How do people afford these degrees?

Not any known doctoral process? Claremont’s 7-8 years seems to be at the outer edge of this, but many, many US programs are designed to take more than three years, with students averaging 5-7 years to complete grad coursework, comprehensive exams, and a dissertation. Compare the programs that Duke, Harvard, Chicago, etc. offer in the same field that Emmzee was researching at Claremont. The UK & Commonwealth system is designed to be three years, but only because their system assumes previous research degree preparation and put you directly in at the dissertation phase.

So does this mean all these other schools are engaging in “narcissism?” Or does this rather say something about programs that are not dissertation-only by design but still should only take three years at the outside to complete, assuming no incompetence or “narcissism?”

 

One other thing Claremont's FAQ mentions is that students could be accepted into their PhD program without a masters degree if they have "excelled in the study of religion at the undergraduate level", but that likely would require additional coursework and result in longer time required to graduate.

 

True -- for example natural sciences doctorates often take longer than three years because of the research required. My daughter-in-law's doctorate from a University of California school took 6-years of ful time study and research. The overall program she participated in is a very long term project involving faculty from various schools and a stream of Ph.D. cadidates. And of course if you are receiving free tuition and a stipend then that certainly helps.

 

My favorite southern California religious studies program (UC Santa Barbara) puts a normative time limit on their combined MA/PhD program that's 6 years if Western languages are required and 7 years if more exotic languages are necessary (Arabic, Navajo, Sanskrit etc.) They don't count time spent away from campus, and since many students spend a year abroad, that adds to it. (The Buddhist Studies doctoral concentration expects its students to spend at least one year in Asia.)

Students' progress is reviewed periodically and failure to stay up to speed can result in their losing funding or even being dumped from the doctoral program, with a terminal MA if enough graduate units have been completed.

The financial support package looks like it amounts to free tuition, medical/dental and housing, plus $12,000/yr expense stipend during the first and last years, plus teaching and/or research assistantships the other years. Additional variable research funding is available on top of that. Admission is competitive.

 

I don't think there are any fully funded and accredited Clinical PhD programs that can be finished in 3 years. The quickest seem to be 4 years plus an internship year.

 

I'm in a full time B&M doctoral program at a Canadian university. Some students are funded, I know for a fact that others are not. I have the impression that the majority of students receive funding, but I don't know that for sure.

My package is a scholarship plus research assistantship plus free tuition for 4 years. After that the only way you can continue to get funding is if you've received a specified number of competitive external scholarships.

Since it's Canada tuition is not expensive, for Canadian residents it is only in the regiion of $6500 as far as I understand.

 

Just a point of clarification...

Narcissism, like other personality disorders, is a social construct; essentially it is observed individual acting out in their observed social context.

That said, we don't always know exactly what the narcissistic individual is perceiving but it may be very logical within the boundaries that the observed individual presumes.

Hence, it may not be accurate to term a school as behaving narcissistically. Think individuals rather than groups, because the worship-seeking behaviors indicating narcissism will be manifest differently even within a group of narcissists.

 

So does this mean all these supervisors at other schools are engaging in “narcissism?” Or does this rather say something about programs that are not dissertation-only by design but still should only take three years at the outside to complete, assuming no supervisory incompetence or “narcissism?”

 

My wife's family are all Canadian. Several have completed graduate degrees and I can verify that what you are saying is correct. Tuition is not as expensive and there seems to be more assistance available to those that qualify. Why is that? I want to be a Canadian! Not only is it one of the most beautiful countries on earth, it has a great and accessible education system. If only there wasn't that GST.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies! This is encouraging to me as a Canadian ... actually I recently found a program that might be a great next step for me, however it is unfortunately not offered via distance/online so I would have to move, which although possible, I'd prefer to stay where I am for now. So there are at least some partially-funded options available, even at the masters level.

 

Maybe it’s not a process known to you, but a process exceeding three years is pretty typical among major universities that take each component of the US-type doctorate seriously. You routinely (and very confidently) deter people from doctoral study, but based on your assertions I think those inquirers should be careful about your advice regarding doctoral programs.

 

I expect that you are already aware of it, but for the record, I'll point out that your own local University of Toronto hosts an extraordinary international-class religious studies graduate program.

http://www.religion.utoronto.ca/graduate.htm

They welcome interdisciplinary dissertation topics and their fields of study aren't meant to constrain students' interests, but they have groups of faculty, students, resources and research activities in the areas of Buddhist Studies; Christianity; Hinduism and South Asian Religions; Islam; Judaism; Religion, Culture, Politics; Religion, Ethics, and Modern Thought; Religion and Medicine; and Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity. Some students participate in more than one grouping.

http://www.religion.utoronto.ca/fields.htm

Extensive resources are available giving it extraordinary breadth and depth, drawn from across the university, from art history, through specialized theological, South Asian and East Asian libraries, to the famous Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies. Some 65 UT professors participate in this. There's a constantly changing array of visiting professors and academic meetings hosted in Toronto.

Impressive.

 

Yes, UofT does seem to have an excellent program! I was indeed aware of it, but a variety of reasons it wouldn't be the best choice for me. Thanks for your suggestion, it may be the right program for someone else viewing this thread!