If you got to this page because you are interested in working with me at Penn, I want to thank you for reading my work and for being interested enough in it to consider working with me for the PhD. That’s a real gift, and I don’t take your interest in my research lightly.

That said, the first thing that I’m going to do is to discourage you from even thinking about applying to grad school. That's not because I'm trying to pull the ladder up behind me. The academy probably needs someone just like you, and I'm particularly interested in continuing to diversify the professoriate by mentoring students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. I am also very committed to ensuring that the academic study of religion continues for many generations beyond my own. But there are structural issues at play that you must consider when applying to PhD programs. The rest of this page covers the basics of what I tell my own students who are thinking about graduate school as well as the typical stuff I tell prospective students when they first contact me. (See here for a very comprehensive overview of the issues at stake written by a recent PhD in another humanities field.) 

First Things First:

Do you really want to go?

I would not be doing my job if I pretended that all is OK in the academy. It is not. Professorial jobs are scarce and funding for graduate fellowships is dwindling. Normative timelines to completion are shortening even as grad students typically need more time between the moment they deposit their dissertations and the day they finally land satisfying tenure-track (TT) jobs. Many never get TT jobs, many become underpaid and underappreciated contingent faculty, and many sacrifice all sorts of other things along the way. COVID-19 added an additional challenge because the austerity measures universities adopted in response to the pandemic mean hiring freezes and even fewer jobs for junior academics. Bluntly stated, in the absence of some major structural changes, the future of the academy looks pretty bleak.

If you are considering graduate studies at Penn, I want you to know at the outset that going to grad school does not guarantee you a slot in the professoriate. In fact, your chances of landing a TT position straight out of the gate are pretty slim. You must know this, and you must be OK with it. You must have a contingency plan in case your dream of entering the professoriate (or whatever other dream you may have) does not pan out.

This sort of contingency planning will probably be easier for you if you have had some time outside of the academy working “in the real world” for a while, and having some non-academic professional experience under your belt will make the demands of grad school easier, too. While hardly a deal-breaker, I generally encourage prospective students to take time off between undergrad and grad school to get their priorities straight.

Second:

Do you know what you're getting into?

Let’s talk about money. Not about how much grad school costs, but rather about the hidden costs of getting an advanced degree. The whole time you are in school you will likely earn a small stipend, but you won’t be buying houses or saving for retirement unless you are either independently wealthy or incredibly frugal. Committing to a PhD program can deny your future self about 5–10 years of retirement savings. That adds up really quickly.

Also, family planning is different for everyone, but if kids are in your future then you need a plan for how you will pay for it all. You also need to think about the ideal time to start a family. Some people swear by having kids while in grad school. Others put it off until they have stable employment. I’m child-free so I can’t offer much insight on this one, but you need to think about it before you apply.

If you decide to go to grad school, don’t go unless you get a free ride. The only exception to this is that for some students it may make sense to take out loans to get a partially funded MA as a way of getting the chops to get into PhD programs. Indeed, this is exactly what I did. I recommend this path for students who need to build up their background skills.

That brings me to...

Third:

Do you have the chops?

If you’re reading this because you are interested in working with me on a subject related to Japanese religion, then you need to have a degree of fluency in Japanese that is equivalent to being able to read a newspaper, a novel, or (ideally) an academic article. You also need to have serious work toward another research language (either another East Asian language or a European research language like French or German). If you’re not quite there it’s not a deal-breaker, but we would need to have a frank discussion about how to get you there within your first year or so.

If you are applying to work with me in other department subfields, requirements for admission will vary, but at a minimum you will need to have serious work towards a research language other than English.

Your writing in English must be clear, and you must have a compelling research question. My department does not require GRE scores, but if you are a non-native speaker of English you are required to submit TOIEC scores or equivalent. I don’t think standardized tests tell us much about actual language competency for research, so if you are applying to work with me, I may ask that we speak by Zoom or phone so that I can assess whether your English is proficient enough for grad school.

I will be most excited about your proposed project if it demonstrates a nice balance of careful evidentiary research (historical, ethnographic, etc.) with participation in broader theoretical conversations in religious studies or related fields. One of the easiest (though not guaranteed, and potentially prohibitively expensive) ways of developing these skills is to do an MA in religious studies, Asian studies, or another related field prior to applying to the PhD.

I’m happy to field questions about good programs in both religious and Asian studies by email. There is no MA in religious studies at Penn, but there is an MA in EALC and as a member of the EALC grad group I can advise both MA and PhD students in that program. (Please note that I would prefer that you have some institutional diversity under your belt if you come to work with me for the PhD, so applying elsewhere for an MA is a good idea if you’re thinking of Penn for the PhD. Conversely, if you apply and are accepted for the EALC MA, I will do whatever I can to prepare you for the PhD.)

Harvard Divinity School has a relatively affordable MTS program, University of Colorado-Boulder has historically offered some funding to MA students, and the University of Alabama is aggressively expanding a new MA in religion that includes fierce training in theory, method, and media. The University of Chicago Divinity School is a major American center of robust thinking about religion. Florida State University is another place with both religious studies and Asian studies MA programs.

I should also note that there are a number of really excellent places to do MAs at Japanese universities, and sometimes you can even apply to get funding from the Japanese government to do so. Examples of places you might consider include Tōhoku University (working with scholars like Orion Klautau and Clinton Godart on Japanese religions and intellectual history) and Kyūshū University, which has an English-language MA program with an emphasis on premodern Japan. The University of Tokyo also boasts one of the oldest religious studies departments in the world, and is a great place to familiarize yourself with the Japanese religious studies academy. I studied there as a “research student” (kenkyūsei) from 2006–2007 and again in 2012–13, and it was a really formative experience for me.  

Fourth: 

Do you know how to get in?

There are no guarantees that you will be admitted, even if you are brilliant and even if you have the best research topic in the world. You need lots of things going for you. Only some of these things are in your control. The most important are the personal statement, the writing sample, and the interview.

Your personal statement needs to be based on a clearly stated research question. Autobiographical details should be kept to an absolute minimum. (Save those for the interview.) The personal statement also needs to show that you have some awareness of the state of the field. (Who has already published on the subject? What did they miss or leave out?) It needs to show that you have a plan for making use of the various resources and people at the institution to which you are applying. (If you are applying to RELS at Penn, you need to demonstrate that at least three faculty on campus can support your project in some way, but they don’t have to be RELS faculty.) Usually the end of the statement will gesture toward your long-term career plans. Don’t simply say that you want to be a professor. Instead, talk about a trend you see in the field that you want to contribute to or change. Talk about a longstanding assumption that you would like to overturn. Talk about yourself as both a future researcher and a future teacher. Finally, the general rule of thumb for every application letter you will ever write is that it is better to show than to tell. If this doesn’t mean anything to you, ask a trusted mentor.

This principle of showing rather than telling also applies to the writing sample. It should be polished, and it should unambiguously demonstrate your research capabilities: Can you read primary sources with proficiency? Can you construct an original argument that is in conversation with what others in the field have been saying? Have you mastered the basics of academic style and presentation? Do you have a distinctive writing voice? You don’t need to have mastered all of these (grad school is training, after all), but you need at least some of them to be taken seriously by the department. For those working on projects that involve sources in a non-English language, it is important to demonstrate fluency by engaging with sources in the target language. (In Japan studies, that often includes citations of both primary and secondary sources.)

Let me also mention that admissions are never just about the applicant-advisor relationship. Sometimes departments try to build synergy between incoming cohorts based on perceived points of overlap in research interests, for example, and there are complex deals between faculty members to try to spread grad training around. For example, if one faculty member hasn’t had a grad student in a while, she may have “dibs” on a fellowship slot in a particular year. How this plays out in practice varies from department to department, but the point is that applicants can’t control it and their prospective advisors may have minimal say over it, too.

Finally, please represent yourself and your interests honestly. If you misrepresent what you are interested in working on just to get your foot in the door, you’re setting both of us (ALL of us) up for disappointment and frustration.

Relatedly, I’ll note that applications that foreground stories of personal hardship at the expense of outlining intellectual questions typically get rejected. Do mention personal challenges and triumphs over adversity in the “diversity statement” section of the application form, but don’t build your whole application around markers of identity such as disability, class, or race. To be absolutely clear: Those personal factors are important aspects of who you are, and they do get taken seriously by departments that are committed to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. But personal factors and demographic markers are not what get you into graduate school. To reiterate, because it is important: A successful personal statement is focused on a research question, not your identity as depicted in autobiography.

Fifth: 

Do others have your back?

Your letters of support need to be unambiguously supportive. When you ask people for letters, don’t push it if the potential referee seems hesitant. A reluctantly written letter will almost certainly work against you. Letter writers are overburdened and it shows in the cut-and-paste letters that they write. You need someone to be excited enough about your application that she is ready to write the best letter ever.

NOTE: A big name is often not enough. A lazy big shot may even tank your application. Get somebody who knows you and the field well, who is willing to write you a tailored letter that includes specific information about the institution, and who can comment on your ability to analyze and who can provide a concrete example or two about how you have learned or improved. Usually this person will have read multiple drafts of the same piece of writing or will have had you in multiple classes. By all means give your letter writers copies of your statement of purpose long before the deadline (weeks, not days). Letters of support from profs who have gotten last-minute requests have a certain tenor to them that never helps the applicant. If you are disorganized about requesting letters, you are probably also going to be unprepared for the rigors of the PhD.

Pro tip: When applying, you might be tempted to refuse to waive your right to see letters of recommendation. It is of course your right, but the general rule of thumb in the academy is that screening committees trust “blind” letters more (that is, letters that the applicant has not seen). Trust that your letter-writer has your back, and waive your right to see the letter unless you have a compelling reason to do otherwise.

Sixth:

Do you know the risks?

Grad school is immensely rewarding. It is also stressful. Mental health issues are common among grad students, and people deal with imposter syndrome, feelings of isolation, and all sorts of challenges related to peer review and satisfying the demands of multiple dissertation committee members. You must be prepared for this. Grad school also puts stresses on romantic relationships, and academic careers often create “two-body problems” where partners feel pulled toward different opportunities.

I say this from experience because I’ve been there. My wife and I have spent years commuting between distant states, Skyping across oceans, and driving back and forth across the state of Pennsylvania just to see each other. We count ourselves fortunate that we were recently able to work out a solution to our own two-body situation by securing jobs at universities in the same city, but not everyone is so lucky. Please consider the strain on you and your family before applying.

Seventh:

Are you ready to meet?

If you made it this far and you are determined to talk with me more about grad school, please know in advance that I have a policy of not responding to every request. (Unprofessional or sloppy emails won’t get a response—you’re asking for years of my time and energy, so the least you can do is put the time into crafting a professional message.) With that said, I welcome you to contact me with questions after you have looked at the Department of Religious Studies website. (You may also want to view this information session for prospective applicants recorded in October 2022.)

I usually attend the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Association for Asian Studies and sometimes arrange coffee meetings with prospective students while there. If you want to meet with me at a conference, I encourage you to reach out long beforehand so that we can set up an initial phone chat about your research interests. 

Despite the cautionary note I rang above, I must say that grad training is one of the great joys of my job, and I’m very proud of my record so far. I had a PhD student in EALC who defended his dissertation in April 2021 and started a three-year postdoc the same year, and I have another PhD student in RELS who has finished her coursework and is beginning her dissertation research. I’ve admitted another PhD advisee who will matriculate in 2023. I’m on several dissertation committees, serve as grad chair for my department, and have mentored several MA students through to successful placement in top-tier PhD programs at places like Columbia, UCSB, and Yale.

If you apply to Penn and make it to the interview stage, I’ll happily put you in touch with one of my current or former students so you can get more information about my advising style. If you are admitted and decide to come to Penn, I will encourage you to think about an ideal advising “team” of faculty in the RELS graduate group (including faculty from several other units on campus) so that you can pitch a dissertation project that has maximum faculty support.

Last thing: My guiding assumption now and always is that anyone who works on a PhD must simultaneously prepare for both academic and non-academic work. As someone who is employed in the academy my ability to mentor students on securing non-academic jobs is naturally limited, but I see such mentorship as part of my job.