The Center for Christianity and Scholarship offers a Certificate in Christian Studies to students who complete at least four program requirements, including at least two Duke courses. The Certificate in Christian Studies equips Duke undergraduates to be faithful witnesses for Christ in your academic studies and future vocations. Certificate programs help students develop a well-rounded Christian mind that includes knowledge of Scripture and theology, formation in the historic Christian tradition, and practice "thinking Christianly" across many domains of life. To earn the Certificate, complete four requirements, including at least two CCS-affiliated Duke courses and up to two CCS-led extracurricular experiences.
Duke courses toward the certificate are taught by Christian professors. The Certificate offers full-credit courses and half-credit House courses. Courses include topics such as "The Christian Story," and "Not-So-Old Testament" Check out some of our upcoming courses below.
This course guides students in exploring the concept of vocation and their own sense of purpose. We'll trace the intellectual history of vocation from its Christian origins in vowed religious orders through its expansion in the Protestant Reformation to modern secular ideals of following your passion and doing what you love. We'll address major domains in which a person may feel called by God: explicitly religious ways of life like those of a nun, pastor, or missionary; fields of work such as medicine, education, and business; relationships such as marriage, singleness, and parenthood; and conditions such as disability, persecution, and injustice. A capstone project gathers, applies, and critically evaluates religious and philosophical resources relevant to students' own callings.
An introduction to the Christian story of the world – how Christians have understood the nature of God, His involvement in history, and how humans are part of this story. Topics will include creation, why things exist, happiness, truth, beauty, goodness, the meaning of suffering, what is means to be human, and the afterlife. Sources will include scripture, philosophy, theology, and a variety of other genres.
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Experience radical Christian communities in Durham. In this two-week summer program (May 12-23), partner with local intentional living communities and ministries to experience the rhythms of Christian life together, rooted in God, resistant to the world, and oriented by love of neighbors.
CCS-affiliated courses are taught by Christian faculty within their Duke departments, engage with big questions, and are open to Christian answers.
CCS's Faith & Work Summer Internship program gathers students to explore the theology of work and how to integrate faith with daily life in the office, lab, workshop, or clinic. What’s work for? Does my work have to be a calling? How am I responsible to my family, my education, my gifts and talents, my desires, and my faith? What if these are in competition? Participants will learn with one another and from CCS staff and Christian leaders in various fields.
To learn more about the Certificate in Christian Studies, get in touch with Danielle Samake
