MDiv Programs for Buddhism

[lucylady]

Hello,

I'm hoping to apply to divinity schools during the cycle next year and am trying to get a sense for the programs at which I should be looking. My hope is to get an MDiv degree from a school where I can focus on spiritual care/counseling from a Buddhist (ideally Tibetan) perspective. Many of my academic mentors went to HDS or UChicago Div, but I've been hearing things about Union Theological Seminary (it sounds like they have a Buddhism program now) and the Graduate Theological Union as well. If anyone has a sense for what these schools can offer (or other schools I should be looking at) that would be a huge help during this discernment process.

Thank you.

Edited April 7, 2020 by lucylady

[xypathos]

On 4/7/2020 at 5:26 PM, lucylady said:

Hello,

I'm hoping to apply to divinity schools during the cycle next year and am trying to get a sense for the programs at which I should be looking. My hope is to get an MDiv degree from a school where I can focus on spiritual care/counseling from a Buddhist (ideally Tibetan) perspective. Many of my academic mentors went to HDS or UChicago Div, but I've been hearing things about Union Theological Seminary (it sounds like they have a Buddhism program now) and the Graduate Theological Union as well. If anyone has a sense for what these schools can offer (or other schools I should be looking at) that would be a huge help during this discernment process.

Thank you.

As you've noted, I've also had a fair number of Buddhist friends go to HDS and Chicago and speak well of the programs. My concern for UTSNYC is that it's a 72 hour program that lets you do 27 hours in Buddhism. So if you're wanting to do a deep dive into Mahayana Buddhism, Union isn't the first place I would consider, otherwise you're doing a traditionally Christian M.Div and doing a minor along the way. 

GTU's IBU is well respected and it'd put you in a place where you can explore spiritual care from other traditions rather easily. As with all GTU programs, financial aid is the issue that you're going to run into. Union will also be a financial aid hurdle to jump through but access to Columbia and the wider NYC area doing your work could prove interesting.

Not talked about much here but a place I visit often when visiting family in Colorado is Naropa University in Boulder. You would be able to do a M.Div there catered specifically to ind-Tibetan Buddhism. I love the campus, the students that have dedicated themselves to languages have been known to go onto Harvard, Chicago, Oxford, etc.; and spiritual care is a strong driving force of the school. Again though, financial aid would likely be a concern.

There's University of the West too but I know very little about them, though I know they're not directly Tibetan. They have a M.Div in Buddhist Chaplaincy and it has regional accreditation.

[ask2266]

I was going to mention Naropa-- I got my law degree in Boulder, and Naropa is very well respected. 

I have been looking at GTU for myself, but it doesn't seem like they have much financial aid. It's disappointing, because I am interested in comparative religion-- in particular with Buddhism and Hinduism.

[lucylady]

Thank you for your helpful insights! You've given me a lot to think about and it sounds like there are a lot of wonderful programs!