Certificate Programs

The Graduate Certificate offers the opportunity for a short-term course of study with Claremont's world-renowned faculty. Certificate students participate in semester-long graduate courses that usually meet only once per week, often in the afternoons and evenings. The Certificate indicates that students have completed advanced work in either a broad spectrum of advanced religious education or a specific topic or field of study.

The Graduate Certificate requires a bachelor's degree for admission and is comprised of 12-16 units (minimum of four courses) in a non-degree program of study. Certificates are designed for personal, professional and/or scholarly enrichment. By choosing courses from across the curriculum, students may receive a broad exposure to studies across the university. By applying to one of the special certificate programs, students may focus their classes in a particular field of study.

Units earned with a letter grade may be transferred into a Claremont School of Theology degree, provided that the certificate has not yet been awarded. Current degree students may also apply for a specialized certificate to augment their knowledge or skills in a particular discipline. To apply, contact the Office of Admissions.

Specialized certificates in several fields of study are listed below. (Check back regularly for new additions.)

Certificate in Biblical Studies

The Certificate in “Biblical Studies” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The introductory courses in both fields are required as part of the certificate unless the requirements are waived due to prior course work.

Sample courses include:

  • Basic Aspects of the Study of the Hebrew Bible (Introductory)
  • Basic Aspects of the Study of the New Testament (Introductory)
  • Five Books of Moses
  • Prophecy and Prophetic Literature
  • Visionaries and Mystics in Jewish Literature
  • Violence and the Bible
  • The Bible and Film
  • Theological Issues in the Hebrew Bible
  • The Bible in the Public Sphere

Certificate in Engaged Compassion

The Certificate in “Engaged Compassion” offers training in contemplative practices and processes that cultivate active compassion for healing and empowerment in individual lives, as well as reconciliation and repair of brokenness within interpersonal relationships, communities, and the world. This Certificate in Engaged Compassion is open to laypersons and community leaders without previous academic work in religion/theology, and is also appropriate for spiritual leaders who already hold theological degrees.

Course requirements include:

  • Spiritual Formation for Compassionate Social Engagement
  • Compassion-Based Methods of Social Healing and Reconciliation
  • Elective courses in spiritual formation/engaged compassion as approved by the faculty in the department

Certificate in Hebrew Bible

The Certificate in “Hebrew Bible” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. The introductory course in the field is required as part of the certificate unless the requirement is waived due to prior course work.

Sample courses include:

  • Basic Aspects of the Study of the Hebrew Bible (Introductory)
  • Reading the Bible after the Shoah (Holocaust)
  • Five Books of Moses
  • Prophecy and Prophetic Literature
  • Body, Family, Household in Ancient Israel
  • History of Judaism and Jewish Thought
  • Visionaries and Mystics in Jewish Literature
  • Form Critical Theory
  • The Jacob Narratives
  • The Joseph Narratives
  • Isaiah
  • Psalms
  • Lament Literature
  • Violence and the Bible
  • The Bible and Film
  • Theological Issues in the Hebrew Bible
  • The Bible in the Public Sphere
  • Coursework available through Academy for Jewish Religion California

Certificate in Jewish Studies

The Certificate in “Jewish Studies” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Judaism and Jewish history, culture, and thought. The introductory course in the field is required as part of the certificate unless the requirement is waived due to prior course work.

Sample courses include:

  • History of Judaism and Jewish Thought (Introductory)
  • Basic Aspects of the Study of the Hebrew Bible
  • Reading the Bible after the Shoah
  • Five Books of Moses
  • Visionaries and Mystics in Jewish Literature
  • Lament Literature
  • Violence and the Bible
  • Theological Issues in the Hebrew Bible
  • Post-Holocaust Jewish Thought
  • Global Jewries
  • Judaism and Postcolonialism
  • Introduction to Rabbinical Literature
  • Modern Judaism
  • Coursework available at Academy for Jewish Religion California

Certificate in New Testament

The Certificate in “New Testament” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the New Testament. The introductory course in the field is required as part of the certificate unless the requirement is waived due to prior course work.

Sample courses include:

  • Basic Aspects of the Study of the New Testament (Introductory)
  • Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
  • The Gospel of Matthew and Jewish Christianity
  • John and the Johannine School
  • Classical Greek Literature and the New Testament
  • Jesus Outside the New Testament
  • Paul and the Pauline School
  • Jesus and Christ
  • The Church in the New Testament
  • Spirituality and Worship in the Early Christian Church
  • The Passion Narratives
  • Paul and the Corinthians
  • Gnosticism
  • Jesus and Christ

Certificate in Process Studies

The Certificate in “Process Studies” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to augment their knowledge of Process Philosophy and Theology. Admission into the program requires documented knowledge of fundamental/basic instruction in theology and/or philosophy. Students will be able to choose from classes that have a serious process component, but relate to other thought traditions or themes.

Sample courses include:

  • Introduction to Process Theology
  • Process Theology and Ethics
  • Whitehead and Religious Relevance
  • Process Theology, Feminism and Gender
  • Whitehead and Deleuze
  • Eco-Process Theology
  • Mysticism and Process Theology
  • God as Poet of the World

Certificate in Religion, Activism and Social Justice

The Certificate in “Religion, Activism and Social Justice” is designed to offer individuals tools to develop cutting-edge approaches to various forms of justice.

Sample courses include:

  • Justice Education
  • Multicultural Religious Education
  • Organizing in Response to Globalization
  • Interreligious Justice Activism
  • Leadership Among New Immigrants
  • Introduction to Public Policies
  • Theology for Social Justice
  • Religious Leadership and Spirituality in Muslim Contexts
  • Interreligious Dialogue and Leadership
  • Managing and Developing the Interreligious Organization
  • Daughters of Abraham: Islam, Women and Social Movements
  • Immigration as a Human Right Crisis
  • Leadership in Urban Contexts
  • Spiritual Formation for Compassionate Social Engagement
  • Compassion-Based Methods of Social Healing and Reconciliation
  • Liberative Pedagogy through Drama

Certificate in Religion and Politics

The Certificate in “Religion and American Politics” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in the relation of Religion and Politics in the United States.

Sample courses include:

  • Religion and Law in the U.S.
  • Race, Religion, and Nation
  • Religion and Human Rights
  • American Religions
  • African American Religious History
  • Religious Pluralism in Cultural Context: African American Religions
  • Religion and Liberal Democracy
  • Asian American Christianity
  • Latin@ and Latino-American Decolonial Liberationisms
  • American Prophetic Traditions
  • Organizing in Response to Globalization
  • Black and Womanist Theologies: Origins and Classics
  • Black and Womanist Theologies: Critiques and New Constructions
  • Religion and American Politics
  • American Prophetic Traditions
  • Ethics of Globalization
  • Interreligious Justice Activism
  • Introduction to Public Policies
  • Immigration as a Human Right Crisis

Certificate in "Religion and Liberation: Global Perspectives"

The Certificate in “Religion and Liberation: Global Perspectives” is designed to offer individuals the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the interrelation between liberationism, racialization and colonialism.

Sample courses include:

  • Postcolonialism
  • Race, Religion, and Nation
  • Ethics of Globalization
  • Organizing in Response to Globalization
  • Critical Race Theory
  • Religion and Human Rights
  • Faith and Freedom: Cross Cultural Liberation Theologies
  • Eco-Feminist Theology and Practice
  • Theologies of Liberation and Preaching
  • Animal Theology and Ethics: Re-Thinking Human-Animal Relationships
  • Theology and Social Justice
  • Evil and Suffering: Globalizing Religions
  • Post-Holocaust Jewish Thought
  • Third World Feminist Liberation Theology: Asia, Africa and Latin America
  • Jewish/Palestinian Liberation Theologies