The University of Chicago Divinity School is committed to training our students to be outstanding teachers of the academic study of religion, to be leaders in their chosen fields, and to benefit the wider community through scholarship and service.  We provide all of our students with the tools to succeed, whether they go on to professorial careers in academia or the myriad of other paths they might pursue.  The John C. and Jane Colman Program in the Craft of Teaching, Leadership, and Service is the Divinity School’s unique professionalization certificate program that offers students in-depth training in the art of pedagogy, internship opportunities, and professional skill-building workshops. 

The Colman Program is an expansion of the Divinity School’s unique pedagogical training program, the Craft of Teaching in the Academic Study of Religion.  That program, initiated in 2011, has successfully integrated the training of expert educators into the doctoral program’s rigorous academic study of religion.  The program’s many workshops and seminars (3 to 4 per quarter), as well as its Craft of Teaching Blog, have sustained a vigorous conversation about pedagogy in the academic study of religion across the Divinity School’s diverse areas and trained graduates to be exceptional teachers. 

The expanded program supports students in all of our degree programs to gain training in the craft of teaching for multiple audiences and professional settings.  The Colman Program prepares students to be leaders in their fields and to bring the academic study of religion wherever they choose to take it.  We offer internships to allow students to explore various career options, from K-12 teaching, to publishing and journalism, to academic-adjacent careers, and beyond.  We also arrange skill-building workshops, often in partnership with programs across campus, that provide students with important professional development and encourage creative thinking about how students might apply the academic study of religion to solve problems and pursue impactful careers.