Study Leave for Ministry Professionals

Duke Divinity School invites ministry professionals to spend a week refilling the spiritual well through self-directed study, worship and prayer on the Duke University campus.

Study Leave participants will have full access to the university and divinity libraries and to community worship and lecture opportunities. In addition, arrangements will be made for class auditing and for conversations with the Divinity School faculty as appropriate to the topic of study.

Who should apply?

Study Leave is open to ministry professionals of all Christian traditions and communions who wish to take a week apart from their normal routine to study at Duke Divinity School. Clergy, Christian educators, church musicians, deacons, elders, lay professionals, lay speakers, parish nurses, program directors and youth directors are invited to apply.

Self-directed Study

Unlike traditional continuing education events that offer a specific course of study, Study Leave is self-directed. You choose your topic for the week and submit a proposal when you apply. Your topic can be anything of interest to you that relates to your ministry — church history, Christian tradition, Scripture, worship, ethics, preaching or other topics.

Based on your topic, the program director will arrange meetings for you with faculty. While those meetings will shape your week, the best Study Leave experiences are ones in which participants develop a clear proposal and plan their time appropriately. By choosing classes to audit, doing research in the library, observing Sabbath time, attending worship services in Goodson Chapel and Duke Chapel, and connecting with students and faculty informally, you direct the success of your leave.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition for the week is $550 and includes accommodations for four nights, a meal allowance, access to the campus gym, parking on campus and a temporary library membership. Clergy serving Duke Endowment churches are eligible for a $450 scholarship, thanks to generous support from the Rural Church Division of The Duke Endowment. Members of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference are also eligible for a $450 scholarship from the Parish Ministry Fund. Eligible Study Leave participants should indicate their interest on the application form.

Enrollment

CEU Credit

Each hour spent in study, auditing a class, conversation with faculty, worship or library research is worth 0.1 CEU. Twenty hours of study are expected during the week, for a minimum award of 2.0 CEU. Participants will track their study time and prepare a report for the program director at the end of the week.

Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
312 Blackwell St., Suite 101
Durham, NC 27701