Celebrating 2 years of full tuition scholarships
Students gathered to hear from Bishop Vinny at the Berkeley Center.
All students with demonstrated need receive full tuition scholarships at Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.
Since 2015, this has been a goal for Yale Divinity School. This new scholarship offering was announced in January 2022 and was first put into effect for the 2022–2023 academic year. As applications open this year, we reflect on how full tuition scholarships have shaped our students’ experiences for 2 full academic years, and we celebrate the implications for the church’s future.
Rachel Pinti ’26 MDiv and Maia Williams ’26 MDiv in the common room.
Funding for these scholarships comes from different sources and is largely thanks to our generous donors who are graduates or friends of the school. These include the Berkeley Divinity School Annual Fund, the Yale Divinity School Annual Fund, and the Berkeley and Yale endowments.
One first year Berkeley student described the impact of the full tuition scholarship like this:
The full scholarship at Yale Divinity School means that in a time of great transition, it’s possible for me to follow the call of God on my life rather than reaching for faster answers. It means this great possibility of attending an amazing school and seminary has been brought within reach, and isn’t experienced as a burden, but a blessing.
Entrance to Yale University’s Sterling Divinity Quadrangle.
In 2023, Berkeley welcomed 24 first years—one of Berkeley’s largest and most diverse classes in recent history. In 2024, Berkeley welcomed another class of over 20. Berkeley’s student body represents every internal province of TEC. They come from 10+ states in the USA and several other countries.
The student body is diverse in a multitude of ways. It includes mothers of young children, students with doctoral degrees, people seeking second careers, those discerning calls to chaplaincy as well as parish ministry, and more. Berkeley students undergo their courses of study in conjunction with Yale Divinity School, giving them an opportunity to learn from world-class scholars and study theology in an ecumenical environment.
Applications are now open. Berkeley is striving to recruit new classes of students that are anything but monolithic and is toiling to create a place marked by belonging. Berkeley Divinity School at Yale encourages prospective students to visit berkeleydivinity.yale.edu to learn more. Prospective students can also reach out to berkeley.communications@yale.edu to ask questions or schedule a campus visit.