Student groups at the School of Theology cultivate a welcoming environment with an ethic of mutual support and care. Below is a list of both student organizations as well as student interest groups.
Student Organizations
School of Theology Student Association
The School of Theology Student Association is made up of student representatives voted on by the student body. The primary responsibility of STHSA is to advocate for the needs of students. We do this by meeting with the Deans of the school, providing training and funding for student clubs and interest groups, and fostering community among the student body. STHSA hosts events throughout the year including the First Year Pancake Breakfast, Town Halls, and the Graduation Celebration. STHSA meets weekly and all students are welcome to attend the meetings. We hope you’ll consider being a part of STHSA or another student organization! For more information, contact us at sthsa@bu.edu.
Wesleyan Student Association
The Wesleyan Student Association (WSA) is aimed at facilitating the professional and spiritual development of all at STH who claim John Wesley and the people called Methodists as part of their religious heritage, or those who are interested in learning about it. The group works to create community in the midst of this commonality, sharing in monthly meals. We provide frameworks for helping one another to make his or her way through the candidacy process of her given denomination. We facilitate discussion around issues dealing with Wesleyan spirituality and practice through public forums and special speakers. Finally, we work with the faculty to develop healthy Wesleyan theology in each individual who engages the group in earnest, with the end goal that they might be better representatives of our tradition when returning to positions of Christian leadership.
WSA is part of the Reconciling Ministries Network. For more information, please contact wsa@bu.edu.
Association of Black Seminarians
This group is comprised of black seminarians from the African Diaspora (from the Americas, Africa, the Caribbean) and their advisors. The Black Seminarians meet to share their common heritage. They provide support for each other in scholarly and vocational endeavors. The group offers opportunities for the discussion of relevant topics related to the diversity of theological concerns in the global theological community. The organization also seeks to develop and maintain a community committed to a sound theological education that includes a relationship to the black experience. For more information, please contact sthabs@bu.edu.
Association of PhD Students
The Association of PhD Students (APS) exists to facilitate the social and intellectual support of all interested PhD students at Boston University School of Theology. The APS gathers on a regular basis for events that promote the development of friendships and the discovery of common needs specific to STH PhD students. Those needs are pursued through various creative means, such as hosting colloquia and encouraging positive student-faculty interaction. All events and meetings aim to develop meaningful relationships that encourage cooperative learning, research, and writing. For more information, please contact sthaps@bu.edu.
Korean Students Association
KSA recognizes the concerns and needs of Korean students in the School of Theology through community and support. Most of the Korean Students in the School of Theology originally come from Korea and share the same cultural identity. To retain our culture and friendship and also to express common concerns, the Korean Student Association (KSA) provides students with comfort and safety so that we can feel at home. Furthermore, KSA tries to help those who need information on studying tips, life in Boston, etc. KSA is open to other ethnic group students and is pleased to invite those who are interested in Korean culture, sports days, movie days, etc. KSA expects to see more friends beyond boundaries of ethnic, language, and cultural differences. Come and join us! For more information, please contact sthksa@bu.edu.
Raíces Latinas Student Association
Raíces Latinas Student Association (RLSA), the STH Hispanic/Latin American Student Association, is an active and engaged student group within the School of Theology. RLSA provides space for students at STH who identify as Hispanic/Latinx. This includes anyone who is from or shares the cultural heritage of any Latin American, Caribbean, or other country with a history of European colonialism. Our purposes are to support each other, to discuss the needs of our specific community, and to promote Hispanic/Latin Americans cultural diversity & awareness at the School of Theology. For more information, please contact latinx@bu.edu.
Sacred Worth
Sacred Worth is the School of Theology’s student group committed to the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the church, academy, and wider society. Sacred Worth exists because LGBT persons, like other minorities, represent a population of God’s beloved children historically marginalized by the church and society. Sacred Worth serves as a community of support for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities wishing to partake in God’s creation and building community, as well as working for the full inclusion and recognition of its liturgical traditions and other ecclesial gifts in the academy and the parish. For more information, please contact sacred@bu.edu.
ThECOlogy
The ThECOlogy Club seeks to discern an ecological vision of prophetic discipleship in the face of ecocide and issues of eco-justice. Incorporating spiritual discipline, personal transformation, and community/political activism, the recently formed THecology Club wants BUSTH to lead and support a prophetic witness for the dying planet, including the disproportionate effects of toxins and climate change on impoverished and minority communities, both locally and globally. We are establishing mutually supportive relationships with other BU groups and with local parishes and communities, as we also seek to promote green curricula and awareness at the STH, and to transform the STH into a beacon of ecological justice. We also have a lot of fun! For more information, please contact stheco@bu.edu.
The Prophet
The Prophet is a journal created by and for the students at the Boston University School of Theology. It is a platform for students at the School of Theology to share their work, thoughts, and experiences with one another and the wider community. Our online journal can be found at www.buprophet.com. For more information, please contact prophet1@bu.edu.
Unitarian Universalist Student Association
The mission of the Unitarian Universalist student association is to support UU students and UU seekers in a wide spectrum of spiritual growth and vocational discernment and to hold at our center the care for each other. We are excited to partner with other BUSTH groups to contribute to a culture of connection and possibility. For more information, please contact uusa@bu.edu.
Interfaith Club
Our group intends to create a spiritual community that is inclusive of religious differences here at the School of Theology. We plan activities and events that give our school community an opportunity to learn and engage with different religious practices, traditions, and leaders. We also seek to cultivate solid relationships across religious traditions to better our mutual understandings of and responses to injustice. For more information, please contact sthifc@bu.edu.
International Student Association
We serve the international student community of the School of Theology through fellowship and by working with STHSA and the deans to support our international students in their specific needs. For more information, please contact sthisa@bu.edu.
Tolle Lege
We are a Boston University School of Theology student club for people who have learning disabilities, other reading difficulties, or like to read in community. We host and encourage reading groups, reading “buddies” (online and real-life), and “Read and Feed” events where students can form a supportive community to help each other read. Finally, we embody and advocate for programmatic opportunities at STH to support students in their academic transitions to seminary. For more information, please contact tolle@bu.edu.
Student Interest Groups
For more information on our Student Interest Groups, please contact the STH Student Association at STHSA@bu.edu, who will put you in touch with the group leaders.
Chaplaincy Group
This group provides a space for students to discern their call to chaplaincy, navigate the school of Theology Chaplaincy track and learn about additional learning opportunities related to chaplaincy.
Cross-Disability Club
As an organization at the Boston University School of Theology (STH), the STH Cross-Disability Club is committed to promoting access and inclusion at STH and BU as a whole and challenging ableism in our own spiritual communities. We will provide a supportive space for disabled students on campus, as well as plan education, outreach, and advocacy events for the larger campus. We are committed to recognizing the social model of disability and to the idea that disabled people are the experts on our own experience.
ELD-ers (Engaging Life Directioners)
We are a group of second- or -third-career professionals (mostly in our fifties and sixties) who have returned to seminary for life’s third act. Many of us have raised families and are now exploring our own spiritual directions more actively.
Southern Fried Theologians
Our mission is to make warm, inviting southern students feel at home in the cold, isolating city of Boston. Southern Fried Theologians helps students from the South get more acclimated to going to school in the Northeast. We welcome all students to join us for annual winter-coat shopping trips and traditional southern brunches!