Is Yale Divinity School Worth It?
Is Yale Divinity School worth the cost, time, and challenge? An M.Div. graduate evaluates the academics, community, career outcomes, and spiritual formation at YDS.
· 16 min read
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Personal Narrative
The journey from small-town Arkansas to Yale Divinity School and back. Reflections on education, identity, and finding your path.
The path from small-town Arkansas to Yale Divinity School and back again isn't one most people take. These posts are the personal side — reflections on education, identity, family, and finding your way when the map doesn't match the territory.
Start here: The God and Man at Yale Divinity series is a week-by-week account of my first year at Yale Divinity School as a conservative evangelical veteran — from fall orientation through discerning vocation. For the essays that got me there, see my personal statement and writing sample.
Yale Divinity School M.Div. Degree Requirements: A Complete Guide (2025 Curriculum)
A complete breakdown of Yale Divinity School's current Master of Divinity degree requirements — the 2025 cohort-based curriculum, prescribed courses, Integrative Seminar, internship, and electives.
· 12 min read
Yale M.Div. Degree Requirements: Pre-2025 Curriculum Guide
A complete breakdown of Yale Divinity School's pre-2025 Master of Divinity degree requirements — the five-area distribution framework, credit hours, content areas, language courses, placement exams, and electives.
· 11 min read
Buckley's Fusionism and the Future of the Conservative Coalition
How William F. Buckley Jr. and Frank Meyer unified traditionalists, libertarians, and anti-communists into a movement—and whether that coalition can hold in the age of populism.
· 11 min read
The Buckley Program at Yale: Intellectual Diversity on a Progressive Campus
A firsthand account of the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale—what it does, why it matters, and what it's like to be a conservative Fellow on a campus that would rather you weren't.
· 11 min read
Why Conservatives Should Read Their Opponents
The case for engaging the strongest progressive arguments rather than caricaturing them—drawn from Buckley's example, Mill's logic, Aquinas's method, and three years at Yale Divinity School.
· 8 min read
Judaea Capta Coins as Imperial Propaganda
In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity I share my paper on...
· 4 min read
The Greatest Country as a Unifying Theme
America is the greatest country on earth, and shared patriotism can unite us across political divides. Why love of country still matters as a unifying theme.
· 2 min read
COVID-19 Testing Delays and Government Incompetence
With these testing delays that are plaguing the country, I am left wondering what value these mass testings have.
· 1 min read
The Year of COVID-19 and Hope for the Future
In this post, I discuss COVID-19, murder hornets, the joy that is 2020, and my optimism for the future.
· 2 min read
Disown Family Members Over Politics?
In this post, I discuss those who would disown family members over political beliefs.
· 1 min read
Twitter Toxicity
In this post, I reflect upon Twitter toxicity and the worldview-warping nature of social media.
· 2 min read
What Is Forgiveness?
In this post, I write about my journey toward understanding forgiveness.
· 2 min read
What is a Liberal?
The Simpsons seeks to find the elusive answer to the question, “What is a liberal?”
· 5 min read
Waiting to Reopen
As life has hit the pause button amid this pandemic, I will choose to be grateful for what I have as we are all waiting to reopen.
· 2 min read
Paper Writing and Basement Dwelling
This post discusses the paper writing process without access to a library or even the ability to leave my house.
· 4 min read
The Ivy League on Pass/Fail
This post discusses the sudden implantation of pass/fail grading systems at Yale and the sense of entitlement surrounding it.
· 7 min read
Zoom, Yale, and the New Ivy League Experience
This post discusses the beginning of the Zoom era at Yale and how managing the COVID fallout has given birth to a new Ivy League experience.
· 6 min read
Angry All the Time in the Ivy League
In this post, I discuss why I think students on elite college campuses seem angry all the time.
· 6 min read
COVID, Yale, and a Brave New World
In this post, I discuss COVID, its ramifications on Yale’s campus, and the new normal after the end of spring break.
· 13 min read
Spring Break, Buckley, and the Coronavirus
In this post, I discuss the first week of spring break, the Buckley seminar, and the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
· 5 min read
The Ivy League Façade
As I begin to grow comfortable at Yale, I am becoming more aware of the Ivy League façade that masks much of the mundane and unpolished aspects of elite...
· 8 min read
Making Summer Plans at Yale
As the semester begins to progress, I have started making summer plans, largely settling on taking additional classes back home in Arkansas.
· 8 min read
My Dinner With Rich Lowry
I dined with National Review editor Rich Lowry after his Yale Buckley Program lecture on nationalism. Reflections on humility, plus his full lecture video.
· 9 min read
Ivy League Buzzwords
In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity I discuss the fourth...
· 7 min read
Roman Law at Yale
Roman Law at Yale
In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity I discuss the...
· 10 min read
Grades at Yale and the End of the Semester
In my final post of the Fall 2019 semester at Yale Divinity School, I reflect upon grades at Yale and the end of my first semester here. This content...
· 10 min read
Week 14 at YDS: Finals at Yale
In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity I wrap up the semester...
· 4 min read
Week 13 at Yale: Discerning Vocation
In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity I discuss my thirteenth...
· 9 min read
The 2019 Harvard-Yale Game Protest
A Yale Divinity student's firsthand reaction to the 2019 Harvard-Yale football game protest — the climate demands, the virtue signaling, and what it reveals about elite campus culture.
· 8 min read
Week 12 at Yale: Finishing the Semester
A weekly update from Yale Divinity School — progress on final papers, preparing for exams, visiting the Yale Art Gallery's Dura-Europos exhibit, and thoughts on the curriculum.
· 5 min read
The Obsession with Oppression at Yale Divinity School
A conservative student's firsthand account of oppression culture at Yale Divinity School—the fetishization of victimhood, the woke scold minority, and the silent reasonable majority.
· 7 min read
Week 10 at Yale: Ph.D. Aspirations
A Yale Divinity School student reflects on PhD aspirations, academic grading, and the top doctoral programs in New Testament and religious studies worth pursuing.
· 7 min read
Week 8 at Yale: Cancel Culture Comes to YDS
In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity I discuss my first...
· 11 min read
Week 5: Conservatives at Yale Divinity
Is Yale Divinity liberal? Yes. But conservative students thrive. A candid account of being a conservative at Yale Divinity School and finding your place there.
· 11 min read
Week 1 of the M.Div. at Yale Divinity School
What the first week of Yale Divinity School is really like — classes, community, and culture shock. A veteran's firsthand account of the M.Div. program.
· 16 min read
BTFO (Before the Fall Orientation) at Yale
A first-person guide to BTFO at Yale Divinity School covering Berkeley Divinity, class registration, grades, campus life, and what incoming students should expect.
· 22 min read
Writing Sample from Yale Divinity Application
The complete writing sample from a successful Yale Divinity School M.Div. application, drafted from scratch after seven years out of school.
· 11 min read
Personal Statement from Yale Divinity Application
See a real seminary application essay that worked. Full personal statement from a successful Yale Divinity School M.Div. acceptance with writing tips.
· 6 min read
God and Man at Yale Divinity
Complete Yale Divinity School guide: how to apply, personal statement, GI Bill benefits, financial aid, acceptance, and thriving in the M.Div. program.
· 21 min read
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