Educational Leadership and Ministry (ELM) Program

This program seeks to prepare students of all denominations for leadership and ministry in schools and colleges.

Sponsored by Berkeley Divinity School, ELM focuses on equipping leaders to serve as ordained and lay chaplains, administrators, and teachers of religion in a variety of schools. It addresses some of the factors involved in the spiritual and moral formation of primary and secondary school students. It provides insight into the roles and responsibilities of those who hold other leadership positions in schools. The program also seeks to help future leaders understand and prepare for various types of chaplaincy at universities and colleges.

The ELM Program can lead to the granting of a Certificate in Educational Leadership and Ministry by Berkeley Divinity School. To receive the certificate, students must successfully complete at least two of the program’s three core courses—REL 811, Models and Methods of College and University Chaplaincy; REL 848, Educational Ministry in Schools and Colleges; and REL 875, Advanced Topics in Educational Ministry in Schools and Colleges—plus two additional electives in related fields (one elective if all three core courses are taken) approved by the director of the ELM Program. Students also take Supervised Ministry or an internship in an educational setting. In addition, M.Div. students must successfully complete REL 812, Principles and Practices of Preaching; REL 831, Is It a Sermon?; or REL 849, Preaching for Creation.