Full scholarships have been a priority for over a decade and were announced by the school’s dean earlier this month.

Alex Ori

01:24, January 28, 2022

Staff reporter

Schirin Rangnick, collaborating photographer

Starting next year, Divinity School will cover full tuition for students with proven financial need, Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling announced.

In addition to offering full scholarships, the aid programs will also cover the school’s “full” and “counseling” fees, which total $1,770. This new plan will affect both incoming and returning students for the 2022-23 academic year. Sterling further announced the creation of 10 Ministerial Leadership Fellowships.

“We are taking this step to encourage those interested in ministry careers to make the commitment it takes to enter a life of service to churches,” Sterling said in a press release.

Covering full tuition has been a public goal of Divinity School since 2015, when the school administration announced plans to offer full scholarships by 2022. alumni engagement and development, Barabra Sabia, told The News that these full scholarships were a priority. for “more than a decade”.

Full scholarships will reduce students’ academic debt and allow them to focus on their religious “calling,” according to Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Vernice Randall.

“This exciting new development in financial support from YDS will help reduce our students’ need for excessive student loans,” Randall said in a statement. “Reducing the level of debt they have to manage with limited income will allow them more freedom to do the work they feel called to and passionate about.”

Over the past 10 years, Divinity School has raised over $40 million for scholarships. The school’s annual fund has increased by 60% and the school has established nearly 175 new scholarship funds. Funding for these scholarships comes from several different sources: the Annual Fund, Andover Newton Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School, and the Yale Endowment.

Still, fundraising can sometimes be a challenge for the school. Sabia noted that the small size of Divinity School’s development team could cause them to miss out on some funding opportunities. Additionally, the school struggles to raise funds from its alumni, as theology is often not a lucrative career.

“Most of our alumni don’t have significant resources to fund school priorities,” Sabia said. “But they are some of the most philanthropic donors I’ve worked with.”

The most common reason admitted students choose not to attend Yale Divinity School is because they receive greater financial aid from other schools, according to the Divinity School website. Harvard Divinity School offers full financial aid for tuition and also provides stipends of $10,000 for living expenses. Similar divinity programs at the University of Louisville and the University of Notre Dame are completely free.

Divinity scholarships are often necessary for students because they usually do not have the highest paying jobs after graduation.

“It’s no surprise that most of our graduates go on to careers that don’t pay much,” Sabia said. “Reaching this milestone allows our graduates to pursue their vocation without the burden of debt. Sending moral leaders to a world that needs them more than ever is essential to our mission and to serving society.

According to Sabia, this achievement has not let up on the school’s ambition to free students from school debt. The development team is looking forward to raising more money for student living expenses through the Yale University-wide “For Humanity” campaign.

The new tuition policy will not just affect Divinity School students, but the world in which they will graduate, Randall said.

“If students cannot adequately fulfill the purposes for which they choose to attend theological school, and if debt hampers their ability to pursue their callings, the problem will not only be for the students, but also for the world that needs their dedicated service,” says Randall.

The Divinity School was founded in 1822.