How to Build Your Own Self-Directed Study at Harvard Divinity

When it comes to constructing a course load here at HDS, students’ options are almost endless: You could choose to take any of the 100+ classes offered through the Divinity School each semester. You could also decide to branch out and take a course or two at any of the other graduate schools that are part of the larger Harvard University system. You could even travel across the Charles River and take a class at one of our many partner schools through the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium. However, after all that looking, if you still feel like there is not a class that represents your particular research interests and academic goals, don’t give up just yet! You could always try your hand at constructing a Reading and Research class.

Here at HDS, PhD, ThM, and qualified Master of Theological Studies (MTS) and Master of Divinity (MDiv) candidates may choose to engage in independent study with a full faculty member, individually or in small groups. These Reading and Research courses are equivalent to a four-unit course and may be taken for a letter grade or on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.

During my time as an MDiv student, I’ve taken a Reading and Research course in almost every semester that it’s been available to me. My hope is that in outlining what my process for Reading and Research enrollment has been like so far, it might spark ideas for those seeking to construct their own unique path forward here at HDS:

For me, Reading and Research courses have always been borne out of a gnawing question: something that was only briefly touched on in a regular course that I’d like to delve more deeply into, or a concept missing from my semesters’ syllabi entirely that I think would be worthy of introduction.

Once I have a clear idea of what I’d like to study, I then think about the HDS full-faculty members who might be able to best support the type of work I’m hoping to do. Usually, this is a professor with whom I already have a working relationship and who knows that I am capable of the type of intense, specific, and self-directed study that Reading and Research requires. Sometimes, in this stage, I’ve drafted a mock syllabus for professors to review as they consider serving as the faculty advisor. When I have a faculty advisor securely signed on to the project, I make sure to go through the special Reading and Research registration process with the registrar’s office. Then comes the fun part: the class itself!

For all the Reading and Research classes I’ve taken, I’ve chosen to meet weekly with the few other students engaging in the directed study with me. While each professor’s requirements may differ for Reading and Research meetings, I’ve found that the weekly cadence of class holds me accountable for doing the readings in a timely manner, and it provides me with a landing ground for all the ideas I’m ruminating on throughout the semester. In some cases, the faculty advisor has joined us for all of these weekly sessions. In others, I’ve met with the faculty advisor with less regularity, and our meetings have mainly served as a way for the advisor to provide feedback on the direction of the course and the written work we students have produced so far.

Since Reading and Research courses do not have a singular, unified set of parameters for final projects, I have always made sure to get in touch with my faculty advisor relatively early about expectations for the final exam period. One semester, for my final, I wrote a literature review of all of the books I had read as part of the course. Another semester, I drafted a syllabus for a future, larger class that could be taught by drawing on a few of the most important themes from our Reading and Research. Most recently, a fellow student and I used our Reading and Research final as an opportunity to collaborate on an article we’re putting forward for an edited volume. No two of my final Reading and Research projects have looked exactly the same, but each one has helped me move closer to my goal of becoming more well-informed in my niche research areas of interest.

Though Reading and Research courses have certainly required me to be a self-starter throughout my time at HDS, being able to take ownership of my learning in this way has made me all the more excited to show up each week, knowing that my peers and I are building something uniquely our own.