Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.)

Curriculum

The D.Min. curriculum is offered in a hybrid residency format, which requires students to be on campus at Duke five times over the course of two years for week-long immersive residential seminars. The residencies are each followed by eight weeks of group interaction and structured distance learning during which students regularly engage with one another and with faculty, facilitated by both synchronous and asynchronous online tools. Some tools help students work on their own time; others require students to meet online at specific times for engagement with professors and their class.

Assignments require students both to engage the church’s scriptures and traditions and to integrate them with the ecclesial practices that are part of their daily life. This work is not done in isolation but as part of a conversation with the community of peer scholar-practitioners formed during the residential intensives and sustained through online communication.

Each cohort is assigned a cohort mentor, who guides spiritual formation and offers other forms of support to students throughout the program. Students and cohort mentors participate in community worship and meet daily during the residencies. Cohort mentors are available throughout the program to serve as a resource for students.

View a sample course schedule:

The residency immersion weeks typically occur at the following times (see our academic calendar):

• August: 3rd week of August
• January: 2nd week in January
• May: end of the 3rd week of May to the beginning of the 4th week of May

The two years of coursework lead to the development of an independent research project. This is not simply an addendum to the coursework, but rather the centerpiece and high point of the D.Min. experience, the time when students work most closely with faculty to produce a unique and important piece of written work. This distinctive emphasis on the thesis arises from the program’s context within a major research university.

Students develop innovative research agendas in close consultation with a faculty supervisor, agendas that engage them in disciplined theological reflection while remaining in their ministry contexts. The goal is the production of a substantial—and ideally, publishable—piece of writing that makes a significant contribution to the church. Students are encouraged to consider where their passions and abilities align, where they would like to develop expertise, and where they think they might make a strategic and lasting contribution.

The range of potential thesis topics is nearly limitless, but the goal is focused: write something of value to the church and its ministries. View descriptions of recent thesis topics. The thesis takes one to two years to complete.

Graduation Requirements

The Doctor of Ministry is normally completed in three years. Requirements for graduation are:

• 5 terms of coursework and at least one term of research to be completed within 2 years, for a total of 6 terms
• 1 year of writing and research
• Thesis
• Student portfolio

An education from Duke Divinity School is worth your investment, and you do not have to figure out the finances alone.

All D.Min. students receive funding.

Duke Divinity School is investing in you, too. It is an investment in your education, the church, and our shared future. All D.Min. students receive scholarship support from Duke Divinity School that will cover 25% of tuition, and there is no separate application needed in order to be considered. Many other internal and external scholarships, as well as federal financial aid in the form of loans, make it possible for students to afford Duke Divinity. FAFSA should be completed for external aid. More information can be found in our Financial Aid section. 

Ready for the Next Step?

Duke Divinity School accepts applications beginning in late August and concluding with the final deadline in April. For admission, we require at least five years in full-time ministry and a minimum GPA of 3.3 in a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) or comparable master’s degrees from an ATS-accredited school prior to the intended date of enrollment. The Admissions Committee will assess applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements according to Standard 5.5 of the 2020 Association of Theological Schools Standards of Accreditation.