Faculty Standing Committee Descriptions

A description of the Community Life Committee is available here.

The Curriculum Committee is concerned with the overall pedagogical strength of the Yale Divinity School. The Curriculum Committee membership is composed of faculty, administrators and students, including the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the registrar. The Committee meets 6-7 times per academic year.

The tasks of the committee include:

• Joint degrees
• Grades and grading
• The academic calendar
• Shape of the academic day
• Review of MAR concentrations
• Review of faculty course proposals
• Establishing and reviewing degree requirements
• Establishing and reviewing the overall shape of the curriculum
• Monitoring grading rubrics and other required elements on course syllabi

The Ministerial Studies Committee is concerned with the formation of students for ministry and service in the church and society. The Committee membership is composed of faculty, administrators and students, including the Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership, the Director of Supervised Ministries, and the Director of Professional Formation. The Committee normally meets 6-7 times per academic year.

The tasks of the Committee include:

• The mid-degree consultations
• The review of the Assessment program
• Placement in both supervised ministry positions and non-profit placements, as well as the many programs and opportunities for professional preparation during the course of degree study.

The Professional Studies Committee is concerned with the academic progress and professional conduct of students. Committee membership is composed of faculty, administrators, and students, including the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the Registrar. The Committee meets 6-7 times per academic year.

The tasks of the Committee include:

• Academic Policy
• Transfer of credit
• Academic warnings and probation
• Review of student degree progress
• Recommendation of prize candidates
• Leaves of absence (medical, personal, parental)
• Student petitions (extensions, waivers, special exceptions)
• Adjudicates cases of academic misconduct, including plagiarism
• Recommendations to faculty to address the overall academic strength of YDS

Petitions to the Professional Studies Committee

Students seeking an exception to YDS academic policy or to the YDS academic calendar (e.g. deadlines, extensions, residency, academic standing, or degree requirements) may petition the Professional Studies committee for special consideration or exception. Petitions may take the form of a letter or email addressed to the committee. The petition may be sent to the registrar, the academic dean, or the chair of the committee. A successful petition will be no more than one page in length, will clearly state the request and the YDS policy which the student is seeking to waive or modify, and will clearly summarize the extraordinary circumstances that argue in support of an exception to academic policy in the student’s case. If the conditions contributing to the petition include those that are medical in nature, detailed medical information should not be included; The student should, however, be prepared to supply documentation upon request. Petitions related to a specific iteration of a course must be submitted within 12 months of the last day of the semester in which the course was taken. The content of petitions will be kept confidential to the extent possible. Petitions are heard at regularly scheduled meetings of the PSC. Petitioners will be notified of the resolution of the petition in a timely manner following action of the committee.

A description of the Spiritual Formation Committee will be available soon.

The Student Representative to the Faculty attends all Faculty meetings during the academic year.