Transforming Andover into Swartz Hall

25 Thursday Jul 2019

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Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS ’19, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant 

Editor’s Note: As some of you may have heard, Andover Hall, newly named Swartz Hall, is undergoing an extensive and much-needed renovation thanks in large part to a generous gift from the Swartz family and the continued dedication of HDS staff. Read on to learn more about the goals of the renovation and how it will affect the daily life of the HDS community in the interim. While most of our posts feature student voices, this post will introduce you to a few staff members on campus and what they perceive as the long-term benefits of the renovation project. For updates on the process, Ralph DeFlorio, HDS’s Director of Operations, regularly updates this blog dedicated to the progress of the renovation. Click here for an extensive interview with Ralph about the renovation project. Please note that as part of the renovation, the HDS Office of Admissions has moved to the first floor of Divinity Hall. 

  • Andover Hall as of June 2019. Students will not have access to Andover during construction. Andover Harvard Theological Library will remain open during the renovation. Photo by Mikaela Allen.
  • Braun Room, Andover Hall, 2016. Weekly Community Tea takes place here and will continue in the interim space. Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva.
  • Sperry Room, Andover Hall. After 2013 renovations. The only traditional lecture hall on HDS’s campus. Photo by Jonathan Beasley.
  • Andover Chapel. Weekly Noon Service takes place here and will continue in another space during the renovation. Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva.
  • Winter windows of Andover Hall. Photo by Kristie Welsh.
  • Andover Harvard Theological Library. Accessible during renovation. Photo by Kristie Welsh.
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Dirt Education

11 Thursday Jul 2019

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Post by: Gretchen Legler, current MDiv student 

HDS Garden Blessing Ceremony, fall 2015. Photo by Michael Naughton.  

Editor’s Note: I encourage all prospective students, whether MTS or MDiv, to explore the Field Education Program at HDS. Some MTS students write off field education entirely because it is not a requirement for their program, but it truly is a fantastic opportunity to design an internship of your own during your time here. Gretchen’s field education placement is only one of many creative examples possible here at HDS. If you are interested in learning more about field education, the Field Education Handbook provides a comprehensive overview.  

My field education job title for the summer of 2019 is Garden Goddess! My joyous duties include coordinating a team of students, faculty and staff to plant, tend and harvest produce from the Harvard Divinity School’s organic vegetable garden. Our twelve raised beds behind the Dean’s house on Francis Street were inaugurated in 2009 by staff and students passionate about ministering to the earth and to their fellow humans. We grow everything–peas, lettuce, chard, tomatoes, basil, beans, eggplant, broccoli, potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, herbs, nasturtiums, marigolds, petunias, and even sometimes okra! We harvest and deliver twice a month to Faith Kitchen in Cambridge for their community meal. The HDS garden isn’t big enough to ever provide all of the veggies needed for these meals, but every little bit of what we grow helps that ministry flourish.  

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Black Religion, Spirituality and Culture Conference at HDS

02 Tuesday Jul 2019

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Post by: Jarred Batchelor-Hamilton, MDiv student, DivEx Alum, HDS Admissions Graduate Assistant 

Editor’s Note: HDS students have the opportunity to plan conferences and events, among which is the annual Black Religion, Spirituality and Culture Conference (BRSCC). As an attendee of the conference, I can only admire the dedication of the students who planned it. Read on for a first-hand experience from one of these dedicated students, Jarred Batchelor-Hamilton (MDiv ’20). Jarred attended the first annual BRSCC during his participation in the 10th Annual Diversity and Explorations Program (DivEx) held over three days every fall at HDS. DivEx is geared towards undergraduate students like Jarred who have a commitment to social justice and diversity as well as an interest in exploring opportunities in the study of religion. As an active student on campus, Jarred has continued to support DivEx through volunteer work and has participated in the coordination of the BRSCC conference. Applications for the 2019 DivEx program will be available on our website in mid-July, here. I encourage you to explore this program, which is now in its 13th year. If you are accepted to the program, HDS covers the cost of your visit, including domestic travel to Cambridge from within the United States, housing, and meals. During the program, you will have the opportunity to meet current students, faculty, and staff, attend panels about best practices for the application, learn more about financial aid, sit in on classes, and so much more!  

Other conferences that have taken place in the past academic year and are planned mostly by HDS students include the Gross National Happiness Conference, Ways of Knowing, Sound Education, and the Buddhism and Race Conference. HDS students have also been involved in the planning of Harvard’s LGBTQ Conference.  

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HDS On the Road

13 Thursday Jun 2019

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Post by: Mikaela Allen, Master of Theological Studies ’19, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant

Fall is peak recruitment season for Admissions teams everywhere, HDS included. While our full schedule will not become available until later this fall, our office is getting a head start in the Pacific Northwest in late June. If you in the area and want to connect, click here for more details and to register.  

Preparing materials for recruitment. Photo by Mikaela Allen. 
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HDS Housing Overview: Off-Campus Housing

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

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Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS 2019, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant 

For the second post in our series on housing at HDS, we decided to cover not only the resources available to find off-campus housing, but also to give our best tips and tricks for finding housing in the greater Boston area. We hope this information will prove helpful to you as you begin your housing search this summer.  

66 bus harvard square
The 66 bus stop in Harvard Square. Photo by Mikaela Allen.
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So You Want to Write a Thesis?

10 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Academics, What's It Like at HDS?

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Post by: Natalie Solis, Current MTS Student, DivEx Alum, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant  

Solis Thesis 1
Activist Installation against Femicides, across the street from the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City. Photo by Natalie Solis.  

Coming to HDS, I knew that I wanted to write a master’s thesis as part of my MTS program even though it is optional and not required for MTS students, unlike the MDiv program. Since I enjoyed conducting independent research projects in college and will be applying to PhD programs in the fall, I decided that developing an extensive independent research project such as a master’s thesis would be a great opportunity to refine my research skills and prepare for a PhD.

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HDS Housing Overview: On-Campus Housing

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Post by: Natalie Solis, MTS Student, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant

Mikaela here! As the editor of the HDS Admissions Blog for the past two years, it is almost time to say goodbye to all of you as my degree program draws to an end this May. Housing has a huge influence on our academic lives as students, and so I wanted to leave you with a comprehensive series on housing resources as the last blog series I will supervise before handing over my role to another capable Graduate Assistant. Our next post in the series will feature resources and strategies for finding off-campus housing, a popular choice among HDS students.

CSWR interior 2013
CSWR meditation room. Open to all HDS students from 9AM-5PM Mon-Fri during the academic year. Photo taken by Justin Knight Photography.

Hello, my name is Natalie and I am a graduate assistant at the HDS Office of Admissions. In this blog post, I will provide an overview of the on-campus housing options at Harvard. On-campus housing is very convenient for students because it is usually within walking distance to campus and includes community events. While there are no HDS specific dorms on campus, there are still many options for on-campus housing. The closest thing to an HDS specific graduate housing program is the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), which is right across the street from Andover Hall. The CSWR is a residential community that fosters living and learning with a focus on world religions. In order to live at the CSWR for the academic year, students need to submit a short application to the CSWR by April 15th. You can find more information about the apartments at the CSWR and the application form on the CSWR website. The deadline to apply for CSWR housing has now passed for 2019, but it is important that you keep this deadline in mind if you are interested in the CSWR and would like to apply in the future.

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Course Overview: The Historical Philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois

21 Thursday Feb 2019

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Post by: Jarred Batchelor-Hamilton, MDiv 2020, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant.

If you’ve ever wondered what an HDS classroom looks like in action, this post is for you. Current MDiv student, Jarred Batchelor-Hamilton, writes about his experience in Dr. Cornel West’s course on W.E.B. Du Bois. Whether current applicant or prospective student, you are welcome to sign-up for a class visit on our Admissions Events Calendar. While the class featured in this post is not offered this semester, there are many other wonderful courses open to visitors. I also recommend checking out our Course Catalog.

Professor West in action. Photo contributed by MDiv candidate Ismail Buffins.

This past semester, I took a course called “The Historical Philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois.” The course was taught by none other than premier Du Bois scholar, Cornel West. My friends and family ask all the time, “what is it like to take a class with Cornel West?” My answer is, as you might guess, “quite life-changing actually.” One facet about this course is that students from all over the Yard also took the course (Ed School, Law School, the College, even a few 1st and 2nd year PhD students) only enriching the discussion even more.

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A Look Inside Shopping Week

15 Friday Feb 2019

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Post by: Tessa Steinert Evoy, MTS 2020, Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant

In this post, Tessa introduces “shopping week,” a Harvard tradition where students spend the first week of the semester “shopping” for classes they may want to take. Read on to learn more about how this process works and how students narrow down their classes from the countless courses offered to HDS students. 

Spring 2018
Looking forward to a blooming semester. Photo taken by Jonathan Beasley, HDS Office of Communications. 

I was very excited to have my second shopping experience this semester, using the things I learned from last semester to create the best schedule for me. It is always difficult to decide between all the terrific classes at HDS, and once you add in all the courses we can cross-register for, it becomes even harder. In this post, I’m going to share a few insights on how current HDS students plan for shopping week so you can get a feel for how it works and why it is advantageous despite the added pressure of shopping as many courses as you can. In the course of the week, we must shop all the courses we may want to take, meet with our academic advisor to talk about our study plan to receive their approval, and submit our schedule for the semester to the Registrar. It is quite a busy start to the semester, but also a great opportunity to explore classes you might not otherwise know you were interested in.

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January Term in Mexico City

08 Friday Feb 2019

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Post by: Natalie Solis, MTS 2020, HDS Admissions Graduate Assistant

We already published one post about J-Term Opportunities, but couldn’t resist sharing Natalie’s J-Term internship in Mexico City, during which she was able to make connections for her research interests in “artivism” across Mexico. Read on to learn more about artivism and to discover the sorts of resources and experiences available for students interested in Latin American and Latinx Studies at HDS.

Natalie 4 Teotihuacan
Photo of Teotihuacan from the top of the Moon Pyramid overlooking the Avenue of the Dead and Sun Pyramid. Photo taken by Natalie Solis.

During the January Term (J-Term), I spent three weeks interning at the VICE Media headquarters in Mexico City (also known as la CDMX, Ciudad de Mexico or el D.F., Distrito Federal) with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). DRCLAS hosts internships in Mexico City during the January and Summer terms, enabling a cohort of students to work and experience daily life in Mexico. Since I am interested in Latin American and Latinx Studies, I was searching for Harvard programs related to Latin America. Taking the HDS course “Moctezuma’s Mexico” with Professor Davíd Carrasco during the fall semester ignited my desire to visit Mexico City, so I was looking for J-Term opportunities to travel in Mexico (check out Professor Carrasco’s interview titled “Exploring Native America”). Since I am of Mexican descent and have familial ties in Mexico City, I was very eager to visit Mexico City for the first time. My J-Term was also personally significant because I had family and friends show me around Mexico City.

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