<p>Hey everyone. I'm a sophomore at a liberal arts college majoring in Media Studies. I have several ideas for what I would like to do after graduation, and one of them is theological seminary.</p>
<p>So, here's my situation: I'm either 1 or 2 classes away from getting a Classics minor (I happened to rack up a bunch of Classics classes, including ancient language classes, to fulfill various requirements and scheduling needs). I have no idea whether I'm even eligible to apply for theological seminary in the first place, given that I'm not majoring in Religious Studies, Classics, etc. So I guess that's my first question.</p>
<p>My second question is, would a minor in Classics be something that the admissions committees for seminary would like, or would they not really care about the minor but just look at what classes I've taken? I'm not going to stress over getting the minor since there are other interesting non-Classics classes I want to take for fun. But at the same time, I don't want to unnecessarily block myself out of a potential post-graduation opportunity, especially since it would be relatively easy for me to complete the minor.</p>
<p>Obviously, I haven't done a lot of research on seminary in terms of the application process, so any and all advice would be helpful haha :) Thanks!</p>
<p>Could you list some of the schools that interest you, or some reasons why you want to go to a theological seminary? There is no one answer to your question about majors before theological studies. Some denominational schools prefer a pre-ministerial path of undergradiate study; some of the more academic non denominational schools (Harvard, Yale, Union, GTU, etc.) prefer that applicants have not majored in religious studies, so that their student body is academically diverse. I remember reading in one school’s catalog that they did not encourage applicants to have taken many undergrad religion courses “at the expense” of other subjects.</p>
<p>hey snarlatron, thanks so much for your response! I would want a liberal/progressive, nondenominational, more academic seminary. Some reasons I want to go are because I like reading/writing/talking about religion on my free time, religion interests me in my own personal journey, and there is a lot of new/exciting work going on in religious thought that I would like to be a part of and think is important.</p>
<p>I tried looking on some seminaries’ websites but was not able to find specifics on what they are looking for in applicants…so your comments are very helpful.</p>
<p>Best wishes for your future! Based on your interests and goals, HDS is worth a close look. The M.T.S. program allows inquiry in both personal growth and academic interests. I have a few friends who took that degree and went on to doctoral studies, acting, psychology, etc. Their M.Div. is also rock-solid for preparation in ministry, counseling, or academic pursuits.</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> Divinity School](<a href=“http://www.hds.harvard.edu/]Harvard”>http://www.hds.harvard.edu/)</p>
<p>[Master</a> of Theological Studies](<a href=“http://www.hds.harvard.edu/academics/degree-programs/mts-program]Master”>Master of Theological Studies (MTS) Program | Harvard Divinity School (HDS))</p>
<p>Hi snarlatron, thanks so much for your helpful suggestions! I’ll look into these programs. I really appreciate your help and well-wishes!</p>
<p>As an aside, you can read, write, and talk about religion in your free time without getting an MA in the field. You can also explore religion and your personal and spiritual connection to it without an MA. If you have a library card and the Internet, you can do all the reading and discussing you want. You should get an MA because you need it to do something particular within the field - like you want to become a scholar of religion, or a minister or ministerial counselor.</p>
<p>That said, I don’t think you actually want to go to a theological seminary (which is actually preparation to go into religious service) but that you really want to go to divinity school or a school of theology. You probably have an MTS as your aim, unless you want to become an ordained minister, in which case an MDiv is what you want. But yes, you can apply to divinity programs without a major in religious studies or the classics. The best majors are humanities majors with a lot of reading, writing, and theoretical thinking. But a social science major can also be good preparation, as long as you take a few humanities classes to understanding how thinking is done in that field. If you are a classics minor, that should satisfy that.</p>
<p>Also, yes, a minor in classics is something they would like. First, you demonstrate an interest in ancient and classical study, which is important for a scholar of religion. Second of all, you demonstrate that you know how to think and write and read like a scholar in the humanities, which an MTS (or MDiv) will require.</p>
<p>hey juilett! I’m actually not sure right now as to whether or not I would want to go into religious service/ministry or do a more academic/scholarly degree in religious studies…Thanks for clarifying the different types of degrees, that really cleared things up for me.</p>
<p>Re: the Classics minor - thanks for your input. I found out that I will only have to do one more class to complete the minor, so I think I’ll probably go with it!</p>