A 2012 Ranking of Graduate Programs in Theology | First Things:
A 2012 Ranking of Graduate Programs in Theology
November 26, 2012
R.R. Reno
Where’s the best place to do graduate study in theology? I’ve done some rankings in the past, first in 2006 and then again in 2009. A longer ranking with a more developed rationale appeared in the pages of First Things in 2010. Some friends prodded me recently: have I changed my mind? Yes and No.
My criteria are as follows: (1) orthodoxy and support for graduate students who want to think with the Church, (2) intellectual rigor, (3) commitment to students, and (4) financial aid.
The top programs remain Duke Divinity School and the University of Notre Dame. Duke continues to be the program that best combines the intellectual and cultural confidence of the liberal mainline Protestant tradition (Duke’s heritage is Methodist) with a fresh, postliberal conviction that in today’s academic culture we need to focus on renewing and deepening the traditional and apostolic character of theology. That’s the legacy of Stanley Hauerwas, a longtime professor at Duke, and it’s an approach widely shared among the leading faculty: Paul Griffiths, Reinhard Huetter, Amy Laura Hall, Warren Smith, and others.
Duke is also the best place for anyone who wants to combine theology with biblical studies. Richard Hays (currently Dean), Ellen Davis, and Kavin Rowe provide leadership within the guild of biblical scholars. Hauerwas (Gospel of Matthew) and Griffiths (Song of Songs) have written biblical commentary. Huetter plans to write one as well.
You shall know them by their fruits. There are important, creative, and influential theologians in the rising generation of scholars, and I think it’s fair to say that a disproportionate number did their doctoral degrees at Duke over the last two decades.
Notre Dame’s greatest strength is Notre Dame. The university has outstanding Christian scholars in many disciplines. As a consequence, theology is not remote or isolated. It’s a place where you can get a theological education that takes for granted the intellectual and cultural centrality of faith, and that’s a wonderful and precious opportunity, especially given the fact that academia as a whole is largely secular.
The theology department has some superb faculty: Cyril O’Regan, John Betz, Francesca Murphy, Ann Astell, John Cavadini, Gary Anderson, and others. Like their peers at Duke, they’re broadly postliberal. They see the challenges we face in an increasingly secular culture—and they respond by returning to the apostolic tradition. They also care about their students, which combined with the financial resources of Notre Dame makes for a very congenial and supportive environment for doctoral study in theology.
After Duke and Notre Dame the programs aren’t so uniformly attractive, but there remain some very good options.
My criteria are as follows: (1) orthodoxy and support for graduate students who want to think with the Church, (2) intellectual rigor, (3) commitment to students, and (4) financial aid.The top programs remain Duke Divinity School and the University of Notre Dame. Duke continues to be the program that best combines the intellectual and cultural confidence of the liberal mainline Protestant tradition (Duke’s heritage is Methodist) with a fresh, postliberal conviction that in today’s academic culture we need to focus on renewing and deepening the traditional and apostolic character of theology. That’s the legacy of Stanley Hauerwas, a longtime professor at Duke, and it’s an approach widely shared among the leading faculty: Paul Griffiths, Reinhard Huetter, Amy Laura Hall, Warren Smith, and others.
Duke is also the best place for anyone who wants to combine theology with biblical studies. Richard Hays (currently Dean), Ellen Davis, and Kavin Rowe provide leadership within the guild of biblical scholars. Hauerwas (Gospel of Matthew) and Griffiths (Song of Songs) have written biblical commentary. Huetter plans to write one as well.
You shall know them by their fruits. There are important, creative, and influential theologians in the rising generation of scholars, and I think it’s fair to say that a disproportionate number did their doctoral degrees at Duke over the last two decades.
Notre Dame’s greatest strength is Notre Dame. The university has outstanding Christian scholars in many disciplines. As a consequence, theology is not remote or isolated. It’s a place where you can get a theological education that takes for granted the intellectual and cultural centrality of faith, and that’s a wonderful and precious opportunity, especially given the fact that academia as a whole is largely secular.
The theology department has some superb faculty: Cyril O’Regan, John Betz, Francesca Murphy, Ann Astell, John Cavadini, Gary Anderson, and others. Like their peers at Duke, they’re broadly postliberal. They see the challenges we face in an increasingly secular culture—and they respond by returning to the apostolic tradition. They also care about their students, which combined with the financial resources of Notre Dame makes for a very congenial and supportive environment for doctoral study in theology.
After Duke and Notre Dame the programs aren’t so uniformly attractive, but there remain some very good options.
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