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So you’re thinking about pursuing a postgrad degree in Bible or theology and you’d like some advice on whether you should proceed. Or maybe you’re already in a program and you’d like some suggestions on how to make it all the way to the end successfully. Either way, I think you’ll find some good stuff here.
I began advising postgrad students in 2006 as the director of our Th.M. program. And as an aid to my students, I’ve been writing a series of posts topics related to postgrad studies. I may eventually turn this into an ebook of some kind. But for now, I’ll just list them here. These are primarily tips for Th.M. and Ph.D. programs in Bible/theology. But you could apply most of these tips successfully to other disciplines and degree programs.
This is a list in progress. So, if there are other issues you’d like me to discuss, feel free to let me know.
Should I Pursue a Postgrad Degree?
- Put the Theology Book Down and Do Something that Matters
- 6 Challenges Every Postgrad Faces
- How Bad Is the Job Market for PhDs?
- Do I Need a Master of Theology (Th.M.)?
- How to Find and Apply for a Ph.D. Program
How to Survive & Thrive in Your Research
- How to Write a Good Research Proposal
- How to Find Good Topics for Research
- How to Pick a Good Topic for Your Research
- The Right Way to Use Journal Articles in Research
- How to Analyze Theological Texts
- How to use Wikipedia and other online sources for research
- Avoiding Over-research-itis
- The Student’s Most Neglected Resource
How to Survive & Thrive in Your Writing
- Good Theology Demands Good Writing
- The 7 Habits of Serious Writers
- 7 Errors That Keep Us from Our Writing Goals
- How to Write Less Badly
- 11 Steps to Writing a Good Theology Paper
- How to Destroy Your Research Paper in One Simple Step
- Why You Need to Craft Strong Arguments
- The Importance of Concise Arguments
- How to Tackle a Big Thesis
- Using Quotes Effectively
- To Write Better Papers, Kill Unnecessary Clutter
- How to Reverse-Outline Your First Draft
- The Power and Pain of Hitting “Delete”
Other Survival Tips
- How to Get More Done by Pretending You’re on an Airplane
- Handling Criticism
- Advice for Succeeding in Graduate Seminars
- Surviving the Oral Exam: Concise Answers
- Surviving the Oral Exam: Saying “I don’t know”
- Surviving the Oral Exam: Summarizing Your Research
- Presenting the Perfect Conference Paper
Surviving & Thriving After Your Program
- Writing the Perfect Resume
- Why Didn’t I Get That Teaching Job?
- Advice on Applying for a Teaching Position
