Admissions Frequently Asked Questions

HDS offers a joint doctoral degree in religion with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at Harvard University, but the PhD application process is solely managed by the Committee on the Study of Religion through FAS. The Committee on the Study of Religion can answer your questions about the PhD in Religion degree program, requirements, and application process.

Harvard Divinity School does not accept transfer credits. However, after satisfactory completion of at least one full semester of coursework at HDS, students in the MDiv program may be considered for advanced standing for work completed at another institution prior to enrollment at HDS. Guidelines and information about obtaining advanced standing are provided in the HDS Handbook for Students.

MTS and MDiv students may pursue concurrent degree programs with the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, among others.

For those who do not wish to pursue a concurrent degree, HDS students may take up to half of their courses across Harvard University and the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium.

More information can be found in the HDS Handbook for Students.

 

HDS graduates go on to a wide variety of professions and vocations, including ordained and lay ministry; chaplaincy; higher education teaching and research; public and private secondary education; community development, advocacy, and human services; management and consulting—especially nonprofit; public policy, law, conflict resolution, and mediation; arts, publishing, communications, and media. The training HDS students receive in both the master of divinity (MDiv) and master of theological studies (MTS) programs is meant to prepare graduates for important work across many different fields.

 

Except as noted below, online courses are not offered at HDS. Those who are interested in online learning through Harvard might consider Harvard Extension School, which offers courses on religion taught by HDS professors. Please note, however, that coursework completed at the Extension School will not lead to a degree at HDS.

Our applicants have completed degrees in a wide variety of disciplines. However, the great majority of our applicants currently stem from humanities and/or social sciences backgrounds.

Yes! Students come to HDS from a variety of spiritual and religious backgrounds, including non-religious backgrounds. While some of our students come with a faith tradition, we have a number of students that are not affiliated with a religious tradition. What all HDS students share in common is a willingness to explore the complexities of religious thought and life through academic curiosity and practical engagement.

Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the 12 graduate schools at Harvard University. HDS was established in 1816 as the country's first nonsectarian theological school. It is dedicated to educating future leaders with the resources and support of the wider Harvard University. Seminaries are typically affiliated with a particular religious denomination and may or may not be affiliated with a larger university. We recommend that you contact the denominational seminaries that interest you for additional information about their programs, resources, and student life. 

The cost of graduate education is an important factor in choosing where to apply. A Harvard Divinity School degree is a possibility for many students due to the generous institutional grant aid we provide. Information on the current cost of attendance can be found on the Tuition and Fees page on the Harvard Divinity website. Please note, all costs are based on the 9-months of the academic year.  

We encourage you to review the HDS Office of Financial Aid website to learn more about some of the resources available to students to fund their education. 

The cost of attendance is made up of tuition, required fees, and an estimate of living expenses in the Cambridge/Boston area.

Harvard Divinity School offers generous institutional grant aid for students enrolling in the master of divinity (MDiv) or master of theological studies (MTS) programs. Approximately ninety percent (90%) of MDiv and MTS students receive Institutional grant aid, the majority of which is need-based grant aid. You can learn more about other types of financial aid that may be available at the HDS Office of Financial Aid website.

Students in the master of theology (ThM) or master of religion and public life (MRPL) program who are U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens may qualify for federal funds and/or private loans. HDS does not provide grant support for the ThM or MRPL programs. Special students are not eligible for institutional or federal aid. 

Merit-based aid is institutional grant aid that is offered to students based on the overall strength of their admissions application. Need-based grant aid is institutional grant aid that is based on an applicant’s financial aid application. The vast majority of grant aid given at Harvard Divinity School for MDiv and MTS students is need-based grant aid. Grant aid is gift aid that does not need to be repaid. 

In order to be considered for need-based institutional grant aid, all applicants are encouraged to complete the HDS Application for Financial Aid, which becomes available to all MDiv and MTS applicants in mid-January. U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens will be required to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the HDS Application for Financial Aid. The FAFSA can be submitted after January 1 (it is available as of October 1, 2021) of the year you intend to apply for admission. The deadline for applying for need-based financial aid is generally in mid-February.

All applicants to the MDiv and MTS programs are automatically considered for merit-based aid. HDS has a small pool of merit aid that is awarded based on the overall strength of the application. Merit award decisions are made by the admissions committee at the point of admission and are final.  

There is nothing that applicants need to do to be considered for merit-based aid. The admissions committee makes decisions on merit aid based on the strength of the application in the context of the entire applicant pool.  

We strongly encourage all applicants to apply for need-based institutional grants. If an applicant does not receive merit funding and did not apply for need-based institutional aid by the deadline, there is a very strong possibility that we would not be able to review late applications. Admitted applicants will receive either merit-based institutional grants or need-based institutional grants. They will not be awarded from both pools of funding. 

No. Eligible students will either receive merit-based aid or need-based aid but not both. 

Yes! International Students who are applicants to the master of divinity (MDiv) and master of theological studies (MTS) are automatically considered for merit-based grant aid, and are strongly encouraged to also submit the HDS Application for Financial Aid in order to be considered for need-based grant aid.  

Many HDS students have part-time jobs while going to school. Students generally work 10 to 15 hours per week, many of them right on Harvard University’s campus. Many of our students work in libraries, in administrative offices, and in research positions or as part of their field education work. While some of these jobs are restricted for students who qualify for Federal Work Study, other positions are open to all students, including international students.

Harvard Divinity School does not offer a study abroad program or financial aid for study abroad programs.  

Your writing sample should demonstrate your strengths in writing, research, and critical analysis—skills that will be directly applicable to academic work at HDS. You can choose to submit: 

• An excerpt of an academic paper in any subject area within the humanities or social sciences. 

• An adapted piece of professional writing. 

• An original work that is based upon a topic that you are interested in studying here at HDS. 

You may reuse a previous work, especially if you feel that it best represents your academic writing abilities. Please provide an excerpt from a larger piece or edit a selection down instead of providing the entire piece and stay within the word limit. You may add a brief note providing the larger context for the piece you choose. Please note that footnotes, bibliographies, or works cited pages do not count toward the overall word limit. 

Your letters of recommendation should address the ways in which your professional experience supports your goals for graduate theological study. Many of our students have been out of school and working for a number of years. In cases where applicants have extensive professional experience, they may choose to obtain a letter of recommendation from a mentor or supervisor. This letter should address the ways in which your professional experience supports your goals for graduate theological study. Your recommendation providers should also speak about your professional skills and abilities and how they relate to graduate study of religion (e.g. any research, writing, critical analysis, etc.).

Letters of recommendation are some of the best sources of information our office receives about you, as they allow us to hear how your mentors, supervisors, and professors view you and your abilities.  

Letters should address your intellectual abilities, personal qualities, and promise for graduate study in religion. At least two of these letters should be solicited from college, university, or seminary professors who have taught you and are well-acquainted with your academic qualifications. MDiv applicants must have one letter that speaks of your ministerial potential, broadly defined. 

Your letters of recommendation should directly address your candidacy for admission to HDS. We recommend that you provide your recommendation providers with a copy of your résumé, statement of purpose, and a link to the program site so that they can write a tailored letter on your behalf. We also encourage you to have at least one or more conversations with each recommendation provider in order to ensure they have the information they need to write a strong letter on your behalf.  

You can access the project proposal form and instructions within the HDS online application for admission. 

Within the program, master of religion and public life (MRPL) students will complete a final project that engages the topic of religion within their profession. The final project will be shaped in consultation with the faculty instructor of the Religion and Public Life Seminar, MRPL candidate peers in the seminar, and the student's faculty advisor. The final project may take one of the following three forms:  

• A portfolio addressing a particular theme in the intersection of religion and the student's profession. This option could, for example, take the form of a series of case studies, a series of articles, or a portfolio of artistic creations relevant to an articulated theme.; or  

• Two smaller papers (each normally 20-30 pages in length); or  

• One large paper (normally 40-60 pages in length) 

All options require approval from the faculty advisor and RPL director by mid-December of the year in which a student is enrolled. Final projects may incorporate work done in courses counting toward fulfillment of the MRPL degree requirements but must also include substantially new materials. Applicants will use the form within the application for admission to provide some preliminary thoughts on their intended MRPL project.  

Applicants are required to upload unofficial transcripts from each postsecondary institution that they have attended in the academic history section of the application. All transcripts should show courses completed, grades received, duration of study, and degree or diploma received, if applicable.

Please keep in mind that you will need to provide official transcripts (and translations, if applicable) for verification, should you be admitted. HDS reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission if there is a discrepancy between an applicant’s uploaded transcript and official transcript or translation.

For fall 2021 application cycle: We are unable to accept any hard copy materials via postal mail.

We strongly discourage you from submitting extraneous materials beyond our requirements, as they will not be included in your application nor reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

Once your application has been submitted, you will be able log back into the online application status page and track our office’s receipt of your supporting documents and recommendations. Due to the high volume of applications we receive each year, please know that it may take several days for us to process your materials and update your online application.

Please note: we are unable to accept any hard copy materials sent by postal mail.

Applicants must submit a transcript for each institution from which they have received postsecondary academic credit. This includes community colleges and study abroad programs.

Applications are not considered fully complete until all materials have been received and verified by our office. Please note that, at any time within the admissions process, our office may request additional materials to be submitted to complete your application.

Social security numbers are required in order to verify applicants’ identities and to correlate with information provided as part of the financial aid process. Our confidential receipt of applicants’ social security numbers is in compliance with federal reporting requirements.

The Statement of Purpose is an integral part of the application and is evaluated with great care by the Admissions Committee. It should include your general background (education, work experience, volunteer work, and/or relevant personal experience) and how this background has prepared you for graduate theological study, specifically at HDS. It should also include your vocational or career objectives and why you believe your desired program at HDS will aid you in achieving those objectives.

We do not have a minimum GPA (grade point average). The admissions committee reviews each application holistically and each component of the application is carefully reviewed with the knowledge that successful HDS students possess strengths in different areas. The components of the application are intended to allow you to demonstrate, in a variety of ways, your academic preparation to engage in graduate-level theological study at Harvard Divinity School.

Please upload your most recent transcript via the online application.

Should you be admitted and choose to enroll at HDS, you will be required to provide final, official transcripts from all degree-granting institutions you attended.

HDS provides application fee waivers to applicants who are:

• HDS Diversity and Explorations alumnx

• Posse Foundation alumnx

• Experiencing financial constraints

All application fee waiver requests are subject to approval and should be submitted by January 2, 2025. You can access this form from the HDS online application for admission and will be inside the application instructions. If you request a fee waiver, please do not submit your application until you have submitted the waiver request and received a response from the Admissions Office. If you have any questions, or would like guidance on the procedure, please contact us at admissions@hds.harvard.edu.

An applicant’s TOEFL or IELTS must have been taken no earlier than February 1, 2023 for enrollment in the 2025-26 academic year.

The GRE is completely optional for all applicants to our degree programs. Applicants may submit GRE scores if they feel it would be a beneficial component to their application. There is no minimum score requirement. 

As a condition of admission, all international applicants whose native language is not English, or who did not receive their baccalaureate degree from an institution where English is the sole language of instruction, must take the TOEFL or IELTS. If you have any questions about if your undergraduate degree and institution satisfy this requirement, please reach out to the Office of Admissions at admissions@hds.harvard.edu.

MDiv, MTS, MRPL, and special student applicants must receive a score of:

• 100 or higher on the Internet-based TOEFL test
• 7.5 or higher on the IELTS test

Applicants for the ThM program must receive one of the following minimum scores:

• TOEFL (computer-based exam): 105 or higher
• IELTS: 8

Yes. Completion of graduate-level degrees at an institution where the instruction is conducted in English does not exempt an applicant from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement.

Applicants must submit official TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) scores when:

• Their native language is not English or;
• When their baccalaureate is not from an institution where English is the sole language of instruction.

If you have any questions regarding this requirement, please contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@hds.harvard.edu.

Our HDS Institution Code is 3433. Once you are ready to send your scores, please provide this code to ETS. Otherwise, our office will not receive them. Please note, if we receive multiple sets of scores from you before the application deadline, the Admissions Committee will consider all scores received.