Duke Divinity School seeks to engage the life of the church in an increasingly interconnected world. Through a variety of programs and initiatives, the Divinity School encourages students to explore the wider world as part of their education and formation. The school also seeks to contribute to the international growth of Duke University as a whole.

A mural shows a town and townspeople

International Field Education

Learning in Context

The Divinity School’s summer internships in International Field Education place theological education and pastoral training in the context of an increasingly interconnected global community. Students selected for 10-week summer placements receive a stipend to offset travel and living expenses as well as tuition assistance.

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The Divinity School offers several international study-abroad programs, as well as international field education opportunities. In addition to providing students with opportunities for learning and service around the world, the school encourages faculty to develop cross-cultural research programs by maintaining partnerships with several international church and academic institutions.

Divinity School faculty, graduates, and students have a strong history of living and working abroad, often to carry out missions of the church. More than 100 alumni are now in ministry overseas. Students regularly participate in international service projects and missions on a short-term basis as well. Examples of these include Spring Break trips to Haiti, Africa, and Peru.

Faculty and staff also frequently engage in church- and school-related activities outside the U.S., including teaching, leading worship, participating in conferences and presenting lectures and papers.

World Christianity Courses

The Divinity School requires many of its students to take a course in World Christianity. The following are examples of course offerings in World Christianity, as well as other courses related to international studies:

  • Israel and the Nations
  • Creation, Cosmology and World Order
  • Byzantium and Islam: Eastern Perspectives
  • History and Theology of Byzantine Iconography
  • Engaging with Islam and Muslims as Faithful Christians
  • Introduction to Judaism
  • Theology of Las Casas
  • Church, Mission and Society
  • Christian Identity and the Formation of the Racial World
  • Race, Modernity and Theology
  • Out of Africa: Christianity in North Africa before Islam
  • World Christianity in America
  • World Christianity, Contemporary Politics and Responses to Poverty
  • God’s Ministry of Reconciliation: Explorations in Missiology and Ecclesiology
  • The Catholic Church in Global Context
  • Christianity in China
  • Protestantism and the Making of Modern China
  • Toward a Theology of the Other: Interfaith Perspectives on God and Salvation
  • Local Polity, Global Vision: The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion
  • Christianity in Asia
  • Beyond Borders: Latin American, Latino, and Hispanic Theologies
  • Healing in the Developing World and Care of the Underserved
  • The Nation State and Theology in Africa
  • Thinking Theologically in a Global Context
  • Postcolonial Identities and Theologies in Africa
  • The Rwanda Genocide and the Challenge for the Church
  • African Christian Spirituality

For a complete listing of courses, see the Divinity Bulletin.