HDS at a Glance

Founded

Harvard Divinity School was established in 1816 as the first nonsectarian theological institution in the United States. (Read more: History and mission.)

Dean

Marla Frederick is a leading ethnographer and scholar focused on the African American religious experience. She became the eighteenth Dean of Harvard Divinity School on January 1, 2024.

Faculty, 2022–23

  • Voting Faculty: 36
  • Visiting Faculty: 13
  • Emeriti Faculty: 13
  • Additional Instructors: 72
    (Including 11 Denominational Counselors)

Degrees offered

Harvard Divinity School students also earned dual degrees from the Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Total courses offered, 2023-24

280

Student enrollment, Fall 2023

  • MTS: 152
  • MDiv: 152
  • MRPL: 12
  • ThM: 1
  • ThD: 2 / PhD: 90 (As of fall 2014, HDS no longer accepts students into the ThD program. The PhD in religion is offered jointly with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.)

Master's degree student demographics, Fall 2023

  • Female: 54%
  • Male: 36%
  • Do not report in gender binary: 10%
  • Students of color: 41%
  • International students: 20%
  • Age range: 21–71
  • Average age: 28
  • Religious affiliations: Approximately 35
  • Professional and Lifelong Learning (Summer 2023): 17
  • Summer Language Program (Summer 2023): 82

Number of student organizations, 2022–23

49

Living alumni (as of 2022)

6,500+

Research and special programs

Publications

HDS buildings

  • Divinity Hall
  • Harvard Divinity School Library
  • Rockefeller Hall
  • Swartz Hall (formerly Andover Hall)
  • Center for the Study of World Religions
  • Women’s Studies in Religion Program: The Carriage House
  • Jewett House (Dean's residence)