Career Outcomes
The tables below report where graduates of each program went after finishing, with the years covered and the number of graduates behind every figure. Graduates who were still searching, and those who did not report a position, are counted in the tables rather than removed from them.
A first position is a starting point rather than a career, and the tables are best read that way. Questions about cost and funding are answered under Scholarships and Financial Aid.
How to Read These Numbers
- Compiled by the Dean of Students Office, current as of July 2026.
- MA, AMRS, and MDiv figures cover the first role within 12 months of graduation. Doctoral figures cover the first position within 24 months, with a second table reporting position five years out.
- The two doctoral tables describe different groups of graduates. Read them side by side for the shape of the doctoral path, not as one group followed over time.
- Categories were standardized in 2026, so these figures are not directly comparable to versions of this page published earlier.
- Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding.
MA and AMRS Outcomes
| First role | Share of graduates |
|---|---|
| Doctoral study | 39.5% |
| Seeking a position, or not reported | 14.5% |
| Business and industry | 12.2% |
| Nonprofit or social welfare | 6.9% |
| Higher education administration | 6.1% |
| Further study, other | 6.0% |
| Writing, research, or journalism | 5.6% |
| Teaching, primary or secondary | 4.4% |
| Clergy or religious leadership | 2.2% |
| Academia, non-tenure-track | 1.9% |
| Government | 0.3% |
The most common first step for MA and AMRS graduates is further graduate study: approximately 40 percent enter doctoral programs, at the University of Chicago and elsewhere. Our students also pursue careers in business, nonprofit and social welfare work, higher education administration, writing and journalism, and teaching.
MDiv Outcomes
| First role | Share of graduates |
|---|---|
| Clergy or religious leadership | 46% |
| Nonprofit or social welfare | 16% |
| Seeking a position, or not reported | 10% |
| Business and industry | 7% |
| Doctoral study | 7% |
| Further study, other | 5% |
| Higher education administration | 4% |
| Teaching, primary or secondary | 2% |
| Academia, non-tenure-track | 1% |
| Government | 1% |
| Writing, research, or journalism | 1% |
Close to half of MDiv graduates begin in congregational or other religious leadership, and the next largest group works in nonprofit and social welfare organizations. About 7 percent continue directly to doctoral study.
Doctoral Outcomes
Two tables follow, and they cover different groups of graduates. The first reports the first position doctoral graduates held within 24 months of finishing. The second reports where an earlier group stood five years out.
| First position | Share of graduates |
|---|---|
| Academia, postdoctoral | 31% |
| Academia, non-tenure-track | 27% |
| Academia, tenured or tenure-track | 15% |
| Religious organizations or nonprofits | 15% |
| Business and industry | 7% |
| Other, or not reported | 5% |
| Position five years out | Share of graduates |
|---|---|
| Academia, tenured or tenure-track | 42% |
| Academia, non-tenure-track | 24% |
| Religious organizations or nonprofits | 17% |
| Business and industry | 13% |
| Academia, postdoctoral | 2% |
| Other, or not reported | 2% |
The doctoral path in this field usually begins with a postdoctoral fellowship or a non-tenure-track academic appointment. Approximately 15 percent of graduates hold a tenured or tenure-track appointment as their first position. Five years out, the largest single group, 42 percent, holds a tenured or tenure-track position, and 30 percent work outside academia, in religious organizations, nonprofits, business, and industry.
Where Graduates Work
The tables report categories. These are some of the places where our alums have found positions.
Doctoral graduates, first position
- Presbyterian Mission Agency
- Villanova University
- University of Tokyo
- Mosque Foundation
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of California Los Angeles
- UChicagoGRAD
- Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Los Angeles
- Duke University
- Oberlin College
- Smart Museum of Art
- Macmillan Learning
Doctoral graduates, five or more years out
- Stanford University
- Princeton University
- New York University
- University of Michigan
- Boston University
- Princeton Theological Seminary
- University of the South
- Davidson College
- Lumen Christi Institute
- Churches for the Homeless
- Life Science Cares Boston
- Oregon Health and Science University
- IQVIA
- McMaster-Carr
MDiv graduates
Full-time positions and clinical pastoral education residencies, most of them reached through field education placements across Chicago.
- Rush University Medical Center
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- University of Chicago Medical Center
- Advocate Christ Medical Center
- CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System
- United States Navy
- Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church in Detroit
- Bethany United Church of Christ in Chicago
- South Acton Church
- Gilead Church Chicago
- Havenwood Heritage Heights
Youth Empowerment Performance Project