VDS Voices

We’ve shifted here at Vanderbilt. The arboretum covers campus in green and the spring energy tantalizes as it builds summer humidity. The graduates have presented their theses at the Theses Fair, culminating years worth of soul-work and field education, community building, and the representation of an arc — who they… Read More

After a hurricane made landfall along the east coast of the American South in 2011, the remnants of the storm’s arms swung toward the Gulf of Maine where coastal and island communities prepared for tropical storm conditions. The sky over the harbor was dark and the rain was thick when… Read More

This is for those who have submitted their applications, waded into the ankle-deep waters around their home or on the street, looked up through the trees, and turned down the music on the drive home to find the way around the neighborhood of their heart (see previous blog post). Read More

There’s no singular “personal statement” required in the Vanderbilt Divinity School application.   However, there is a series of short essays that gives you a space to answer the questions a traditional personal statement would ask of you.   The application questions concern subjects… Read More

The Admissions Team is excited to announce the revival of Vanderbilt Voices: a blog written by students about their experiences leading up to, during, and following VDS. Some of the topics readers can expect to be addressed in the coming months will be: the… Read More

Project Transformation (PT) National is beyond excited to announce our newest seminary partnership with Vanderbilt Divinity School! Following PT National’s exciting announcement about the Young Adult Faith and Service Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., Vanderbilt Divinity School and Project Transformation have come together to provide enriching opportunities for both current and future… Read More

Summer on campus June 2023. [Nashville, TN] – May 1, 2025 – Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School has received a generous commitment from Cal Turner Jr. and Hoyt R. Barnett for the new Turner-Barnett Program for Pastoral Formation, which will provide mentorship,… Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School and the Wond’ry’s Fiber Arts Lab will host a collaborative service project with faculty, staff, students, and local communities of faith to quilt mementos for families who have lost a loved one while discussing different faith traditions and pathways toward interfaith solidarity. The mementos will be donated… Read More

An important focus for Vanderbilt Divinity School is supporting midcareer professionals who seek answers to complex questions about religion, humanism, ethics, life’s meaning and more. “We aim to make VDS accessible—removing any obstacles—for those interested in theological education,” said Harper Barton Haynes, Harper HaynesSenior Director of Strategic Enrollment… Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School is pleased to announce its practitioner-in-residence program. Each semester, the Divinity School will invite a member of the clergy, a nonprofit leader or a social justice activist to be “in residence” with its community. The PIR host sessions about their work, mentor students and invite them to… Read More