Yale Divinity School

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History of Yale Divinity School

Training for the Christian Ministry was a main purpose in the founding of Yale College in 1701. As expressed in its original charter it was to be a school "wherein Youth may be instructed in the Arts & Sciences who through the blessing of Almighty God may be fitted for Publick employment both in Church & Civil State." That purpose has always been recognized at Yale, and the history of the University is one of increasing development in the facilities for training for religious service.

During the early years of Yale College its general curriculum, supplemented in some cases by a year or two of reading under the directions of its instructors, was deemed sufficient for ministerial preparation. In 1746 an enlarged recognition of the needs of the ministry led to the establishment of a professorship of divinity through the efforts of President Thomas Clap. By 1822 this had developed into a separate department, later known as the Yale University Divinity School.

The degree of Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) was first conferred in 1867. In June 1971, by vote of the Yale Corporation, this degree was replaced by the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree.

Yale Divinity School Mission Statement

Yale University Divinity School has an enduring commitment to foster the knowledge and love of God through critical engagement with the traditions of the Christian churches in the context of the contemporary world. It furnishes resources for the churches to reflect critically on their identity and mission in response to changing social and cultural realities and other religions of the world. It offers a university setting for the scholarly assessment of the religious features of human existence. Ecumenical and university-based, the School recognizes as indispensable to its mission a communal environment which combines rigorous scholarly inquiry, public worship and spiritual nurture, practical involvement with the churches' ministries, and mutual regard among human beings across the diversities of gender, sexual orientation, race, class, nationality, and culture.

The Divinity School pursues its mission through three principal activities: (1) it enables women and men to prepare for the lay and ordained ministries of the Christian churches; (2) through its own programs and through the participation of members of its faculty in programs of the Graduate School, it shares in the education of those who will become scholars and teachers on the faculties of theological schools and departments of religious studies; and, (3) in conjunction with other professional schools of the University, it equips persons anticipating professional service in education, law, health care, social work, community organizations, public life, or the arts to understand more fully the theological basis of their vocations.

Nature of the Divinity School

The Divinity School is interdenominational and completely nonsectarian. The faculty is drawn from the major Christian traditions, and the students represent forty denominations and groups. Instruction is provided in the history, doctrines, and polity of all the major church bodies.

Since 1971, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, an Episcopal seminary, has been affiliated with Yale University Divinity School. Berkeley Divinity School retains its identity through its board of trustees, its dean, and the Berkeley Center located at 363 St. Ronan Street. Episcopal students come under the care of the dean of Berkeley Divinity School for spriritual formation and counseling, but are not differentiated from other Yale University Divinity School students. As a result of the affiliation, there is one integrated student body and faculty.

The Institute of Sacred Music was founded in 1973. It is affiliated with both the School of Music and the Divinity School.

The Divinity School offers programs of study leading to the degrees of Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Religion (M.A.R.), and Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) Programs for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) are offered by the Department of Religious Studies in the Graduate School.

A number of Divinity School faculty hold joint appointments in the Department of Religious Studies; others regularly participate in the doctoral program, and some departmental faculty regularly offer courses in the Divinity School.

The Divinity School is a graduate professional school of Yale University, which also includes Yale College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Medicine, the Law School, the School of Art, the School of Music, the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, the School of Architecture, the School of Nursing, the School of Drama, and the School of Management.