Black Church Studies Certificate

Program Code: D-BLACK-C
Degree Designation: Certificate
Department: Divinity School
Website: divinity.duke.edu/academics/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 in the field of Black Church studies. MDiv students also have a field education requirement.