Duke University has launched a comprehensive campaign to address some of the most pressing challenges in our world today. We prepare leaders, we foster innovation, and we launch solutions. Duke Divinity School will mobilize and engage our community to strengthen our faculty and attract and support gifted students who seek to serve God through ordained and lay roles in the church, as chaplains, in nonprofit ministries, and as theologically formed professionals in many careers including health care, law, social work, and more.
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As the dean of the first professional school established at Duke University, I dream of a Divinity School that is first among equals in promoting scholarship and lives that treat the wounds of injustice and transfigure this beautiful, broken world through God’s message of love for all. We were "Made for This" by the Triune God.
We invite friends and supporters to partner with us “for such a time as this.” This is a time when churches, communities, and ministries are longing for committed people prepared for service. This is a time to strengthen health care providers with spiritual resources. This is a time to highlight the prophetic leadership from the church. This is a time to ensure that theological education remains available to transform people for the glory of God.
This is a time of great need, and it is also a time for faithful opportunities to realize Christ-shaped, Spirit-inspired visions for beloved community. I invite you to be part of the opportunity, vision, and community through this campaign. Join us in gratitude to God who brings us together at Duke Divinity School: “Made for This.”
Divinity Annual Fund
Made for Developing Leaders the World Needs
Duke Divinity School is world-renowned for Christian theological education. Each year, many of the brightest, most faith-filled students apply to our programs, attracted by the knowledge that Duke Divinity’s academic rigor and deep contextual engagement will prepare them for vibrant ministries. These individuals are the changemakers and collaborators our world needs, yet most could never afford tuition on their own. Our Annual Fund fuels their ability to say yes to Duke. 100% of accepted M.Div. students are offered financial aid upon admission, and 100% of all Divinity Annual Fund gifts are used to make this promise a reality. This essential financial aid enables our students to pursue their unique, diverse callings without the crippling burden of student debt.
You can help equip students to address pressing societal issues through a Christian lens. Leadership gift opportunities are available, and gifts of any amount are welcome.
Scholarships
Each year, Duke Divinity School’s dynamic faculty, unique and interdisciplinary programs, and engaged community draw enthusiastic applications from the brightest prospective students, leading many to choose Duke. An increase in endowed scholarships would enable those who still cannot afford a Duke education the freedom to pursue God’s calling. Scholarships are Duke Divinity’s highest priority, and endowed scholarship funds, which are invested rather than immediately spent, provide earnings that deepen our commitment to exceptional students poised to serve faithfully in communities worldwide.
You can help the most faithful and gifted students heed God's call. Scholarship opportuities are available at all levels, from full graduate professional fellowships to unrestricted scholarship funds.
Professorships
Made for Delivering Innovative Scholarship and Teaching
Duke Divinity is widely considered one of the top mainline schools of theological education. A crucial factor: our distinguished faculty, who offer a breadth of expertise unrivaled by any of our peers. The key to maintaining this level of excellence—especially as many of our beloved faculty members near their retirement—is endowed professorships, or “chairs.” These positions carry significant prestige for the faculty member, making them powerful tools for attracting and retaining top-tier talent. Because the endowments are invested, not spent, they also serve as steady sources of income for the school. Earnings are used to support faculty compensation, research, and publishing, alleviating pressure on the school’s operating budget so that it can be spent on other essential programs that benefit students’ vocational formation.
You can help Duke Divinity recruit and retain outstanding talent. Named professorships are available at every level, from postdoctoral fellow to dean.
Theology, Medicine, and Culture
Made for Realizing Transformative Advances in Human Welfare
In a society where health care providers and patients often feel caught a vast industrial bureaucracy and struggle to connect, TMC sees opportunity. Caring for the sick is a fundamentally Christian act, so TMC invests deeply in clinicians who can serve as leaven from inside the system, nudging clinical care toward practices that reflect Jesus’ way of healing. Through in-depth theological formational programs, fellowship, public events, and lectures, we build collaborations among Duke Health practitioners and faith communities that reimagine how Duke might pioneer new approaches to caring for North Carolina’s most marginalized citizens.
You can help TMC demonstrate that Christian faith is still relevant for health care. Named endowments and scholarship opportunities are available.
Office of Black Church Studies (OBCS)
Made for Deepening Communion Across Racial and Cultural Boundaries
At its founding more than 50 years ago, the OBCS became the first such office at Duke University and one of the earliest Black church offices among all U.S. theological schools. Today, the OBCS remains at the forefront of Black theological formation, hosting world-renowned preachers and lecturers, providing pastoral care for students, and leading a range of initiatives to develop, preserve, and share resources from the Black Church for the whole church.
You can help the OBCS enrich the work and witness of the Divinity School. Opportunies for student, faculty, and programming support are available.
Annual Fund
"It means a lot that someone is investing in me, and I do not take this opportunity lightly. God blessed me with this scholarship, and I try to use all the resources possible to help me and pay it forward to others." Joshua McLaurin, M.Div. student and candidate for ordination in the United Methodist Church
Scholarships
The Lipe Fellowship covers full tuition and provides stipends for living expenses and at least two field education placements. This made is possible for Laura Auberry to attend Duke. “My mentors taught me how to be innovative, listen to community, reimagine what missions can look like, and make the church a place in which all feel welcome.” Laura Auberry, M.Div.’24
Professors
"How to pick one favorite Divinity professor?! I am forever moved by Dr. Jerusha Neal's Spirit-led, sermonic teaching style; Dr. Ellen Davis's inexhaustible curiosity and love for Scripture; and Dr. Wylin Wilson's compassion and abiding concern for her students' wellbeing. I am grateful to have been shaped by each of them." Katie Mangum, M.Div.’24
TMC
"TMC gave me tools to think about how we, as a society, approach caring for one another’s social circumstances. I want to be grounded in the stories of individuals who are going through extremely vulnerable places of suffering, looking first to heal those who are most vulnerable, most in need." Harrison Hines, M.D., M.T.S.
Latest News & Features
January 28, 2025
Tarsha Banister serves as the faith & health education manager at Wake Forest University School of Divinity’s Faith COMPASS Center, working at the intersection between faith-based leadership and public health advocacy.
October 3, 2024
The grant will be used to recruit and support a senior faculty member specializing in Black church studies to foster research and field-defining work in an academic, theological context.
August 28, 2024
We interview new faculty member Kevin Hart, Jo Rae Wright University Distinguished Professor, on the layers of his scholarly work, his involvement with Catholic initiatives at secular universities, and the themes from his latest book.