Harvard Divinity SchoolPreparing ethical leaders for a complex world

At HDS we pursue the scholarly, humane, and ultimately spiritual goal

When you learn at Harvard Divinity School, you learn in one of the finest, most highly respected, and most distinctive schools of divinity on the planet, a global leader in advancing understand- ing of religion and its influence.

As a student here, you enjoy unparalleled access to a faculty as

noteworthy for its diversity as for its brilliance. You integrate

rigorous scholarship, critical thinking, and compassionate prac-

tice into a program of study that you tailor to meet your goals,

tapping the vast resources of one the worlds greatest universi-

ties as fully as possible.

The theologian Frederick Buechner has said that vocation is the

place where your deep gladness and the worlds deep hunger

meet. Students bring to Harvard Divinity School a rich and

broad range of passions to lead congregations, to push back

the boundaries of knowledge, to work toward a more just and

humane world, and to pursue many other worthwhile goals.

They learn to combine incisive thought and meaningful action

to address an array of the worlds deep hungers. HDS is a place

to broaden the concept of ministry, to explore important ideas,

to tie threads together in new ways, to chip away at the walls

that divide religion from everything else, and to prepare for a life

of ethical leadership in a complex and fascinating world.

At HDS we pursue the scholarly, humane, and ultimately spiritual goal of understanding the worlds religious and theological traditions with rigor and respect.David N. Hempton, Dean; Alonzo L. McDonald Family Professor of Evangelical Theological Studies; John Lord OBrian Professor of Divinity

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Brooke Davis Richmond, Va. | MTS 14 (Islamic Studies) | HDS DivEx program alumna | Master of Public Policy 14 (Harvard Kennedy School) | Carleton College 11 (Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow)

I knew I was going to graduate school, and the Kennedy School was on my list, so I was already looking at Harvard. I also felt this tug to continue the thread of religious studies Id started as an undergraduate.

The single most illuminating experience for me was hear-ing the different contexts for why students come to HDS. People go on to become pastors and professors, but theyre also interested in nonprofit work, in starting their own schools, and in public service.

I see the future as so fluid. My degree provides a toolkit to deal with the worlds religious diversity.

I thought HDS was mostly people going into ministry or academic life. I was surprised to find people had very different ideas about what they wanted to get out of their education.

I was excited about trying to have a religious response to life in a world in which the old ways of doing that werent quite flying.

David Ruffin McLean, Va. | MDiv 13 | Northwestern University 03

I toured with Grease on the Broadway national tour 48 cities over a year and a half. It was my life. But as much as I enjoyed acting, I was thirsty, and I was missing community. I came to HDS to search, to explore where I could find and build upon deeper connection. Very quickly HDS became a spiritual home.

The history here is not irrelevant the people that have come through here, the minds, the hearts. There is a way in which we carry Ralph Waldo Emerson, for example, with us. Its special to defend my thesis in the very space Divinity Chapel where he gave his Divinity School Address. Its like, here we are, still try-ing to figure this out. And this work is going to keep on far beyond our time, too.

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academics at hds

Four Degrees, Infinite PathwaysWith our multi-religious focus, interdisciplinary approach, and international scope more than 40 percent of courses have an international focus HDS offers a depth and breadth of learning that are unparalleled. All degree programs give you the flexibility to tailor learning in ways that meet your personal and professional interests.

Our Four Degree Programs

master of divinity (mdiv) The three-year MDiv is ideal for students in many religious traditions preparing for ordained or lay ministry in settings ranging from church congregations to college campuses, hos-pitals, and prisons. Many MDiv students choose to go into teaching or scholarship. Students learn the Arts of Ministry (such as preaching, pastoral care, and community organizing), and link theory to practice with fieldwork placements in set-tings around the globe (see page 10).

master of theological studies (mts) Knowledge of religion and its profound influence is an asset in a wide range of fields. The versatile two-year MTS offers broad study in religion with opportunities to explore any of 18 areas of focus. It prepares graduates for doctoral study and for work in public policy, social justice, international affairs, law, journalism, education, and other fields.

master of theology (thm) The one-year ThM is for those who already have a master of divinity or its equivalent and who seek to pursue a new direction or advance their understanding of a particular area of study.

doctor of philosophy (phd) With a focus on global religions, religion and culture, and forces that shape religious traditions and thought, the PhD prepares students for advanced research and scholarship in religion and theological studies. This is a joint degree program between HDS and the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, administered by the Committee on the Study of Religion.

A Variety of Options

MTS and ThM students choose from 18 areas of focus ranging from Islamic, Jewish, or Hindu Studies to African and African American Religious Studies; Religion, Ethics, and Politics; and many other fields.

Read about our degree programs in detail at hds.harvard.edu/academics

by the numbers: enrollment in 201314

MDiv129 students

MTS ThM ThD*159 students 1 student 42 students

*This program is no longer accepting applications for admissions. Instead, HDS will offer a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) beginning in 201516. See opposite page for more information.

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The number one strength here is resources. At Harvard there are so, so many resources, and so many connections. You can research just about anything. You can work with any faculty member you want.

Ainsley Land Evergreen, Colo. | MTS 13 (Religions of the Americas) | ThD candidate | Carleton College 11

Im here because I am interested in a career as a professor. I enjoy teaching and I really enjoy religion as a subject. I just finished my MTS and Im starting my doctorate.

I spent a summer doing research on comparative secular-ization with Dean Hempton for a seminar he was holding. He invited me and two other graduate students to come, so it was just the three of us with all of these big, estab-lished scholars. We were encouraged to ask questions. We got invited to all the schmoozy after-dinner things. It was like being invited into the profession. That kind of thing is what I love about this place. You get opportunities to see what the professional world is like.

Willie Bodrick IIAtlanta, Ga. | MDiv 14 | Georgetown University 10

I grew up a preachers kid in a Baptist church, and although I tried to distance myself, I always knew Id get back to preaching. HDS offers me the opportunity to explore beyond the boundaries of the black church.

The Div School is one of those sacred spaces where we take the seriousness of spirituality always with a keen eye toward everyday life. Ive started a nonprofit organization. Ive taken classes at Harvard Business School and Law School. Ive been able to work with the Rev. Charles Adams, one of the most renowned black preachers of the last 50 years. To have those opportunities that helps me grow in ways that are necessary for ministry.

I made a bargain with God. I said, if Im going to be in a divinity school, put me in the best place to do it, and Ill go at it a hundred percent from there.

Leila Ahmed

Giovanni Bazzana

Aisha M. Beliso-De Jess

Ann D. Braude

Catherine Brekus

Davd Carrasco

Emily Click

Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Diana L. Eck

Mark U. Edwards, Jr.

Francis Schssler Fiorenza

Cheryl A. Giles

William A. Graham

Janet Gyatso

Charles Hallisey

David N. Hempton

David F. Holland

Our FacultyThe women and men on the Harvard Divinity School faculty are internation-ally renowned scholars and practitioners of ministry who are experts across a rich and diverse range of fields and religious traditions.

At HDS, you will join them in the pursuit of deep and broad questions about the nature of human experience as seen through the lens of religion. You will engage with them on research topics and other projects that advance under-standing of religion in todays world. You will build close intellectual and professional relationships with educators who truly care about your interests and your future. And you will greatly enrich your appreciation for the role of religion in the life of human beings.

To learn more about our faculty members and their research, visit hds.harvard.edu/faculty-research

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faculty of divinity

Amy Hollywood

Michael D. Jackson

Baber Johansen

Mark D. Jordan

Ousmane Oumar Kane

Beverly Mayne Kienzle

Karen L. King

David C. Lamberth

Jon D. Levenson

Peter Machinist

Kevin J. Madigan

Dan McKanan

Anne E. Monius

Diane L. Moore

Laura S. Nasrallah

Jacob K. Olupona

Kimberley C. Patton

Stephanie Paulsell

Matthew Potts

Ahmed Ragab

Mayra Rivera Rivera

Dudley C. Rose

Michelle Sanchez

Elisabeth Schssler Fiorenza

Charles M. Stang

D. Andrew Teeter

Jonathan L. Walton

John Braisted Carman Harvey G. Cox, Jr. Arthur J. Dyck David D. Hall Paul D. Hanson Helmut Koester Richard Reinhold Niebuhr Ralph Benajah Potter, Jr. Preston N. Williams

Adam Afterman Lihi Ben Shitrit Gemma Betros Kristin Bloomer Sarah Bracke Judith Casselberry Houchang Chehabi Hsiao-wen Cheng Anila Daulatzai Yakir Englander Rosalind I.J. Hackett Hauwa Ibrahim Amanda Izzo Joel Kaminski Jennifer Leath Alison More

Lori K. Pearson Zilka Spahic Siljak Jacquelyn Williamson

research professors & emeriti recent visiting faculty

36%

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field ed 200913

recent field ed settings

non-profit agencies or other

29% parishes or dharma centers

24% healthcare

11% education

hds highlight

Field EducationA hallmark of an HDS education is the way we connect rig-orous academic study to the art of practice. And one of the most important ways we accomplish this is through Field Education.

Field Education projects required for students in the MDiv Program and an option for MTS students include experiences in the summer or during the academic year that enable students to integrate their academic study with hands-on work. We encourage students to bring these expe-riences back into the classroom to reflect on the intersec-tion of religion and public life, leadership, and the impor-tance of religious literacy in todays world. Many projects pay students for the work they do.

As with so many facets of an HDS education, with Field Ed you direct your own learning, constrained only by your imagination and creativity as you explore placements that fit well with your academic and professional goals. Students have taken part in projects with churches, synagogues, mosques, theater groups, schools, community organiza-tions, hospitals, NGOs, and other organizations in Greater Boston, across the U.S., and around the globe.

You may team up with one of 100-plus partner organiza-tions or design your own Field Ed project. Either way youll have a lot of support. Administrative staff have a stellar reputation at HDS, and as one student put it, will bend like pretzels to help you do what you want to do.

Field Ed broadens and reshapes the idea of ministry. The diverse range of projects our students explore mirrors the diversity of the students themselves.

Students have engaged in Field Education at the following sites:

Historic Twelfth Baptist Church, Roxbury, Mass.

The Corrymeela Community, Ballycastle, Northern Ireland

Hebrew SeniorLife Rehabilitation Center, Boston, Mass.

Bioethics Research at MIT, Cambridge, Mass.

Greater Boston Legal Services, Boston, Mass.

First Church Boston, Unitarian Universalist, Boston, Mass.

Berkshire County House of Correction, Pittsfield, Mass.

Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, Mass.

Suffolk University Interfaith Center, Boston, Mass.

Nepal Ebenezer Bible College, Kathmandu, Nepal

Center for Advanced Nonviolent Action and Strategies, Belgrade, Serbia

Healthcare chaplaincy at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Mass.

Find more about the HDS Field Ed experience at hds.harvard.edu/academics/field-education

Erika Carlsen Ogden, Utah | MDiv candidate | HDS DivEx program alumna | University of San Francisco 09

About two and a half years ago I had a dream, and in the dream I had the idea of going to divinity school. I was like, Whoa! Whats divinity school? But it lit a fire in me. I saw a very clear thread of spirituality in me that motivated all the social change work I wanted to do.

Im very much a doer, so to be where I can think and then apply is perfect for me. The Field Education components are really important. This summer Ill be doing capacity-building work in Nicaragua with ProNica a Quaker soli-darity organization.

There is a different kind of diversity here. People are creatively weaving spirituality into all aspects of life.

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I have yet to meet someone at HDS who is not genuinely interested in making the world a better place.

We get terrific students at HDS. Theyre smart people, theyre fabulous people. That makes the teaching exciting and it makes the mentoring exciting. Its a very dynamic place. I feel like Im going on an adventure every day.

Cheryl GilesFrancis Greenwood Peabody Senior Lecturer on Pastoral Care and Counseling | MDiv 79 | PsyD, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

I try to encourage students to look at the broad perspective of attending Harvard Divinity School. Mentoring is a big piece of that. Access to professors is a big piece of that. We have really strong Field Education. The religious diversity here gives us a wide base to look at really important issues and reflect on them without getting caught up in dogma. And you have the resources of the whole university available to you theres a huge well of interest and diversity and richness that can contribute to your own growth. Thats one of the amazing things at HDS that other schools dont have.

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hds highlight

The Harvard AdvantageAs a Harvard Divinity School student, youll chart your own path to a degree. Though no two paths are alike, one thing most have in common is that they wind through all of Harvard University and throughout the Boston metro-politan area.

One Harvard

At HDS you have all the benefits, privileges, and opportuni-ties that come from being a student at Harvard University. This means having access to a range of academic programs, cultural opportunities, and resources that are as noteworthy for their breadth as they are for their quality. It means getting to know and learning from students who come to Harvard for all kinds of reasons and from all around the globe. And it means enjoying many other advantages.

Learning in Greater Boston

Another benefit of being an HDS student is living and learn-ing in Greater Boston an exciting, culturally rich, intel-lectually vibrant city thats the quintessential college town, with more than 50 colleges and universities and 250,000 students.

A Wealth of Resources for Learning

Take courses at Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, or other Harvard schools as part of your Divinity School program.

Get involved in The Pluralism Project, a Harvard initiative led by HDS faculty member Diana Eck that aims to engage Ameri-cans with the realities of religious diversity.

Explore international research opportunities in Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere, supported by grants from Harvards W.E.B. DuBois Institute, Harvard Traveling Fellowships, or other sources.

Broaden your learning with the Center for the Study of World Religions; the Science, Religion & Culture Program; and other special HDS centers and programs (see page 24).

Take courses, attend seminars, and tap into the resources of the Boston Theological Institute (BTI), a consortium of schools of divinity and theology.

Attend services, hear speakers (including Pusey Minister and HDS Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Jonathan Walton), and listen to fine music at historic Memorial Church, the symbolic center of Harvards spiritual life.

Conduct research using the Harvard library system, with more than 90 libraries (including the Andover-Harvard Theological Library), over 16 million volumes, and vast digital resources.

hds advantages at a glance: 201314

161 42HDS students took courses at BTI* member schools

2 42

cross-registration

HDS students took courses at one or more of six other Harvard schools:

dual degree candidates

with Harvard Law School

with The Fletcher School (Tufts U.)

with Harvard Kennedy Schoolbusiness school | faculty of arts & sciences | graduate school of education | kennedy school | law school | school of public health

*Boston Theological Institute

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Anna Carlstone | MTS 13Educator

Fellow with Building Excellent Schools

Preparing to open a charter school in Los Angeles for children in grades 4 to 8

Karen Tse | MDiv 00Human rights attorney, social entrepreneur

Founder of International Bridges to Justice, a nonprofit that aims to eradicate torture

Unitarian Universalist minister

Joseph Florez | AB 07, MTS 13PhD candidate in history

Doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, U.K.

Research focus is Bureaucratic Authoritarianism and the Transformation of Protestant Social Thought in Peru and Chile, 1940 1990

Tenzin Priyadarshi | MTS 03Buddhist monk

Founding director of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformation at MIT

Founding director and president of the Prajnopaya Institute and Foundation

Founding member of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa (World Peace Pagoda) in New Delhi, India

hds alumni & careers

After Harvard Divinity SchoolOne of the most compelling features of Harvard Divinity School is the diversity of careers an HDS education can prepare you for. Our graduates move into fields you might expect to positions of ministry in congregations through-out the world, for example but also into those you might not expect. They are leaders in education, public policy, the nonprofit sector, research and scholarship, law, business, and a range of other professions.

A Wealth of Resources for Planning Your Career

As you prepare for that next step after HDS, the Office of Career Services will be there to help. Were well attuned to the needs of a student body with far-ranging career inter- ests. We offer a wide range of services including one-on-one career advising, an extensive career resource library, work-shops on career planning and searching for a job, and Career Fairs in collaboration with other schools across Harvard. And these services dont stop when you gradu-ate theyre available to you as an HDS alum as well.

An HDS education prepares graduates for further study and for careers in fields from ministry and public service to education and the arts. Nearly a third of masters graduates will pursue a doctorate at some point, and more than a quarter will pursue other graduate or professional degrees. Within a year of graduating, 71 percent of MTS and MDiv grads report being employed in their intended field, and that number rises significantly with time. HDS graduates are chaplains and lawyers and teachers and scholars and writers and businesspeople and a whole lot of other things. Here are a few of the organizations that employ them:

Barnard College

Beacon Hospice

First Church Cambridge

J Street Foundation

Massachusetts General Hospital

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Partners in Health

Phillips Academy

Public Radio Internationals The World

Save the Children

Unitarian Universalist Association

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Institute of Peace

Vera Institute of Justice

More information about our Career Services office can be found at hds.harvard.edu/careers

Tom Chappell | MTS 91Entrepreneur, businessman, environmentalist

Founder of Toms of Maine

Founder and president of Ramblers Way

Author and leader on ethics and values-based business

Sarah Sentilles | MDiv 01, ThD 08Author, scholar, critical theorist

Author of three books, including Breaking Up with God: A Love Story

Assistant professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art

Explores the roles of language, image, and practice in oppression, violence, and social justice

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, teacher, poet, theologian

Leader of the Transcendentalist Movement

Unitarian minister

Delivered his famous Divinity School Address at HDS on July 15, 1838

Matthew Potts | MDiv 08, PhD 13Episcopal priest, theologian

Assistant professor of ministry, Harvard Divinity School

Helped create the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation, which combats AIDS in southern Africa

Sarah Taylor Peck | MDiv 07Ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Senior Minister, Community Christian Church, North Canton, Ohio

Member of the HDS Alumni Council

Gloria White-Hammond | MDiv 97African Methodist Episcopal minister, physician

Co-Pastor, Bethel AME Church

Co-founder (with three other HDS alumnae) of My Sisters Keeper

Active in womens and childrens rights issues in Sudan

Retired physician, South End Community Health

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Andrew Teeter Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament | Specialist in early Jewish biblical interpretation | PhD, University of Notre Dame

One of the greatest strengths of HDS is the diversity of the classroom. Here one finds an entire spectrum of beliefs, orientations, and commitments represented. Some are deeply committed to the texts and traditions being studied, while others have no commitment whatsoever; still others are invested in actively resisting these traditions. These conditions can promote a robust pluralism a pluralism far beyond reduction to the lowest common denominator where persons from radically different backgrounds can sit together and learn to listen both to the texts and to one another. The result is an understanding both of the self and the other that can be transformative. Theres an extraordi-nary diversity here that replicates the diversity of the world in which we live.

For me, education is about modeling the life of the mind and the immense value of developing intellectual discipline, critical rigor, and virtue. But it also necessarily entails model-ing a certain concept of humanity.

Ahsen UtkuIstanbul, Turkey | MTS candidate (Comparative Studies) and Master of International Law and Diplomacy candidate (joint degree with the Fletcher School at Tufts University) | Marmara University 12

I was working as a journalist in Turkey. Applying to HDS was a turning point for me. I realized I could develop a very enriching perspective here for international relations and political science. I could get the political science anywhere, but not that background understanding of what religion is, why its part of human identity, why its part of conflict. I could get that at HDS.

HDS pushes students to be interdisciplinary. The MTS has 18 fields of interest for you to choose, or you can offer a new category. It pushes you not only to focus on religion or theological studies, but also to make connections with other disciplines.

The multi-religiosity was more than I expected. There is no other at HDS. Youre part of the com-munity, and you can contribute your own ideas. Everybody is welcomed from any religion. You learn that people are just people within such a diversity.

students of color

Approx. 3027%331students from 41 states and 20 countries

56%

44%4411%

the hds community: a snapshot

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international students

faculty of divinity Approx. 35

male

femalereligious traditions

student organizations

life at hds

A Tight-Knit Community FabricWith students from six continents and more than 35 differ-ent religious traditions plus some who have no particular religious affiliation at all HDS might be the most diverse divinity school on the planet. Our community fabric, in other words, is a multihued tapestry, but its woven very tightly, held together by a deeply relational style of learn-ing, by a fundamental appreciation of humanity, and by the many ways we come together, including:

community tea Held Tuesday afternoons throughout the academic year, Com-munity Tea brings students, faculty, and staff together for good food and drink. Conversations may range from discussions of theological complexities to speculation about the Red Sox playoff chances (some may argue that those are really the same conversation). Students share announcements to keep everyone in the loop on happenings at HDS, elsewhere at Harvard, and in the community.

noon service Every Wednesday, a different HDS religious community hosts the Noon Service, a time for the whole campus to gather for ritual, prayer, music, and reflection. Noon Services engage the campus in the practices of many different religious traditions, and, at the end of each service, offer another opportunity to enjoy one anothers friendship over food.

student organizations Connect with others in any of the 40 HDS student organiza-tions, which come together around spiritual practices, denomi-national affiliations, political and cultural interests, sports, music, community service, and other interests everything from the Student Initiative on Religion and Government and the Prison Education Project to Sacred Harp Singing and Veri-Toss, the Ultimate Frisbee team.

deans breakfast Once a month small groups of students gather with the Dean at his home in Jewett House to discuss life at the School and their engagement with the broader world.

rockefeller caf Much more than simply a good place to get a meal or a cup of coffee, the Rock Caf is a crossroads, a between-class hangout, a gathering place, and a mainstay of the Schools supportive, collaborative, and creative community life.

There are also numerous opportunities to broaden your intellectual horizons, connect with others who have similar career interests, learn from alumni, or hone your research skills.

Find more information about the HDS community at hds.harvard.edu/life-at-hds

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Adekunle OgunseyeOgun, Nigeria | MTS 14 (African and African American Religious Studies) | MSc, Olabisi Onabanjo University 04

Being an ordained minister in the Anglican Communion, it has been my desire to have a complementing theological education to attain the utmost height in my ministerial beliefs and my vocational calling. A chaplain, my Archbishop, His Grace, The Most Rev. Dr. J. O. Akinfenwa, mentioned Harvard University to me and I said, Wow!

My desire is to be fully prepared to lead in any congregation wherever I find my-self, to be ecumenically relevant, to have knowledge of other faith traditions, to understand religious diversity in harmonious perspective.

HDS is wonderful. It has really met my desires, my dreams, my goals, and has really transformed me in my learning. Its just awesome. Im more than fulfilled coming to Harvard Divinity School.

I want to stand my feet on the solid ground of intellectual reasoning, of religious attainment, of societal understanding. I want to be relevant. I want to be a bridge between two cultures.

Kateleigh Hewins West Milford, N.J. | MDiv candidate | College of the Holy Cross 09

I decided to apply to divinity school because I was inter-ested in how social justice linked with religious and faith traditions. What distinguished Harvard was the opportu-nity to go to school in a pluralistic environment. I wanted to get the experience of working and talking with people who had backgrounds that were very different from mine and who belonged to religious traditions with which I was unfamiliar. Im following what feels right for me. I love where I am and what Im doing. Not only have I grown from the breadth and depth of diversity at HDS, but I have also begun to find my own voice as a Catholic woman.

HDS is full of intelligent, driven, engaged faculty and students. The community is so diverse it helps you understand yourself and your faith in ways you wouldnt otherwise.

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hds highlight

Research Centers & Special Programs Enriching the academic, spiritual, and community life at Harvard Divinity School are a number of centers and special programs that promote groundbreaking research and sponsor lectures, seminars, and other events throughout the year. They include:

The Center for the Study of World Religions An interreligious, international, and interdisciplinary center that supports the study of religion at Harvard, sponsors conferences and other events, and serves as a community resource to promote study and under-standing of world religions.

The Religious Literacy Project A virtual research and resource center for public school teachers that supports their efforts to teach students about religion and religious traditions.

Certificate in Religious Studies and Education Integrates course work in history, politics, literature, religion, and other subjects to give MDiv and MTS students a multidisciplinary foundation for teaching about religion. (Offered jointly with Harvard Extension School)

Science, Religion & Culture Program Sponsors colloquia, workshops, and other events that engage students and scholars at Harvard and elsewhere in explorations of scientific and religious phenomena and their interactions.

Womens Studies in Religion Program A one-of-a-kind program that promotes interdisciplinary research and scholarly exploration of women and religion, often challenging long-held assumptions in the process.

Summer Language Program An eight-week intensive program designed to help stu-dents fulfill the language requirement for their degree, with instruction in Classical Arabic, French, German, New Testament Greek, Christian Latin, Biblical Hebrew, and Spanish.

Buddhist Ministry Initiative A first-of-its-kind program that prepares future Buddhist religious professionals for a variety of career paths.

possessed by maryHinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Spirit Possession in Tamil Nadu, India

paul farmer on liberation theology

religion & terrorA Conversation in the Wake of the Boston Marathon Bombing

toni morrisonThe Nobel Laureate and author on Goodness: Altruism and the Literary Imagination

inside the scholars studio

A conversation with Reza Aslan MTS 99, about his 2013 book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

lessons from harry potter for social justice and organizing

rescuing religion from civilization

Cultural Loss and Reclamation in Native America

recent speakers, conferences, seminars, & explorations at hds

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Janet Gyatso Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs | Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies | Specialist on Buddhist studies, with a concentration on Tibetan and South Asian culture and intellectual history | PhD, University of California at Berkeley

When you have experts in many different religious tradi-tions, you start to become aware of larger themes within religion as religion, things that are not necessarily defined by which particular religious tradition it is. Whats impor-tant about the Divinity School is how we study religion. We talk to each other in a fully robust way about scripture and ethics and aesthetics and ritual and salvation and the absolute these topics are relevant to many religions around the world. When you have knowledge from all over the world instead of just seeing things as unique to Christi-anity or Judaism, thats when you start to understand what religion is as a human phenomenon.

The whole field of religion is changing, and the significance of the study of religion is changing. For people who want to do something that involves religion academically or professionally, we offer really excellent preparation and guidance to address its full complexity.

Nicholas MoscaBrooklyn, N.Y. | MDiv 13 | Winner of the Billings Preaching Competition | Georgetown University 06

I applied to law school twice. Both times I was accepted and both times I declined. It wasnt where my heart was. I did some soul-searching and thought about what I really loved. I had these closet interests in theology and spiritual practice that I had never embraced.

I thought about parish ministry and teaching, and wasnt sure which one I was called to. HDS gave me the flexibility to dive into both. I did field experiences at an Episcopal parish and a high school, and those were great eye-opening experiences.

HDS forced me to wrestle with ideas I was uncomfortable with. Theres an amaz-ing combination of academic rigor and compassion. Its a place of exploration where youll be supported as you search for your own vocation. It empowered me to explore my own interests in theology. Now Im writing a book about humor in scripture across different religious traditions and how it can enrich spiritual lives as well as multi-faith interaction.

The people Ive met at HDS are some of the most intelligent, compassionate, inclusive people Ive ever had the pleasure of making friends with. HDS recognizes the importance of human capital not just intelligence.

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Founded two centuries ago as the nations first nonsectarian school of divinity, Harvard Divinity School today is an incredibly diverse and vibrant academic community where religions of the world and religion as a phenomenon in the world are explored at the highest level of critical inquiry, empowering students in ways that become vital to their lives and careers. Students come here to engage ques-tions of paramount importance, to explore them deeply and broadly, and to go on to work across religious and cultural divides to create a better world.

Learn More. Schedule a Visit. Apply. We encourage you to schedule a visit, register to attend an information session online or in a city near you, or apply for admission. Join our mailing list to receive updates about events, deadlines, and the application process, all at hds.harvard.edu/admissions

Questions? Our admissions staff would be glad to answer them:

Office of Admissions 617.495.5796 admissions@hds.harvard.edu

Financing HDS: A PartnershipFinancing an HDS education is a partnership, and were committed to working with all students to find ways to make the School affordable. Nearly nine out of ten students receive aid, most of it in the form of need- or merit-based institutional grants. Student contributions, loans, and on-campus work or some combination typically are also part of a students financial plan.

To learn more about the financial aid process and for up-to-date information about tuition and fees, visit hds.harvard.edu/financial-aid

02138Thats the zip code for HDS, which places us in Harvard Square, the intellectual and cultural center of Cambridge, Mass., and in Greater Boston, home to over 50 colleges and universities and a quarter- million students.

design: studio-e | copywriting: rick bader | primary photography: joel haskell | additional photography: jonathan beasley, steve gilbert, justin knight, stephanie mitchell, gail oskin, & tony rinaldo

14 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

office of admissions 617.495.5796 admissions@hds.harvard.edu