Black Church Studies Certificate
Program Code: D-BLACK-C
Degree Designation: Certificate
Department: Divinity School
Website: divinity.duke.edu/academics/degree-certificates/black-church
Intranet (current students): intranet.divinity.duke.edu/certificate-info-requirements
Program Summary
The Certificate in Black Church Studies aims to help strengthen the body of Christ through critical reflection, dialogue, and practice for those who are interested in the intersection of race, faith, and Christian witness, particularly in the tradition of Black Churches.
Black Church studies is an intensely interdisciplinary, ecumenical, and intellectually inclusive endeavor. The Certificate in Black Church Studies enables students to engage theological, historical, and cultural aspects of Black Christian expressions toward deeper understanding and broader mastery of the life and thought of this complex community of people. It helps to equip leaders to develop capacities of contextualization and construction from Black Church life, thought, work, and witness.
The certificate can be earned as part of a residential master’s degree program (MDiv, MTS, and ThM) and the MA and hybrid MDiv. Students seeking this certificate have specific coursework requirements as well as opportunities to engage with preaching and teaching from prominent leaders in the Black Church and the field of Black Church studies. MDiv students also have a field education requirement.
Academic Requirements
The certificate can be earned as part of a residential master’s degree program (MDiv, MTS, and ThM) and the MA and hybrid MDiv.
MDiv Requirements
3 Black Church Studies Courses
A comprehensive list of elective courses is available to students in the degree audit system.
Field Education in Black Church or African American nonprofit
4 BCS Lecture Events
MTS Requirements
3 Black Church Studies Courses
A comprehensive list of elective courses is available to students in the degree audit system.
Thesis related to the Black Church
4 BCS Lecture Events
THM Requirements
3 Black Church Studies Courses
Must include at least 1 course related to African/African-American issues in another school or department in the University
A comprehensive list of elective courses is available to students in the degree audit system.
Thesis related to the Black Church
4 BCS Lecture Events
MACP Requirements
2 Black Church Studies Courses
A comprehensive list of elective courses is available to students in the degree audit system.
BCS assignment in another course, with permission of the instructor
Integration Paper
Essay articulating how coursework integrates with current vocation with specific reference to the certificate
BCS Lecture Events, when feasible