Duke Divinity School has announced 12 full-tuition fellowships to support incoming residential Master of Divinity degree program students who pursue a certificate in Black Church Studies or Latinx Studies.
In addition to providing full-tuition scholarships, the Black Church Studies and Latinx Studies Fellowships provide vocationally specific formation and mentoring opportunities for the fellows and up to $24,000 in stipend support and internship opportunities through the Office of Field Education. The fellowships begin in the fall of 2022.
The fellowship is a key financial aid initiative emerging from the Divinity School’s Racial Justice and Cultural Competency Action Plan. “Demographic models project steady increases in Black and Brown populations in the United States that will comprise more than 40% of people by 2050,” said David Emmanuel Goatley, associate dean for academic and vocational formation and director of the Office of Black Church Studies. “This calls for additional leaders with exceptional training in environments where they can communicate, collaborate, and experience community as they are equipped for effective practice and partnership in ministry.”
To be considered for the fellowship, students must demonstrate the ability to flourish in an academically rigorous community and commitment to ministry leadership as vocation in African-American or Latinx contexts. A minimum GPA of 3.0 from the undergraduate degree or the most recent earned degree, as well as demonstrated engagement in the practice of ministry or service in other areas indicating compatible work or transferable skills in African-American and/or Latinx communities is required. Scholarships are renewable annually provided students remain in good academic standing and maintain acceptable progress toward certificate completion.
“The church, the academy, and the world need leaders for a new Pentecost,” said Duke Divinity School Dean Colón-Emeric, Irene and William McCutchen Associate Professor of Theology and Reconciliation and director of the Center for Reconciliation. “These fellowships will help us form students who can follow the Spirit’s leading into diverse locations and vocations without debilitating debt that can distract and deter them from answering their callings.”