How I Chose My MTS Area of Focus at Harvard Divinity

A key aspect of the Master of Theological Studies at HDS is the option to choose an area of focus to guide your studies over the two years. Sometimes, prospective students apply to HDS with a set idea of what they want their focus area to be, but over the course of four semesters realize their interests are suited to another topic. Some might think that having a concentration is a limiting factor, but I want to take a little time to articulate why having a guiding theme or question can be invaluable for your development as a scholar of religion. What is an area of focus? What are the options at HDS? And how should you choose one? 

The area of focus is an internal way HDS allows MTS to direct their studies. To graduate, each MTS student is required to take at least six courses that intersect with their area of focus. Relatedly, to get a breadth of knowledge, MTS students must also take three courses explicitly outside of the area of focus. The area of focus is internal because it does not appear on a student’s transcript but rather allows them to articulate their course of studies in a cohesive way. There is even the option to form your own area of focus in conversation with your advisor and the curriculum committee chair.   

When I first thought about applying for HDS, I was thinking about the ‘Religion, Literature, and Culture’ area of focus. I had read the website and was reflecting on my previous coursework. I took a ‘Theology and Literature’ course during my undergraduate degree and fell in love with it, writing about scriptural references in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and imagery of doors in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. I write poetry myself and have always been fascinated by how poetry can become a mode of doing theology. I started writing my statement of purpose under that framework. I was trying to weave together my strands of interest under ‘Religion, Literature and Culture’, but something just didn’t feel right. I then asked my sister to read my draft statement and offer some feedback. One of the main things she said was that the topics I was writing about in the statement made her think I was perhaps betters studied for the ‘African and African American Religious Studies’ area of focus. Sure, I was writing about literature, but all the questions I was interested in were united more by their concern for the African diaspora, the history of Christianity in West Africa, the role of African literature in theological and political movements. Ultimately, my own identity as a Black Christian with Nigerian roots and a deep commitment to faith resonated when I selected ‘African and African American Religious Studies’ as my focus. The geographic nature of the area of focus suited my instinctive areas of interest well and allowed me to grapple with personal and theological questions, from an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective. 

Something else to note as you decide on your area of focus are practical class considerations – if you concentrate in a certain area, you must take classes in that area! Why not have a look on the Harvard public course catalog (under ‘Divinity School’) to see what classes HDS has historically offered in that area of focus. For every HDS class, you will see a little information at the bottom that tells you what area of focus the class touches on. Sometimes there’s multiple. Of course, the class schedule changes semester to semester, but it can give you a clever idea of what kind of research and projects you’ll be doing. 

MTS students often consider applying for PhD programs when they arrive, some even know from the start of the master’s degree that doctoral studies are the next step. If that is the case, or even something you’re just considering, it might be helpful to think how articulating a particular area of focus can coalesce with your potential doctoral interests. What faculty members at HDS intersect with your interests? 

The final thing to say is that it is important not to see the area of focus choice not as a limit but a framework. Even with a focus on ‘African and African American Religious Studies’, my time at HDS so far has exposed me to a range of scholarly debates and disciplines. I delved into creative nonfiction last semester and I’m taking a poetry workshop this semester. I’ve learnt about faith-based community organizing and questions on the intersection between religion, secularism and colonialism, and there is still much more to come. But I’ve found it extremely helpful to keep returning to questions of freedom, imagination and Black life in my studies, engaging in conversations with my adviser and other faculty members in African and African American Religious Studies who can offer encouraging scholarly guidance. This semester, I’m really digging into my area of focus, with courses on African American literature; Womanist theology; Religion, Culture, and Society in Africa; and Women in World Christianity. It feels like my questions are finding grounding in interdisciplinary perspectives, my classes are ‘speaking’ to each other, and I’m figuring out what kind of approach I’d like to take to Black religious studies, literature and faith-based social justice work in those spaces. 

I hope this helps as you consider your area of focus. Many areas of focus are explicitly broad, and you could engage in any number of questions in that field. Take a bit of time to think and read through each of the twenty options (or perhaps think about crafting your own!) and see what emerges as you write your statement of purpose.