Admissions Information

All of the Divinity School’s degree program applications are accessible exclusively online. We do not accept paper applications.

Candidate Statements
Federal Aid
Fee Waivers
GRE
International Students
Letters of Recommendation
Scholarships/Funding
Transcripts
Writing Sample

Candidate Statements

The statement should articulate the questions or problems that motivate your pursuit of a graduate degree in religion, the aspects of your prior work (broadly construed) that suggest you’ll be successful in the degree program, and the reasons you think the Divinity School is a good place to do your work. The statement should be future-directed and inquiry-based. It should not be an exercise in intellectual or spiritual autobiography; it should convey a sense of your project and indicate your preparedness to undertake it.

Applicants are encouraged to include information about University resources and faculty interlocutors that they might find helpful while enrolled. If your research agenda implies facility with particular languages (e.g. Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, and/or Persian for a project in Islamic Studies; Koine Greek, Attic Greek, and/or Aramaic for a project in early Christian literature), the statement, and the application more broadly, should discuss your degree of facility/fluency and your plans for additional work and development.

The candidate statement prompts are below as follows:

AMRS and MA Applicants:

Applicants must submit a statement of academic purpose with the application and may either upload a document or copy-and-paste the statement below. The purpose of this statement is to introduce yourself and articulate your reasons for applying to the University of Chicago Divinity School. This 1,500-word statement should address the following questions, striving to maintain a balance between broad statements of your interests and specific examples of your work to date and goals for the future.

Please tell us how you came to be interested in the academic study of religion. What prompted your intellectual journey? What kinds of training, both general and specific, do you seek in this program, and why?
Please tell us about your intellectual project. What kinds of questions are you interested in pursuing in depth? What skills have you developed thus far, and what skills and knowledge do you especially seek to develop in the MA program?
Where do you locate your scholarship among the various sub-disciplines and areas within the study of religion and related fields across the University of Chicago? Who do you imagine to be your intellectual interlocutors within the University of Chicago and why? What are your career plans once completing the program? What resources (faculty, programs, library holdings, research centers, etc.) at the University of Chicago do you anticipate being most valuable for your academic and professional development?

MDiv Applicants:

Please tell us about yourself: What people, ideas, experiences, or events have led you to pursue an MDiv at the University of Chicago at this time in your life?
Please tell us how you came to be interested in the academic study of religion. What prompted your intellectual journey? What kinds of questions are you interested in pursuing? What skills have you developed thus far, and what skills and knowledge do you seek to develop in the MDiv program? How do your intellectual interests relate to and inform your philosophy on religious leadership and practice in general, and to your career aspirations in particular.
Please tell us about your conception of ministry and how you came to develop this framing. What does ministry mean to you? What kinds of work do you see yourself doing and why? What ministry experience have you had thus far, and what experience are you seeking while in the MDiv program?
Why do you want to pursue the MDiv at the University of Chicago? Why is it important to do this work in a multi-religious academic environment? Who do you imagine to be your intellectual interlocutors within the University of Chicago and why? What are your career plans once completing the program? What resources (faculty, programs, library holdings, research centers, etc.) at the University of Chicago do you anticipate being most valuable for your academic and professional development?

PhD Applicants:

Applicants must submit a statement of academic purpose with the application and may either upload a document or copy-and-paste the statement below. The purpose of this statement is to introduce yourself and articulate your reasons for applying to the doctoral program at the University of Chicago Divinity School. This 1,500-word statement should address the following questions, striving to maintain a balance between broad statements of your interests and specific examples of your work to date and goals for the future.

Please tell us how you came to be interested in the academic study of religion. What kinds of training, both general and specific, do you seek in the doctoral program, and why?
Please tell us about your intellectual project. What kinds of questions are you interested in pursuing in depth? How do you presently articulate your research agenda, both in terms of breadth and depth? What skills have you developed thus far toward that agenda, and what skills and knowledge do you especially seek to develop in the doctoral program? What kinds of sources are essential to your research?
Where do you locate your scholarship among the various sub-disciplines and areas within the study of religion and related fields across the University of Chicago? Who do you imagine to be your intellectual interlocutors both within the University of Chicago and in the field at large and why? What resources (faculty, programs, library holdings, research centers, etc.) at the University of Chicago do you anticipate being most valuable for your academic and professional development?

Federal Aid

Eligible students can submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online beginning in October of the application year. The University’s institutional code for the FAFSA is 001774. The Graduate Financial Aid Office will process your FAFSA and determine your eligibility for federal student loans and work-study eligibility. You will be able to see your federal aid eligibility or documents needed online through your my.UChicago portal.

Fee Waivers

Fee waivers are automatically applied for applicants that participate in specific service and fellowship programs, such as veterans of the US Armed Forces or alumni in Teach for America or Americorps. Applicants seeking a waiver for financial hardship must apply for the waiver through the application portal. The admissions team cannot grant you a waiver via email.

GRE

The Divinity School does not require applicants to our programs to submit GRE scores. Applicants will be fully considered for admission and scholarships regardless of whether or not GRE scores are submitted.

International Students

Conditional Admission

The University of Chicago Divinity School does not offer conditional admission. The fulfillment of the English language requirement is a University requirement for admission. If your TOEFL/IELTS score does not meet the requirement, the Office of International Affairs could not issue you a visa document, so you must meet the minimum scores to be considered for admission.

Document Translation

If any of your required documents are not already in English, please upload the documents in their original language along with an English translation. Translations should be prepared or verified by someone whose position requires knowledge of both English and the other language—for example, a professor of English at a French university. The University of Chicago does not offer translation services. However, applicants seeking a translator might consider contacting their home country’s consulate or embassy or searching the directory of the American Translators Association.

Education

International applicants to our Masters programs should hold a US bachelor’s degree or an equivalent international degree, comprising at least sixteen years of primary, secondary, and university education.

International PhD applicants must hold a US master’s degree or an international equivalent in a field of inquiry related to their intended study in the Divinity School. The master’s degree should also include significant coursework in the academic study of religion.

English Language Proficiency Waiver

All students must submit scores on the TOEFL or IELTS, or qualify for a waiver.

There are two ways to receive a waiver from the proof of proficiency requirement.

Primary Language Waiver: If English has been a primary language of communication and schooling for you since childhood, you may attest to this on the application. We cannot assist you in determining if this is the case for you. Falsifying this information, as with any other information on the application, may lead to revocation of an offer of admission.
Education Waiver: If you were enrolled for at least one full academic year in the last ten years, as a full-time, degree-seeking student at an accredited English-medium post-secondary institution in one of the following countries or territories:
- Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the United States.
- Education in English-medium institutions in any countries or territories not listed here does not qualify for the exemption.
- Only full-time coursework in a degree program at a college or university in one of these countries or territories qualifies. Remote study, lab or research work, non-degree programs, intensive English language courses, or high school/secondary school do not qualify. The qualifying academic year must be completed – i.e., if you are now in a program and are planning to have completed a year by the time you enroll, it will not meet the requirement.

TOEFL/IELTS scores

In order to meet the proof of proficiency requirement, students may submit either:

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT), including the standard at-home version or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic. Applicants are required to take the Academic Reading/Writing test within IELTS, not the General Training Reading/Writing test. Any other proficiency tests, exams, equivalent coursework, certificate/certifications, endorsement from faculty, and/or other measurement other than the TOEFL or IELTS are not accepted. This includes the IELTS “Indicator” test and the TOEFL ITP Plus.

TOEFL or IELTS score reports are valid for two years and scores will be considered expired if the test was taken more than two years prior to the application deadline. If you send us a score and it expires prior to the deadline you are applying under, you will need to send a more recent score. Photocopies or PDFs of TOEFL or IELTS Score Reports will not be considered valid or accepted in lieu of an official score report.

The minimum required score for the TOEFL is 104 overall, with 4 sub scores of 26 each. Minimum required scores in the IELTS are an overall score of 7, with sub scores of 7 each. Applicants with scores below the minimum threshold will not be considered for admission at the Divinity School.

Further information is available on Graduate Admissions’ website: https://grad.uchicago.edu/admissions/apply/english-language-requirements/frequently-asked-questions/

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation should be academic in nature, and should be from persons who know you well and can speak to your scholarly habits and strengths. For master’s applicants, undergraduate professors with whom you work(ed) closely are good options. MDiv applicants should include at least one letter from someone who can speak to their ministerial/leadership capacities and experience. PhD applicants are encouraged to solicit letters from persons who can speak to their master’s level academic work.

Students applying from life contexts where undergraduate or master’s level professors are not readily accessible or are not likely to remember the applicant’s work (e.g. second- or third-career students) might opt for letters from supervisors or colleagues, but should take care to specify to their referees that the letter should try to translate local, professional skills into a ministerial and/or academic research context.

Scholarships/Funding

International Students

Scholarship eligibility is not based on citizenship status. Regarding federal aid, such as loans or work study, international students may not apply for federal aid through the US Department of Education. International students are encouraged to search for fellowships through the UChicagoGRAD’s Fellowship Database. The Office of International Affairs has a dedicated page for International Student Funding Options.

Master’s

All applicants to our master's programs are automatically considered for scholarships; there is not a separate scholarship application. Scholarships for master's students are awarded based solely on the strength of the admission application materials. The average scholarship for master's students covers about 80% of tuition costs. Exceptional students may be awarded a living stipend in addition to a scholarship. Scholarship notifications are included in the admission decision.

All Divinity School scholarships are renewable for each year of the academic program. Additionally, the Divinity School provides scholarship assistance for summer language study at the University.

PhD

All admitted doctoral students are offered a 7-year fellowship package that includes a full-tuition scholarship, coverage of the student premium of the University's Student Health Insurance Plan (USHIP), payment of quarterly student fees, and a $33,000 annual living stipend.

Transcripts

Students do not need to submit official academic records. Unofficial transcripts, or accounts of coursework, are sufficient so long as they list the names of courses, instructors, dates, and grades earned. If you are admitted to a degree program, you will need to submit official records before starting the program.

Writing Sample

The writing sample is required for all applicants. It should be an academic paper between 15-25 pages that shows your ability to engage with academic research and make an academic argument. For master's applicants, it does not have to be on a topic related to religion. For doctoral applicants, it should show some degree of engagement in your intended field and project.

Contact the Dean of Students office at divinityadmissions@uchicago.edu.