How will I know if my application is complete?

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.

My recommender does not have or has limited access to the Internet. Can they mail in a hard copy? Can a recommender hand-deliver a letter if they are local?

All recommendation letters must be submitted electronically through the online application system. We will not be able to accept any hard copy materials.

If you have any questions about this process after reading the application instructions, please reach out to ...

I am not Christian. Should I get an MDiv?

If you do not plan to become ordained, an MDiv can also prepare you well for interfaith work, chaplaincy, lay ministry in your own tradition, or any other field you are interested in, such as nonprofit work and community organizing. This is true for people of all faiths as well as those who are not part of a faith tradition. Unitarian Universalist students, who are not Christian, pursue an MDiv for ordination toward a vocation as a community minister.

In addition, many students of diverse faiths will complete an MDiv before going onto further professional school, such as law, medicine, or social work.

Is there a waitlist for all programs?

At times, there can be a short waitlist for the MDiv and MTS degree programs. While applicants will receive notice if they are on the waitlist when decisions are released in mid-March, please note that HDS cannot provide information on waitlist length or an applicant’s position.

What kind of transcripts will I have to provide in my application?

You’ll need to provide HDS with unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary institutions where you have completed, or are currently pursuing a degree, unless the courses and grades from a previous institution are listed on your current, degree-bearing institution’s transcript. You don’t need to submit a separate transcript if they were courses completed at the college level while you were in high school, although you are welcome to submit those if you would like to. If you have any questions about your transcript(s), please contact our office at...

How may I get a copy of my transcript?

Transcripts can be ordered through Parchment. Please see Transcripts and Degree Verification for more information.

Unitarian Universalist Ordination

Ordained Unitarian Universalist (UU) ministers serve in many capacities as ministers, educators, chaplains, advocates, and activists in congregational settings and in the community at large. All who wish to be ordained must complete these requirements.

What is the admissions timeline?

Harvard Divinity School has a single annual application cycle for fall enrollment. Each year, our application is available in mid-September, and the application deadline is in early January. All decisions will be released via our online system in mid-March. Admitted students will receive their financial aid information within 24 hours of their admissions decision, if they applied for need-based aid.

What is the reapplication process?

Applicants may reapply for admission to HDS. Applicants that have applied to HDS within the past three years may elect to reuse up to three letters of recommendation from their previous application. Please find more information on this process, including a Letter of Recommendation Reuse form, in the application instructions within the HDS online application for admission. If you submit this form, please do not submit your application for admission until you have received a response from HDS Admissions.

If you have any questions, or would like guidance on...

What is the difference between an MDiv and an MTS?

The master of divinity (MDiv) is a three-year full-time program, in which students work at the intersections of the academic study of religion and the practices of religious communities, the past and the present, classroom study and field study, and the convictions and practices of their own religious tradition and the convictions and practices of traditions other than their own. The MDiv prepares students for ministerial engagement in a wide range of settings.

The master of theological studies (MTS) program is a two-year full-time degree that enables students to explore deeply and broadly the languages, literatures, thought, institutions, practices, normative claims, and structures of a variety of theological fields and religious traditions. It also enables students to think critically, with sophistication and self-awareness, about the scholarly study of these concepts and traditions.

View a comparison chart of all HDS degree programs.

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