Philip's Tunnel to Nowhere 3

I should probably get my latest news up here so I can point people here instead of writing long e-mails.

In early 2009 I was accepted into the Masters program at the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. This M. Ed. would open the door to working at a college in many capacities, but specifically in my case what interests me is working in career services, advising college students on how to meet career goals. It’s a great program (ranked #2 in the latest USN&WR, down from #1 in 2008) and I’m greatly honored to be accepted. But for various reasons I deferred starting the program until Fall 2010.

This has given me some time to address a nagging feeling that, although an M. Ed. would be a very good career path, it might not be the best career path. Back in May I formulated my aspirations in the following question:

What would be a career path for someone who wants to study youth culture (and especially subcultures) as an academic with the goal of informing the church to help it communicate the Gospel?

I’m not sure I’ve found the answer, but I’ve come up with a plan that’s got me pretty excited. As I understand it, Fuller Seminary is one of the leaders in the field of missiology — they even have a School of Intercultural Studies. They also happen to have a professor who’s one of the leading researchers in youth culture. So it seems like a great combination where I can go study both youth ministry and the theory of cross-cultural outreach, with the goal of integrating both into my eventual academic career.

They don’t have a doctorate program, so getting a Masters would be a prerequisite to moving on to a Ph. D. At this point I’d say I’m about 80% sure I’m at least going to apply, and then weigh options accordingly. I have until March to decide to enroll at Michigan or not.

It’s a little daunting to envision paying (for at least one year) for a degree that, once I finish it, won’t qualify me to do anything else but pursue another degree! Stay tuned for details.