Master of Divinity

Diamond Delta · #1 11-15-2004, 03:54 PM

I am interested in pursuing a Master in Divinity. The problem is, I didn't get my undergrad in religion or anything. I minored in it, but there were more philosophy and sociology & psych classes than religios or bible studies ones. The religios classes I had were surveys of the religions and honestly-I can't really remember much. I also took Spanish-not a classical language to meet my FL requirement. I really want to go to a good school, but I can't gt a straight answer from my professors here about what schools are considered the best. I have a 4.0 and rocked my GRE, so I am not worried about that. The US News and World report doesn't report on theology schools or say what is good. My professors keep trying to get me to stay here. I don't want to. I know Ivy League schools are generally really good-but I didn't know if they were as good at the graudate level and if so-what they are known for. I need some help with this research. Any professors out there want to let me know? I heard that Princeton is good and pretty easy to get into, Brown is better and hard to get in to. I also heard the Boston College and Emory were better than Princeton as far this particular degree goes. I also heard that FSU had the best programs for a public school even though they do not call it a seminary. Would that be just as good as going to Princeton? I'm thinking not, but then again, I am not totally sure. ANY help or advice would be great!!

MTSUGURL · #2 11-15-2004, 04:35 PM

Have you thought about going to a seminary or Bible school? I'll be going to Southern in Louisville for a M.Div, and my degree is in Liberal Studies. A friend of mine majored in Elementary Ed and got her M.Div. It really depends on what you're wanting to do with it. PM me if you want with some more info on what you want to do and I can give you a bunch of websites to look at.
Edited to add: The seminary that I am going to is actually cheaper than MTSU - One year is less than a semester at a state school.

Mz Destiny · #3 11-15-2004, 08:34 PM

I am currently attending Eastern School of Christian Ministry at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philly. I'm pursuing a diploma in Biblical and Theological Studies. My undergrad Degree is in Radio-TV-Film Communications.

I'm thinking about eventually going for my MDiv or my MTh. Haven't decided yet. Philly is a great area with tons of Seminaries.

Google "Seminary" and a lot will pop up. You may also want to ask for recommendations from and clergy you know. A Seminary at an Ivy League school isn't necessarily the best way to go, even though the name is well-known. Some of the countries best Seminaries are not in that academic category.

Diamond Delta · #4 11-15-2004, 08:58 PM

that's what I am wondering. What ARE some of the countries best seminaries that are not Ivy League. The only ones that have been reccommended to me are Ivy League and Emory (Ivy League of the South is what I've heard it called). But I know there have got to be some schools just as good but that may only be known to the people "in the know".

JupiterTC · #5 11-15-2004, 09:20 PM

What denomination are you considering? There are plenty of Baptist seminaries in the south. Liberty University has a seminary, and Southeastern Seminary is in Wake Forest. Duke also has a divinity school that is affliated with the Methodist church.

Diamond Delta · #6 11-15-2004, 09:34 PM

honestly denomination is not that important. I'd prefer to not attend one that is southern baptist, even though several people in my family are part of the SBC (I could get a scholarship). But it is not totally out of the question. I am really interested in women's studies as well and how women fit into the whole theology/bible/ perspective. I do not necessarily want to be a preacher, but am interested in research (I want to get my phd eventually and teach at a university) and teaching at private schools or youth / young adults pastoral counciling. I know that all sounds very random and doesn't fit together well, but I am not totally focused yet.

Also-for those of you already in a graduate program-how bad is the language requirement??? A girl I know went to princeton and had to take greek, latin and hebrew and it liked to have killed her (and she is brilliant). Is it really that bad or is it just an introductory type knowledge?

preciousjeni · #7 11-15-2004, 10:05 PM

I'm currently in an M.Div program. There are two paths to take:

1) If you are pursuing the degree to get knowledge, the best places are Yale/Harvard Schools of Divinity. They are very liberal and will give you an excellent education in the Bible and Theology.

2) If you are pursuing the degree to work in God's Kingdom, it is best to visit SEMINARIES and pray about which one to go to. Some are more liberal and some are more conservative. And SOME frown on women attending.

At all Schools of Divinity/Seminaries that are worth their salt, you have to take language courses. I am taking New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew. I will also probably take Aramaic - all languages of the Bible.

My particular seminary does not require Latin because it is not a significant source of biblical writings. (Did that make sense?) But, I can understand why non-Christian Schools of Divinity would do that - it's a scholarly language.

So, School of Divinity = scholar
Seminary = God's work

However, you can be scholarly at seminaries and glean a Christian education from Schools of Divinity.

Last, I almost forgot, the language courses I'm taking are the basis for a number of exegesis (translating directly from the original text, in the original language, and analyzing them) courses I will take in the future. So, it's something serious!

By the way, I heard that Oglethorpe University in Atlanta is "southern ivy league"!!

Edited to say "conservative" not "conservation" - what?

preciousjeni · #8 11-15-2004, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Diamond Delta
honestly denomination is not that important. I'd prefer to not attend one that is southern baptist, even though several people in my family are part of the SBC (I could get a scholarship). But it is not totally out of the question. I am really interested in women's studies as well and how women fit into the whole theology/bible/ perspective. I do not necessarily want to be a preacher, but am interested in research (I want to get my phd eventually and teach at a university) and teaching at private schools or youth / young adults pastoral counciling. I know that all sounds very random and doesn't fit together well, but I am not totally focused yet.

Also-for those of you already in a graduate program-how bad is the language requirement??? A girl I know went to princeton and had to take greek, latin and hebrew and it liked to have killed her (and she is brilliant). Is it really that bad or is it just an introductory type knowledge?

Oops! I forgot to say that I have a B.A in English and I'm a class away from an A.A. in Business. I didn't have religion courses and I'm really feeling the negative impact now.

I, too, am planning to go on to a PhD in order to teach at the college level.

CarolinaDG · #9 11-16-2004, 12:09 AM

Don't get too discouraged... My father's a minister, and he holds his Masters of Divinity from Emory (and was accepted at Duke), but his undergraduate degree was in business from Ohio State. I personally wouldn't worry so much about the reputation of schools as much as which school you feel comfortable in. My dad went to Emory because he didn't feel he fit at Duke, and because of it he has a sweet little Georgia baby (me!).

Diamond Delta · #10 11-16-2004, 10:18 AM

I am really not into being a minister but more into the scholarly aspect as I plan to get my phD and teach at the university level. Based on that, and my previously stated interests, what would you guys say are the top ten schools I should consider? I am pretty sure I can get into Princeton Theological Seminary as my friend did and we pretty much are identical in interest and grades etc. But I heard from a friend of hers that even though Princeton is considered a #1 school in general, it is not really that prestigious as far as this particular degree is concerned. I find that hard to belive-I mean it's Princeton! But like I said, I am in the preliminary stages here and not totally sure what schools are considered tops. I am sure there are awesome schools I just haven't heard of. That's why I am posting here!

For example-if you graduate from MIT or GaTech or Caltech-people are going to KNOW you are a smart cookie and graduated from a pretigious, rigorous program. If you want to get a top notch education degree-Virginia, Kansas, Oregon stick out as top names. Juliard (spell?) is the mack-daddy school for fine arts. What is the equivalent here?

Not to be totally crass, but I want to go to a school that other professors/ theology students are going to say "wow!" I want that wow on my resume. I want to have wow hanging on my wall. Now if I was going into the ministry exclusively-yes of course I'd pray about it and take a different approach. But that is not my main focus.

Thanks so much for all your help!!! Keep the idea coming. Making me think about things I haven't thought of is GOOD!

Diamond Delta · #11 11-16-2004, 05:45 PM

By the way-anyone ever heard of Princeton Theological Seminary? I just found out that my friend that went to "Princeton" really went to PTSEM and that they are two totally differnt schools? Is PTSEM still an ivy leage school? Or is it like one of those places that takes almost anyone? She was all acting like she just graduate from PRINCETON. I wish I could tactfully bust her on this, but really there's no way huh? Or are they really comparable?

Mz Destiny · #12 11-16-2004, 06:33 PM

Munchkin03 · #13 11-16-2004, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Diamond Delta
I know Ivy League schools are generally really good-but I didn't know if they were as good at the graudate level and if so-what they are known for. I need some help with this research. Any professors out there want to let me know? I heard that Princeton is good and pretty easy to get into, Brown is better and hard to get in to. I also heard the Boston College and Emory were better than Princeton as far this particular degree goes. I also heard that FSU had the best programs for a public school even though they do not call it a seminary. Would that be just as good as going to Princeton? I'm thinking not, but then again, I am not totally sure. ANY help or advice would be great!!

Ummm...Brown doesn't have a Divinity School. You can get an MA in Religious Studies, focusing on early Christianity or something like that.

The only Ivies that I know have Divinity schools are Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. They're extremely difficult to get into, and don't offer much in the way of funding. So, be prepared for $50,000 annual costs of education.

I would focus on the curriculum instead of the name.

Diamond Delta · #14 11-16-2004, 08:22 PM

I meant I was thinking of Brown's graduate studies program, not necessarily an MDiv. Sorry for the confusion.

Like I said before, I am not set in stone on anything. Just free-writing/ thinking. Another possiblity is getting a graduate degree (like a masters in theology or bible studies or something) or a PhD from a graduate department of religious studies. What I really want to do *I think* is teach at a collegiate/ university level and not so much with the preaching. So maybe a graduate school instead of a seminary would be better?

preciousjeni · #15 11-16-2004, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mz Destiny
Fuller Theological Seminary (California)

Dallas Theological Seminary (Texas)

Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Pennsylvania)

Wesley Theological Seminary Washington, DC

Harvard Divinity School Massachusetts

Yale Divinity School Connecticut

Howard University School of Divinity Washington, DC

Interdenominational Theological Center Georgia

I'm gonna back you up on these, because they are truly excellent. Please add to the list Alliance Theological Seminary - New York (http://www.alliance.edu). We have a relationship with Harvard and Yale, so many of our grads end up in one of the two for doctoral studies.