The Certificate in Religion and Public Life (CRPL) is designed to prepare HDS graduates with the tools, skills, and experience to explore professional pathways outside of traditional ministry or academic scholarship.
Through the CRPL, MTS and MDiv students engage in a structure of coursework, mentoring, experiential learning, and a final project. Students explore the challenges and opportunities that arise when a nuanced understanding of religion is employed within a particular professional or vocational arena of focus such as education, journalism, government, community organizing, humanitarian action, and arts and popular culture.
Certificate Requirements
For HDS students, the certificate is awarded upon the completion of all MTS or MDiv degree requirements as well as three certificate-specific courses and internship:
Required Courses
- HDS 3300: Religious Literacy and the Professions (Only offered fall semesters. Must be taken in the first fall semester for MTS students and the first or second fall semester by MDiv students. Students will focus on one profession and issue for the duration of the class.)
- HDS 4000A/B Religion and Public Life Internship (A two-credit course associated with the CRPL internship.)
- Certificate in Religion and Public Life Capstone Seminar (Register for spring semester before graduation. Includes completing a final project relevant to the student’s certificate focus and in consultation with a project advisor.)
A minimum grade of B is required in all Certificate in Religion and Public Life courses.
*See the CRPL Student Handbook (PDF) for timeline options to complete the courses and internships.
Internship in Area of Concentration
The CRPL internship requires 280 hours of work and can be fulfilled as follows:
- Full-time summer placement (35 hours per week for 8 weeks)
- Extended part-time placement (10 hours per week for 28 weeks)
The internship search should begin as early as possible. Students should:
- Refer to the CRPL Student Handbook to learn more about the requirements of the internship.
- Contact RPL staff about current, approved internship sites.
- Consult with RPL Professional Fellows who can advise and mentor, and in some cases help broker internship opportunities relevant to a student’s interests and skill.
- Work closely with RPL Associate Director of Religious Literacy and the Professions to identify other possible options arising out of internship postings made available by other Harvard professional schools (Harvard Kennedy School, Chan School, GSE, School of Design) or as a result of the student’s own connections.
- Contact site supervisors and begin process of securing a placement contract.
- Internships must be funded. Apply to RPL for a stipend if the site does not provide funding.
- Submit placement proposal to RPL Faculty Director for review. (Proposals must be approved prior to application for funding.)
Note: There may be instances in which a Field Education placement or other internship can meet the CRPL internship requirement. Consult with RPL Associate Director of Religious Literacy and the Professions, for further information about which internships qualify for the CRPL and how you will fulfill the requirements of both.
*See CRPL Student Handbook for further information on internship structure and requirements and compensation.
Requesting the Certificate
Students will be required to apply for the CRPL to the RPL Faculty Director and the Registrar in the spring semester of their final year upon successful completion of all requirements for either the MTS or MDiv degree as well as for the CRPL in the spring semester of their final year. The responsibility for applying for the CRPL rests with the student and must be made no later than the end of the final examination period of the spring semester. The Faculty Director of the RPL and the Registrar will verify that requirements have been fulfilled. The Registrar will post receipt of the Certificate on the student’s transcript.
Upon completion of all requirements, students will earn a Certificate in Religion and Public Life in one of the following areas of concentration: Education, Government, Media and Entertainment, Journalism, Humanitarian Action, or Community Organizing.
Meet the CRPL Faculty, Staff, and Fellows
Faculty:
Diane Moore: Associate Dean of Religion and Public Life; and Lecturer on Religion, Conflict, and Peace
Hussein Rashid: Assistant Dean of Religion and Public Life; and Lecturer on Religion and Public Life
Staff:
Tammy Liaw: Religion and Public Life Academic Programs Manager
Reem Atassi: Religion and Public Life Administrative Director
Fellows:
Maytha Alhassen: RPL Arts and Popular Culture Fellow
Naomi Washington-Leapheart: RPL Government Fellow
Mike Delaney: RPL Humanitarian Action Fellow
Álvaro Huerta: RPL Organizing Fellow
Deborah Jian Lee: RPL Journalism Fellow
Sarabinh Levy-Brightman: RPL Education Fellow
Cynthia Wilson: RPL Native and Indigenous Rights Fellow
Resources
Refer to the CRPL Student Handbook for further information on the Certificate of Religion and Public Life and how to navigate the process. You can also visit the RPL website for further information about the Religion and Public Life program.
For further information, contact Religion and Public Life Academic Programs Coordinator Tammy Liaw at tliaw@hds.harvard.edu.