Seminary to Early Ministry (SEM) Study

DESCRIPTION: The Seminary to Early Ministry (SEM) Study is the first major longitudinal study examining divinity school education, aiming to identify promising, data-informed policies that promote clergy well-being. By studying one graduating and three entering classes of Duke Divinity students, SEM collects a variety of social, psychological, and contextual data on seminarians during their training and into the first several years of their careers. It aims to help both academic and professional audiences better understand the professional formation of divinity students. The accompanying slides also linked below were prepared by Laura Hamrick (Duke University, Clergy Health Collaborative) for presentation at the 2025 ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation.

KEYWORDS: empirical research; formation; longitudinal; mixed-methods research; seminary; theological education; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation; presentation

CITATIONS:

PROJECT WEBSITE: Eagle, David, Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, and Carl Weisner. 2019. "Seminary to Early Ministry (SEM) Study." Duke University, Clergy Health Collaborative, March 6. https://clergyreligionresearch.duke.edu/project/seminary-early-ministry-sem-study/; https://globalhealth.duke.edu/projects/seminary-ministry-study.

INTRO ARTICLE: Eagle, David, Josh Gaghan, and Erin Johnston. 2023. "Introducing the Seminary to Early Ministry Study." Religious Education 118 (2): 133–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2023.2199240.

PRESENTATION: Hamrick, Laura. 2025. "The Seminary to Early Ministry Study and Relevant Data and Resources from the Clergy Health Initiative" In Case Studies of Assessing Health and Flourishing. ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation, Pittsburgh, PA, April 3. https://www.atsformationrepository.org/resources/seminary-to-early-ministry-sem-study.