Graduate Theological Union

History and administration

Many of the GTU's constituent seminaries were established at various locations throughout the Bay Area in the early 20th or even the late 19th centuries. Because of the foundation of the University of California, several of them relocated to Berkeley and established cooperative relationships with the University. In the wake of the formation of the World Council of Churches and the Second Vatican Council, Bay Area seminaries began negotiations to form a cooperative degree program. In 1962, agreement between the Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (now the American Baptist Seminary of the West), Episcopalian Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary enabled for the incorporation of the Graduate Theological Union in 1962. In 1964, the Pacific School of Religion, St. Albert's College (now the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology and Starr King School for the Ministry joined the GTU consortium. In 1966, Alma College relocated to Berkeley and was renamed the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. In 1968, the Franciscan School of Theology moved to Berkeley from Santa Barbara and joined the GTU consortium, although in 2013 it merged with the University of San Diego, leaving the consortium and relocating to Oceanside, California . By 1971, the GTU was fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools.

In 1969, the GTU common library was established and the individual libraries of the seminaries were merged into one collection. In the 1970s, construction began on a Louis I. Kahn-designed building to house the GTU library. The main library building was completed in 1987 and was named the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library in honor of the Hewlett Foundation.

Presidents and academic deans

The dean of the GTU is the chief academic officer. The dean also chairs the GTU's council of deans composed of the academic deans of consortial member schools. Traditionally, deans have held the John Dillenberger Professorship in their general field of specialization. The fifith dean, Margaret Miles, was the John Dillenberger Professor of Historical Theology while the sixth dean, Arthur Holder, was the John Dillenberger Professor of Christian Spirituality.

Consortial seminaries

Affiliated research centers

Academics

The GTU offers Doctor of Philosophy cooperatively with the University of California at Berkeley and Doctor of Theology and Master of Arts programs in cooperation with its member seminaries. GTU consortial seminaries variously offer M.Th., M.Div, Doctor of Ministry, S.T.B., S.T.L., and S.T.D. degrees. Ph.D. students are encouraged not only to take advantage of the academic resources available to them at the University of California at Berkeley, but are required to include a non-GTU scholar in their exams or dissertation committees. As such, students have collaborated with UC-B faculty members in the anthropology, critical theory, ethnic studies, history, philosophy, sociology, etc. departments.

There are four doctoral departments, with more than 30 concentrations, encompassing the breadth of religious and theological scholarship at the GTU. The Sacred Texts and Interpretation department focuses on Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Rabbinic Literature, and studies in the sacred texts of Islamic and Hindu traditions. Historical and Cultural Studies of Religions encompasses studies in history of religions, art and religion, interreligious studies, and sociology of religion. Theology and Ethics focuses on theological and ethical reflections in the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Hindu traditions. Other concentrations include comparative theology/ethics, philosophical theology, theology and science, and aesthetics. Religion and Practice focuses on homiletics, liturgical studies, missiology, practical theology, and religious education.

The GTU also offers certificates in specialized studies including the following:

All degree seeking students at GTU may take any classes offered at the University of California, Berkeley, and have access and borrowing privileges at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University libraries. Only Ph.D. students have unrestricted access to registering for UCB classes (subject to approval of course instructors); Th.D. and M.A. students can only take a maximum of 1 class per semester. Ph.D. students taking courses at UCB are able to obtain Cal 1 Cards, which can be loaded with funds for photocopying or for other purposes. Cross-registration opportunities are also available for GTU students at Dominican University of California, Holy Names University, and Mills College. Additionally, students can participate in international exchange programs with the University of Heidelberg, Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt, the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, Ryukoku University in Japan, and the Dharma Drum University in Taiwan.

Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology

The GTU's in-house academic journal is the Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology. The journal is managed by current doctoral students, although peer-reviewers include members of the consortial doctoral faculty. It publishes many of the lectures occurring throughout the year around the consortium, as well as several original articles and book reviews. Occasionally, special issues are commissioned to celebrate important milestones in the life of the GTU. The journal welcomes submissions from scholars from and outside of the GTU, and publishes one regular issue a year. All issues are available free online.

Campus

Although the GTU consortium occupies many buildings throughout the Bay Area, only three buildings are owned by the GTU. The largest of the buildings is the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, the largest theological library west of the Rocky Mountains, and one of the largest theological libraries in the world, with around 509,000 volumes. It has a branch in San Anselmo, housed in the former library of the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Its material acquisitions are coordinated with the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University libraries. Borrowing privileges are available for all three institutions. Furthermore, GTU students are privy to borrowing from the University of Texas, Austin libraries as part of the RCLP agreement between University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and UT-Austin. In addition, GTU and UCB students can access the rare and special collections in both institutions' libraries. Altogether, GTU students have ready access to more than 20 million volumes of resources, more than any theological institution in the world. The building has three floors. The main stacks and other library services occupy the bottom two floors, while the top floor house GTU administrative offices and the Richard Dinner Board Room, used for lectures and other campus-wide events.

The GTU's Le Conte Building, located on 2465 Le Conte Avenue, is a "student services building". Two study spaces are available: a basement study space and a much larger lounge on the first floor. The lounge is often used for student events and campus workshops. A mezzanine floor contains examination rooms. Administrative and faculty offices, as well as the HEDCO Seminar Room, occupy the second and third floors. The building is home to the GTU's Center for Jewish Studies, located on the second floor.

The GTU Annex, located behind the Le Conte Building, is home to the Center for Islamic Studies, the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, the Shingal Center for Dharma Studies, and other GTU administrative offices.

Points of interest

Ranking

The National Research Council (NRC) has released a comprehensive assessment of doctoral programs in the United States. In one independent compilation based on the NRC's "regression-based" rankings, the GTU appears at No. 22 overall.

Notable alumni

Church Divinity School of the Pacific

Pacific School of Religion

San Francisco Theological Seminary

Starr King School for the Ministry

Faculty

The GTU's 7th and current president is Riess W. Potterveld, who had been president at the Pacific School of Religion and Lancaster Theological Seminary.

The GTU's 7th and current dean is Uriah Y. Kim, who had served as Academic Dean at Hartford Seminary. His predecessors include Arthur Holder, who previously served as Academic Dean at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He received his Ph.D. from the GTU in 2004 in Biblical Studies.

The GTU draws its consortial faculty from its constituent seminaries and centers. Although faculty members are employed at their respective seminaries and centers, they commit to supervising doctoral and masters students, as well as occasionally teaching GTU-wide courses.

Among the current faculty are Aaron Brody, John Klentos, Christopher Ocker, Ted Peters, and Robert John Russell.

Former faculty members include David Alexander, John Dillenberger, Roy I. Sano, and Choan Seng Song.