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Princeton Theological Seminary is the leading institution for faculty representation within the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). According to 2023-24 academic year data, 89 faculty members with PhDs from Princeton Seminary are currently teaching at ATS-accredited institutions – more than any other PhD-granting school in North America.
This statistic speaks to the excellence of our PhD program, which has a proud history and an exciting future. At a moment when some are retreating from doctoral education, we see it as absolutely essential to our vision and mission going forward.
John Bowlin, Robert L. Stuart Professor of Philosophy and Christian Ethics, shares a similar sentiment.
This statistic confirms that Princeton Seminary serves the church and the world that God loves through its doctoral program.” says Bowlin. We train the scholars who teach and mentor the next generation of leaders in the church and beyond. The program is set apart by its world-class faculty and library, by its commitment to mentoring and professional development, and its remarkable students.
ATS is dedicated to the enhancement of graduate theological education in the United States and Canada. The organization accredits, supports, and conducts research for its member schools that adhere to shared values of quality theological education. Last year, ATS listed 2,430 full-time faculty across nearly 370 schools in its database.
Princeton Seminary plays a significant role in preparing and placing PhD graduates in other academic positions at other theological schools. “We offer the kind of rigorous academic training that PhD grads need in order to be competitive for academic jobs,” Carter explains.
A few of those graduates include Dr. Xavier Pickett, PhD ‘18, Janette H. Ok, PhD ‘18, and Deanna Ferree Womack, PhD ‘15. Pickett currently serves as Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. Over the years, his specialties have included Africana Religions, Theories and Methods of (Black) Religion; Political Theory/Philosophy, and Black and Womanist Theologies.
Ok—who is an Associate Professor of New Testament at Fuller—pursues research in the areas of the Catholic Epistles and the formation of early Christian identity, with an emphasis on Asian American, intersectional, feminist, and sociological approaches to biblical interpretation.
Finally, Womack’s specialties include interreligious understanding, world Christianity, and Christian-Muslim dialogue, to name a few. She is the Associate Professor of History of Religions and Interfaith Studies and the Director of the Master of Arts in Religion and Leadership (MARL) Program at Emory’s Candler School of Theology.
Earlier this year, Matthew Novenson was appointed Helen H.P. Manson Professor of New Testament in the Biblical Studies Department at Princeton Seminary. This fall, he’s teaching a PhD seminar on “Paul and Judaism.” And recently, Princeton Seminary’s PhD program launched a 5+1 postdoctoral fellowship, designed to help graduates refine their professional skills as they embark on their careers.
We have the strongest PhD program of any independent seminary in the world,” Carter affirms. This program has long had powerful global legacies, attracting students from all over the world who have gone on to serve as distinguished leaders in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and beyond.
Our reimagined PhD program takes a bold, visionary approach to doctoral education to prepare you for a leadership role in the church, the academy, or the public arena. To learn more about PhD studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, click here.
