Doctor of Theology Degree Planned

December 5, 2005

Duke Divinity School plans to begin offering a doctor of theology degree in the fall semester 2006, creating a program that will train students for faculty posts in theological schools and help prepare a new generation of leaders for church-related positions, said Dean L. Gregory Jones.

The Th.D. will provide students with academically rigorous training, comparable to the demands of the Ph.D., in areas of study often neglected by traditional Ph.D. programs, such as worship, preaching, evangelism, and the arts, Jones said. It also will encourage interdisciplinary study and collaboration among schools and departments at Duke.

This new program will address fresh areas of research, such as the intersection of divinity and health care and the intersection of divinity, peacemaking and reconciliation, Jones said. These are topics in which the divinity school has been developing significant intellectual and programmatic strength in recent years.

The degree program has approval from the Trustees of Duke University, and formal approval is pending from the Association of Theological Schools in January 2006. The application deadline for the first class of students is Feb. 15, 2006. Application materials will be posted on the divinity school Web site at http://www.divinity.duke.edu/academics/degrees/ by Dec. 15, 2005.

Jones said the divinity school expects to admit 12-15 students per year into the program, which most students will complete in four to five years.

The Th.D. is intended to complement the existing Ph.D. graduate program in religion, which is a collaborative effort of the Duke Divinity School and the Duke Department of Religion. The Ph.D. program offers students opportunities to study in a variety of fields such as Bible, the history of Christianity, and Christian theological studies. The new Th.D. program will focus doctoral education specifically oriented toward the ministries and practices of Christian communities.

People interested in doctoral study in fields traditionally covered in the Graduate Program in Religion (the Ph.D. program) are expected to apply to that program, Jones said. Students interested in study oriented toward Christian communities should apply to the divinity school's Th.D. program.

The new degree program would not affect the divinity school's other degree offerings, which include the master of divinity, master in church ministries, master of theological studies, and master of theology.

For details about the program, please call the divinity school admissions office: 919-660-3436, or (888) GO-2-DUKE.