Frequently Asked Questions 

Training Eligibility:

I am not a U.S. citizen and/or I am based outside of the U.S. Am I eligible for the public scholarship training?

YES, please apply! Our eligibility requirements are completely independent of nationality or location. Most of our trainings take place online. Please be aware that any synchronous portions of the training will be held in a U.S. time zone, likely Eastern Standard Time, depending on the trainer’s location. All efforts will be made to make sure you are not trying to join a call at 2am! 

I do not work for a university at all. Am I eligible for your training?

YES, please apply!! We are seeking to build training cohorts that include both scholars in traditional and non-traditional institutional locations and ranks.

My training is not in a religious studies program but it does involve religion. Am I eligible for your training?

PROBABLY. Our requirement is that you have “some graduate training in religion.” But this does not have to be in a “religious studies” program per se; we are open to people with training in theology, biblical studies, or history, anthropology, etc. Religion is an interdisciplinary object of study and that is part of what we love about it. That said, our funders are interested in improving public understanding of religion; if it is not immediately obvious from your letter and CV that you study religion in some way, please spell it out for us in your application. 

I either do not have a PhD or do not yet have a PhD. Am I eligible for your training? 

MAYBE. If you are a graduate student with some graduate coursework in religion, you are eligible to apply, even if you haven’t yet passed your exams or reached ABD (all but dissertation) status. If you have another graduate degree such as an M.A., M.Div., MTS, that focused on religion in some way, you are eligible to apply. If you have a Master’s degree in something unrelated to religion but took religion courses as an undergrad, apologies, you are not eligible. 

What is the selection process?

A four-person panel made up of members of the Sacred Writes leadership team, staff, and alumni trainers reviews and ranks all applications on the following criteria:

  1. Demonstrated scholarly interests that align with the content of the training cohorts (if applicable).

  2. Willingness or preparedness to develop a voice as a public-facing scholar, be it through experience, training, or sheer enthusiasm. 

  3. Capacity to be an active participant in the ongoing community of Sacred Writes alums as part of a cohort/collegiality, etc.

Training Appropriateness:

I applied for your public scholarship training in a previous year and was not accepted. Should I apply again?

YES, please apply! We always have many more qualified applicants than spots. Our admit rate was under 10% in 2021, which is why we are offering five training cohorts in the coming year instead of just one. That means five times the capacity for admitting trainees! The fact that you got rejected from one cohort is not a reflection of your work or readiness for public scholarship or our training. Please do not take it as such. When you apply, please also let us know in your application that you have applied in the past.  We also encourage you to stay on our mailing list in between training cohorts as we also offer other opportunities, such as media partnerships, where you are paid to write for a specific outlet about your area of expertise. 

I have already done a LOT of public-facing work. Should I apply for this training?

YES, if you are interested in either refining your goals and values in public scholarship, and/or in helping to build a community around people who do this work, please apply. You may not need all the specific instruction in how to write an op-ed, present yourself on social media, or give an interview, but our training also focuses on the WHYS of public scholarship, and on making it sustainable, ethical and energizing for you. And again for purposes of building a cohort, we like to have people with multiple levels of public scholarship experience involved. 

I have never done ANY writing for the public and frankly it terrifies me. Should I apply for this training?

YES, please apply! This training will examine both the HOWS and the WHYS of public scholarship. We affirm that public scholarship is work, and no one is required to say yes to any public scholarship opportunity. However, we also know that your training means you do have knowledge worthy of being shared, should you choose to do so. If you are public-scholarship-curious, this training is also for you!

Training Contents: 

What will Sacred Writes training teach me?

Our public scholarship training curriculum, substantially revised as of 2022, is intensive and comprehensive. It contains 8 modules, which are generally taught over a period of three months online, or in a more intensive in-person format Those units are: Why Go Public?; Risks, Rewards, and Responsibilities; Rethinking Your Expertise; Communicating with the Public; Social Media; Op-Eds and Explainers; Interviews; Next Steps. As you can see, it is a mix of concrete skills training and more abstract reflection. All cohorts, whether directed at scholars with a particular specialty or not, follow this curriculum. You can get a sense of the curriculum by visiting the “Resources” section of our site, which includes a public scholarship syllabus, glossary, and biographies of our trainers. 

Who will lead this training?

Members of the Sacred Writes team lead trainings. This includes Sacred Writes Director Liz Bucar and Associate Director Brook Wilensky-Lanford as well as some alums of our program who have completed a training-facilitation training. To learn more about anyone on the Sacred Writes team, please see this page. 

What is the outcome of this training? 

We want to leave you feeling supported, motivated, and confident in sharing your work with the public in whatever form you choose to do so. The curriculum is also scaffolded around a final assignment: drafting one op-ed or explainer and pitching it to a specific publication. You can see the work of our trainees here. We ask trainees to complete (at least) two pieces public-facing work over the course of the following year. One of those may be an interview with the Classical Ideas podcast, which has an ongoing series on religion. You can hear interviews with former Sacred Writes trainees here. You will also be joining a network of people who can help connect you to other public scholarship opportunities. 

What is the time commitment for completing the training?

Our online trainings are designed to be completed over a three-month period. Each of the eight training modules involves at least a couple of hours of reviewing training materials, at least one synchronous group meeting with your cohort or small group, and possibly additional time creating assignments (like a Twitter thread, article pitch, practice interview, etc.). It is hard to estimate the exact amount of time for the training, but for an online training we suggest budgeting 3 hours a week for the three-month period. Afterwards, trainees will have an additional three-month window in which Sacred Writes team members are available to meet with them about their work, and/or to receive written editorial feedback. 

I have more questions not covered here.

Please send us an email! We look forward to connecting with you.