard, from several other resources, that the central role of texts  rather than quants and maths is what oneshould heed in the theory sub-field, I'll look into BC, never considered this school, except for some heavy strauss disciples, lol

[RevTheory1126]

I'm sorry I am just seeing this now. Hopefully you applied and are (un)patiently waiting to hear from your schools.

This is somewhat similar to the situation I was in last year (M.Div from Vanderbilt, undergrad in PS), and I applied to some of the same schools you did.

Short version: I got into a program (University of Virginia) and waitlisted at ND, and a lot of rejections. That seems pretty much par for the course (more or less) in this area, regardless of background of applicants.

Just a few thoughts: In terms of admittance, it can be tricky with a limit quant background, as you having to convince non-theorists that you can hang in the political science world. For most of the schools on your list, that won't be a huge problem because theory seems well-established and respected among the faculty. The same can be said for low quant GRE scores: won't matter to theorists, but will to others. However, adcomms will also defer to their colleagues if you seem like an otherwise strong candidate (and with two masters degrees, that seems reasonable :)).

Best of luck! If I can be helpful in any other way, feel free to message me!