Duke Divinity School In Brief
A world leader in theological education, Duke Divinity School is one of seven professional schools at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Duke Divinity, which is among the 13 seminaries affiliated with the United Methodist Church, enrolls approximately 575 students. (Duke University's total student body is around 13,100, including about 6,800 graduate and professional students).
The current population of the divinity school includes students from 40 states and seven foreign countries. Some 55 percent are male and 45 percent are female. Denominations include United Methodist (55 percent), Baptist (18 percent) and more than 30 others. Eighteen percent of the student body is comprised of minority students.
Duke has one of the youngest seminary student bodies in the country, with a median age of 25. Entering students in fall 2005 had a median age of 24. By comparison, the median age for seminaries nationwide is between 35 and 40.
The diverse faculty of 42 full-time members is regarded as one of the best in theological education worldwide and is distinguished in both teaching and scholarship. For detailed information about Duke Divinity professors, please visit the faculty section, the faculty experts list, or the additional media resources.
Intellectual strengths of Duke Divinity School, which is led by Dean L. Gregory Jones, include:
- Theological ethics
- History of interpretation and theological interpretation of Scripture
- Pastoral leadership
- Racial reconciliation
- Theology and medicine
- Studies in the Wesleyan tradition
- Care at the end of life
- Master of Divinity (M.Div.): A three-year professional degree preparing women and men for ordained leadership in the church
- Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S): A two-year academic degree preparing men and women for the teaching ministry of the church by providing the foundation for Ph.D. studies
- Master of Theology (Th.M.): A one-year, advanced-level degree that builds upon work already completed in one of the basic theological degrees
A doctor of theology (Th.D.) program was launched in the fall 2006 semester.
The divinity school partners with Duke University's Department of Religion to offer a Ph.D.