Additional Learning Opportunities

Alban at Duke Divinity School

Alban at Duke Divinity School offers resources for those who care deeply about congregations. It publishes the Alban Weekly newsletter and partners with publisher Rowman & Littlefield to produce books about topics related to congregational leadership under the Alban imprint.

Clergy Health Initiative

The Duke Clergy Health Initiative is a multi-year effort funded in 2007 by The Duke Endowment to assess and improve the health of United Methodist clergy in North Carolina. By helping pastors articulate and sustain a holistic understanding of health, Duke Divinity School hopes to improve the broader health of congregations and communities. The Clergy Health Initiative has conducted a longitudinal survey of all United Methodist clergy biennially since 2008. From 2011 to 2014, it offered a holistic health intervention, Spirited Life, to more than 1,100 clergy across the state. It is continuously engaged in dissemination of findings from the Spirited Life intervention and the ongoing longitudinal survey, and in 2019, the Clergy Health Initiative launched a longitudinal study of the well-being of seminary students as well as a study and intervention attending to stress and clergy flourishing.

The Clergy Health Initiative is one of several programs operated by Duke Divinity School in collaboration with The Duke Endowment and the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church in an effort to form communities that work with and are enriched by local United Methodist congregations. For details on the Clergy Health Initiative, visit divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/clergy-health-initiative.

Convocation on the Rural Church

The Convocation on the Rural Church is an opportunity each fall for pastoral leaders from rural United Methodist churches in North Carolina to come together for worship, plenary sessions, workshops, and conversation about the state of the rural church and how it can engage in vibrant ministry and mission. The convocation is supported by The Duke Endowment. 

Course of Study

The Course of Study for Ordained Ministry has been established by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church (GBHEM) as an alternate educational route for persons seeking to serve as pastors in United Methodist congregations. Duke Divinity School cooperates with GBHEM to offer the course of study program throughout the academic year. Course instructors include faculty, staff, and seasoned practitioners. University course credit is not granted.

Office of Wesleyan Engagement

The Office of Wesleyan Engagement works to foster connections between Duke Divinity School, the United Methodist Church, and other Methodist denominations through initiatives focused on expanding opportunities for theological education including Wesleyan Formation partnerships with undergraduate institutions and continuing education programs such as Convocation and Pastors’ School and Study Leave supported by The Duke Endowment, Parish Ministry Fund, and other funders.

Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition

Founded in 1979, the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition has come to stand at the heart of the mission of Duke Divinity School. Four intertwined purposes constitute the work of the center:

  • staffing, supervising, and enriching the curricular and extracurricular offerings in Methodist and Wesleyan Studies;

  • developing and supporting significant educational outreach programs designed for the center’s United Methodist constituencies and beyond;

  • developing and providing access to outstanding research resources for students and scholars of the broad Wesleyan tradition around the globe; and

  • supporting the production of critical editions of the texts of John and Charles Wesley in print and online formats.

For more details on the center’s work and access to its online resources, visit divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/cswt.

Convocation & Pastors’ School

The annual Convocation & Pastors’ School is an intensive two-day conference that offers lectures, worship, and seminars for Christian leaders of all traditions. Led by scholars and practitioners from Duke and beyond, this event is a cooperative endeavor with the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church, with support from The Duke Endowment and Duke Divinity’s Parish Ministry Fund. The convocation also includes alumni gatherings.

Study Leave for Ministry Professionals

Duke Divinity School offers Christian institutional leaders, pastors, program staff, and laity of all traditions the opportunity to spend a one-week leave in self-directed study, worship, and prayer on the Duke University campus. Participants have full access to the university and divinity libraries and to community worship and lecture opportunities. Class auditing and conversations with Divinity School faculty also are available. Ten sessions of study leave are offered each academic year.

Wesleyan Formation Initiatives

Wesleyan Formation Initiatives develops accelerated pathways to pastoral ministry for undergraduate students in UMC-affiliated colleges. In partnership with various Annual Conferences of the UMC, the Initiatives work to build greater accessibility to educational resources for United Methodist pastoral leaders, especially in immigrant communities. For more information, visit divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/wesleyan-formation-initiatives.

Duke Summer Session

Duke Divinity School offers a limited summer program of hybrid courses and sometimes, intensive biblical language courses (Greek/Hebrew), individual directed study, and one or more residential or hybrid electives. Ordinarily, the MA, hybrid MDiv, and DMin programs will offer courses to students in those degree programs during summer session. Summer courses of graduate level may also be taken in other departments as cognate credits (maximum of two; see provisions under Administration of the Curriculum). Permission for such credits must be secured in advance from the instructor and from the academic dean and may involve university rather than Divinity School tuition.