Seminary to Early Ministry (SEM) Study

Timeline

2019 - Ongoing

Status: In Progress

Description

Churches and religious organizations find themselves in the middle of a bewildering amount of change. The SEM Study addresses the need for empirical data to help understand emerging leaders and their experiences during seminary and the early years of ministry.

The SEM Study team is currently tracking three cohorts of students using quantitative surveys and in-depth interviews from their matriculation through their first five years of ministry. In Phase II of the project, we are adding physical health data collection and ethnographic observation. Because of the launch of the hybrid masters programs, as well as the disruptions to religious life of the pandemic, Phase II also entails collecting survey data from an additional cohort of students.

Our project has several expected outcomes.

First, our study will produce the most comprehensive dataset on seminary education and its impacts to date. This data will allow us to answer a broad range of questions about theological education, student formation, and the transition into religious ministry.
Second, our study will inform and improve academic programs and policies. To do so, we will use study data to provide targeted feedback on theological students, programs, and educational outcomes in the form of reports, presentations, and informal conversations with divinity school faculty and staff across key program areas.
Third, our study will improve students’ experiences both during their time in school and into the early years of ministry. To do so, we will develop events that disseminate relevant study findings and related research and offer practical, data-informed suggestions for how to best navigate the challenges of seminary and the early years of ministry.
Fourth, our study will inform program development and policy related to early career clergy and other religious leaders at the denominational level. We will identify common challenges and important turning points in the occupational trajectories of new clergy, identifying the best times and potential methods of intervention and support.
Fifth, our study will inform broader, national conversations about the nature, value, and changing needs of seminary students, theological education, and clergy. To do so, we will publish study findings in academic journals targeting both scholars and practitioners, present findings at relevant academic and practitioner-oriented conferences, and continue to build a network of scholars, practitioners, and key stakeholders in the study and practice of theological education.

Team

Members

Josh Gaghan, M.T.S., Research Analyst

Kathleen Sellers, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate

Laura Hamrick, M.Div., Clergy Engagement Specialist

Whitney Carr, M.A., Communications + Engagement Coordinator

Fatimah Salleh, Ph.D., M.Div., Education Specialist

Leaders

David Eagle, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

Erin F. Johnston, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate

Erin Lane, M.T.S., Director of Research Translation

Contact