About TMC
Learn more about the heart behind the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative from our faculty, staff, and alumni.
The TMC Initiative seeks the renewal of health care by bringing in-depth theological formation to the church’s health care practitioners. TMC creates opportunities for students, clergy, and health care practitioners to reimagine and to re-engage contemporary practices of health care in light of Christian tradition and the practices of Christian communities. We do this through formational programs, fellowship, public events and lectures, and a growing network of Christian health care workers.
TMC Formational Programs
TMC offers both residential and hybrid online formational programs at Duke Divinity School. These programs are open to current and future students in any of the health professions, as well as practicing clinicians and health care administrators.
Our residential fellowship program is aimed at current and future practitioners in any of the health professions, as well as those whose vocations involve full-time work in health-related contexts. The fellowship can be completed in 1 year (by completing the Certificate in Theology and Health Care (R-CTHC) or in 2 years (by completing the Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.).
Our hybrid online programs are aimed at clinicians and others whose vocations involve full-time work in health-related contexts (including public health workers, hospital administrators, therapists, and counselors). Our hybrid online program can be completed in 1 year, through the Certificate in Theology and Health Care (H-CTHC). In this flexible hybrid format, students come together for two separate weeks in person at Duke University and then join for eight months of online learning.
Our dual degrees and programs with the Duke School of Medicine include 1-year and 2-year options with the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program; and an option that integrates with the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (O.T.D.) 3-year program.
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“I have experienced the TMC fellowship as a precious and undeserved gift. Even as an undergraduate student, I longed to connect my interest in becoming a physician and my christian faith. I was thrilled to come to Duke as a TMC fellow between my second and third years of medical school. Before, I felt as if I was pursuing these questions alone. Now I have a community of friends pursuing them alongside me.”
News & Features
March 18, 2025
The Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School in partnership with John Swinton and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland hosted a gathering, “Beyond Symptoms: Mental Health and the Crisis of Disconnection."
January 23, 2025
TMC alumni Brewer Eberly and Ben Frush write that teaching physicians might consider “first, do no harm” not only when considering their patients but also when considering the moral formation of their trainees.
November 14, 2024
On Nov. 13, Dayna Bowen Matthew, J.D., Ph.D., dean of the George Washington University Law School, was recognized as the 2024 Richard Payne Awardee and Lecturer in Faith, Justice, and Health Care. This prestigious honor highlights academic, clinical, and lay leaders who embody the late Dr. Richard Payne’s spirit of caring for the whole person.