Pacific School of Religion

Welcome • Considering Summer Session? • Courses • Instructors •
Policies & Logistics • Special Events & Worship

Is Summer Session for Me?

"Please keep having summer session. I checked MANY seminaries around the US and even the UK and Jerusalem and found few offerings, or very expensive ones. Thank you, PSR!"
—Summer Session 2010 student

The people who come to Summer Session are a varied bunch. Last summer, we had Summer Session students who were chaplains, massage therapists, monks and nuns, professors, graduate students, medical doctors, therapists, and writers.

We had students in attendance from California, Florida, Illinois, Hawaii, Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and more, and folks from as far away as Ireland and American Samoa. There were students in their twenties, and students in their seventies, and students who were anywhere in between.

Studying on the Quad

There were members of the clergy from the American Baptist tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and from Reform Judaism. There were laypeople from other traditions (Quaker, Jewish, Unity New Thought) and, of course, folks who were spiritual-but-not-religious, agnostic, or perhaps from no tradition at all.

In short, Summer Session is for you. All you need is a sense of curiosity, a desire to learn, and an interest in religious and spiritual matters, however you define them. You are welcome here!

"I would attend whether or not I was in a degree program. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to take these classes from such outstanding professors and to interact with so many interesting people."
—Summer Session 2010 student

Something for Everyone

What are you interested in? Our staff has come up with some suggestions:

• Writers: perhaps you'd be interested in Writing as Healing Ministry or a one-week Creative Writing Workshop with Pat Schneider.

• PSR/GTU students: do you need to fill a course requirement?  How about Introduction to Christian Ethics: Moral Decisionmaking in a Postmodern World? You might also find a course about Speaking Truth to Power, Community Organizing, or Race, Religion & Politics to be useful.

• Unable to come to Berkeley?  Or are you curious about PSR's Flexible Learning options and want to give them a try? Think about taking an online course such as Intro to Ethics, Transgendering Faith, or The Art and Technique of Academic Writing.

• Looking for a real once-in-a-lifetime experience? We're lucky enough to have internationally-acclaimed guest faculty Bishop John Shelby Spong, Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake, and Cynthia Winton-Henry teaching with us this year.

• Clergy seeking CEUs?  All of our classes can be taken for CEUs, but we have several offerings of special interest to clergy, among them reNEW: Skills for Leading New and Renewing Progressive Churches, Preaching Liberation, and a course about Old Testament Theology.

Still Not Sure?

Don't just take our word for it: past students have been very positive about their experiences here at PSR.

Taking a break from work for sunset on the Arch roof Photo: Wesley Capps, MDiv '12

"I've been coming to PSR Summer classes since 1992! it's always an experience and a challenge!"
—Summer Session 2010 student

"Our professor was amazing. Extraordinary. He put the information in its appropriate context. He gave memorable examples. He spoke clearly. And he knows the information cold. Outstanding."
—Summer Session 2010 student

"The design of the course enabled me to learn more in two weeks than I would have thought possible. Range of topics discussed was wide but we never lost focus. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to take this class. "
—Summer Session 2010 student

Contact the Summer Session Office

Questions? Contact the Summer Session office at summer@psr.edu or 510/849.8227.