04 Tuesday Jun 2019
Posted in Transitioning to HDS
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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.
10 Friday May 2019
Posted in Academics, What's It Like at HDS?
Post by: Natalie Solis, Current MTS Student, DivEx Alum, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
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.
Continue reading23 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in Student Life
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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.
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.
Continue reading21 Thursday Feb 2019
Posted in Academics
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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.
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.
Continue reading15 Friday Feb 2019
Posted in What's It Like at HDS?
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.
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.
Continue reading08 Friday Feb 2019
Posted in What's It Like at HDS?
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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.
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.
Continue reading05 Tuesday Feb 2019
Posted in What's It Like at HDS?
Post by: Tessa Steinert Evoy, MTS 2020, Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
HDS students have the opportunity to enroll in winter term courses throughout Harvard, often referred to as J-Term. While HDS offers its own J-Term courses like Kerry Maloney’s “Comparative Monasticisms,” Tessa sought a course in the Harvard Graduate School of Education to supplement her studies at HDS and reinvigorate her passion for activist work.
A snowy Andover Hall. Photo taken by HDS Office of Communications.
25 Friday Jan 2019
Posted in Waiting to Hear
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Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS 2019, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
Photo by Kristie Welsh, HDS Office of Communications.
07 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in Applying
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Post by: Tessa Steinert Evoy, MTS 2020, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
This time last year, I was right where you are, making that difficult decision to finally press the submit button. Were there things I was forgetting, last edits I should have made, did I upload the wrong version of my statement of purpose? These were all questions that I asked myself before submitting. Looking back a year later, I wanted to share some last tips with you before you press that button. Continue reading
18 Tuesday Dec 2018
Posted in Applying
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Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS 2019, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
Note: This post has been updated to reflect the requirements for those applying to admission for the 2020-21 academic year.
For the final addition in our “How to Apply” series, we decided to cover the reapplication process. Read on if you are interested in reapplying either now or in the future. Please also take a look at our previous three posts in this series, “How to Apply: Letters of Recommendation,” “How to Apply: Test Scores,” and “How to Apply: Statement of Purpose.” This information can also be located on our website and found within the application instructions in the application for admission. Continue reading
