History
Drew was founded in 1867 by the General (nationwide) Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as a "national" seminary. In part this was an attempt to heal wounds remaining from the division between north and south. Drew's mission was to reflect the full range and depth of thought and faith experience of one of the largest and most diverse Protestant denominations, and to train church leaders of many denominations, clergy and lay, to minister to people of all backgrounds and needs.
Drew has continued as a seminary of the United Methodist Church and, in keeping with its original mission, has also become one of the world's foremost ecumenical institutions, drawing on Catholic, reformed, evangelical, and liberal strands of Christian thought.
While other seminaries of that day usually functioned as alternatives to college, Drew, from the beginning, required a baccalaureate degree for admission-a pattern now followed by most seminaries. This scholarly commitment continues to be a hallmark of Drew Theological School. Theological study at Drew is unapologetically rigorous and intellectually demanding. We believe that enduring faithfulness in ministry requires well-developed disciplines of study and reflection, a solid knowledge of the Bible and the history of Christianity, and skill in the analysis of personal problems, social situations, and human nature.
As a "national" seminary, Drew remains committed to a thoroughly diverse faculty and student body. African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Latino/a-Americans contribute to a sense of the many cultures and heritages the church must serve. Drew likewise recognizes the centrality of women's experiences in theological understanding and liturgical practice and takes for granted the full equality of women in ministry. Our student body and faculty have been drawn from every state and many countries.
Drew Theological School is a living, working, worshiping community. We believe that authentic theology arises out of life experiences and, in turn, deepens and enriches those experiences. Students, faculty, and staff share in decision making, in planning, and in the communal bonds that foster growth and transformation. Approximately one-half of our students live on campus, many with spouses and children.
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Location
The school enjoys a setting that is conducive both to study and research, and presents unparalleled supervised ministry opportunities. North-central New Jersey is lavish with woodlands, wildlife, and lakes that provide scenery and recreation. The campus is spacious, forested, and secure. Madison, a pleasant town of 15,000 people, has services and stores typical of a much larger community. New York City, Newark, and Philadelphia are all easy to reach and offer not only rich cultural and historical resources but also an amazing variety of opportunities to practice ministry.
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The University Setting
The Theological School established two other schools as it grew into a university-the College of Liberal Arts and the Caspersen Graduate School. This university environment makes possible an abundant and enjoyable campus life, with cultural, social, entertainment, and recreational possibilities that could not exist in a more limited institution.
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Our Mission
Drew Theological School empowers leadership for a global Christianity of justice, ecumenism, and the integrity of creation. Its pastoral, spiritual, and conceptual disciplines grow within an intimate liturgical and communal context, one that sustains multiple relations of difference. Through its particular historical commitments to African, Asian, African-American, Hispanic, and women's ministries, the Theological School remains faithfully rooted in its Methodist heritage. Drew nurtures Christian practices through vital partnership with local churches and international networks of education. Trans-disciplinary interpretation of text, tradition, and experience energizes its scholarly rigor. Drew engenders theologies responsible to the complex social realities of an interconnected world. Into that world Drew sends pastors, preachers and prophets, deacons, activists, and teachers.
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Our Theological Position
Drew Theological School is rooted in the Wesleyan heritage and celebrates the centrality of Christ to our faith. The school does not require students to adopt a particular position or creed, but expects that students will remain in touch with and develop their own distinct faith tradition. Students take responsibility for articulating their own convictions, yet remain in dialogue with those of other faiths and with Christians who may think and believe differently. Students find many persons who share their faith experience and learn from persons who challenge them with their differences. In a world where diversity is often an excuse for hatred and a trigger for violence, Drew students learn to use diversity as a key to unlock the mysteries of a God beyond individual understanding, who is revealed more fully through our shared faith and experience.
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The Distinctiveness of Drew
Drew Theological School represents a unique combination of church ties and university setting, faithfulness in ministry and cultural relevance, classical Christian convictions and creative reinterpretations, regard for diversity and protection of personal integrity, global awareness and local effectiveness, intellectual rigor, and vital community life.
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Programs
The Theological School offers five degree programs, three entry-level and two advanced. The Master of Divinity (M.Div.) is the three-year basic program providing preparation for ordained ministry. The Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) is a one-year advanced degree that presupposes the M.Div. degree and offers further academic study in one or more of the theological disciplines. The Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) is a six-semester "in-ministry" program for ordained or recognized, practicing ministers in parish or recognized ministry settings. TheTheological School also offers a dual M. Div./MSW degree program in partnership with Monmouth University.
The Graduate Division of Religion, located within the Theological School, offers PhD degrees in several areas. Please see the separate Graduate Division of Religion Catalogue for more information on these programs.
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Accreditation
The University is fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Theological School is further accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). Students who have any questions about the accreditation status of the Theological School or who believe that the school is not in compliance with ATS standards may direct questions to the Associate Academic Dean or directly to ATS at 10 Summit Park Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1110.
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The University Library
Library collections and services are housed in a spacious complex that includes the Rose Memorial building and the Learning Center, which also houses the Lena C. Coburn Media Resource Center. Across the courtyard is the national United Methodist Archives and History Center administered by the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
The library provides reference assistance and instruction in research methods. The library Web page serves as a portal to the online catalog, many electronic reference and research resources, and the library catalogs of other New Jersey, national, and international institutions.
The collection includes some 558,000 bound volumes, more than 375,000 microforms, and about 1,500 periodical subscriptions in paper form. The library also provides a wide and growing range of electronic resources including online full-text of both books and journal articles and access to more than 35,000 periodical titles by way of 130 electronic database subscriptions. Since 1939 the library has been a selective depository for U.S. government publications, and it also collects the official documents of the United Nations and the state of New Jersey. There are over 400,000 documents in the collection.
A substantial reference collection in electronic and print format features bibliographies and the most recent encyclopedic sources in numerous subject areas. Periodical holdings span the academic spectrum in support of the Drew curricular and research needs.
The holdings of the Drew Library, coupled with the Archives of the United Methodist Church, form a world renowned collection of global Methodism. This collection is a rich repository of primary documents and artifacts on the religious, cultural, and social history of England and America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The library's holdings have been enriched by the libraries and papers of Professors Carl Michalson, Will Herberg, George D. Kelsey, and James White. The Hymnology Collection numbers over 7,000 volumes of which some 4,000 are Methodist and related works; 3,000 are non-Methodist. More than 25 countries and 20 languages are represented. The Maser and Prinster Prayer Book collections contain numerous editions of the Book of Common Prayer, many from the period of early printing, which complement the library's considerable holdings in prayer book history and criticism.
The Archives of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) is also located in the library complex. Founded in 1880, SBL is one of the oldest learned societies in the world. The archive includes the extensive publications of the SBL and records of its executive office and its publication and program units.
The University Archives is located in the library and maintains selective records that document the history of the University. An extensive photograph collection provides researchers with historical and current images of the University.
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The United Methodist Archives
Drew University is home to the United Methodist Archives and History Center, the official repository for historical documents and artifacts of that church. This comprehensive collection attracts scholars from all over the world who wish to study Methodism and related denominations. The Archives are largely computerized and the collection can be accessed by computer modem.
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Centers
The Florence Ellen Bell Center for Methodist Studies uses Drew's unique archival and theological resources to develop programs on Methodist history and theology for scholars, pastors, church leaders, and the general public.
The Hispanic Institute of Theology (HIT) is a multi-denominational center founded in 1992. The HIT works for the recruitment, education, networking, and support of Hispanic ministers and scholars in religion and theology at Drew and beyond. Services, lectures, meetings, seminars, courses, workshops, scholarships and special travel opportunities are among the many initiatives sponsored by the HIT to enhance the presence of Latina/o theologies in our midst.
The Black Scholars Project. The high number of Black scholars currently teaching in theological schools and enrolled as students in seminaries is unprecedented. This intellectual boom in the academy comes at a time in history when the Black church is struggling to meet the ever-changing and challenging needs of a diverse Black people. Additionally, Black theological scholars are, increasingly, being tapped/pursued for their views concerning majority culture issues. This interdisciplinary series of courses is designed to put Drew seminarians and graduate students in dialogue with some of the best theological minds of the 21st century. The series of courses holds in creative tension our seminary's mission both to educate our students for practical leadership within the local church as well as educate our students to be theologians in residence with their local church and to the world.
The Center for Christianities in Global Contexts. Funded by the Luce Foundation, the Center studies and models the place of Christianity in a global society in modes that affirm the irreducible plurality of both historical and contemporary Christianities; the opening of Christian theologies and ministries to other faith traditions; the need to attend to the colonial legacies and neocolonial investments of Christianity; and the articulation of theological visions of social justice, peace, and non-violence in such interdependent domains as economics, the environment, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.
The Lena C. Coburn Media Resource Center contains a variety of state-of-the-art media equipment and offers hands-on lab experiences to enhance communication abilities.
Drew is a participating partner in the Harold Brock Media Resource Center of the Greater N.J. United Methodist Conference.
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Bookstore
The Drew University Bookstore maintains an impressive selection of books of interest to ministers, teachers, and scholars in many areas, in addition to texts and supplies. Special orders are welcomed.
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Lecture Series
The Theological School offers a number of regular lectures and lecture series, featuring prominent authorities in the topic of the lecture. Traditionally alumni/ae class reunions are held during the Tipple/Vosburgh national conference and lecture series each October.
The Tipple/Vosburgh Lecture series was established by the fifth Drew president and his wife, Edna White Tipple. The topic for the Frances Youngker Vosburgh presentation focuses on a modern aspect of Christian faith and communication.
The Frederick A. Shippey Lecture was established in memory of Professor Frederick A. Shippey to further scholarly contributions in the discipline of sociology of religion.
The Nelle K. Morton Lecture, dedicated to Drew's early feminist educator and theologian Nelle Morton, highlights women's issues in society, theology, and religious communities.
The Martin Luther King Jr., Lecture is hosted by the Black Ministerial Caucus; speakers address theological and ethical issues from the perspective of the African-American experience.
The Korean Theological Studies Lecture is hosted by the Korean Caucus.
The Hispanic/Latino/a Theology and Religion Lecture is hosted by the Hispanic Institute of Theology.
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