The new Doctor of Education program, the first doctoral degree in Shaw University’s 160-year history, will prepare theological leaders to address the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence.
AI is reshaping decisions across education, healthcare, business, government, ministry, and other sectors. A new doctoral program at Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, North Carolina, aims to prepare leaders to help organizations navigate those changes with theological and ethical grounding.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has approved Shaw University to offer doctoral-level degrees, clearing the way for the Divinity School to launch a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Artificial Intelligence and Moral Agency.
The program, which Shaw representatives say is the first doctorate of its kind offered by a historically Black college or university, also represents the first doctoral degree in Shaw University’s 160-year history.
“This is a historic moment for Shaw University and for theological education,” said Paulette R. Dillard, Ph.D., president of Shaw University. “For 160 years, Shaw has prepared leaders to meet the moral challenges of their time. This doctoral program reflects who we have always been, a university unafraid to lead.”
THEOLOGY MEETS AI
Rather than focusing primarily on programming or other technical aspects of artificial intelligence, the practice-oriented doctorate will bring together AI literacy, theological ethics, moral reasoning and leadership.
The curriculum includes artificial intelligence literacy, Christian ethics and moral reasoning, ethical leadership and organizational change, AI governance and public policy, human dignity and justice, and applied research.
The goal is to prepare leaders who can assess emerging technologies, address issues such as algorithmic bias and equity, and guide organizations toward responsible uses of AI.
“Artificial intelligence is already shaping decisions in healthcare, criminal justice, hiring and public policy,” said Mark Harden, dean of Shaw University Divinity School. “Those decisions raise questions of fairness and accountability that technical fields alone cannot resolve.”
Harden said theological and moral traditions have spent centuries engaging such questions, creating an opportunity for theological education to contribute to conversations about the responsible development and use of AI.
DESIGNED FOR WORKING LEADERS
The program is designed particularly for nontraditional adult learners, including bi-vocational and pastoral leaders. Applicants are expected to have at least five years of leadership experience and an accredited graduate theological degree, such as a Master of Divinity or Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry.
Graduates will be prepared to apply their training across ministry, higher education, nonprofits, healthcare, business, government, and other fields.
The doctorate builds on the Divinity School’s Master of Divinity and recently approved Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry programs. Shaw reports that its bi-vocational ministry leaders now work in more than 35 professional fields, reflecting the increasingly varied contexts in which theological education graduates serve.
FIRST COHORT IN 2027
Shaw University Divinity School plans to enroll an inaugural cohort of 12 students in spring 2027. Applications opened in summer 2026, with new cohorts planned for the fall and spring semesters thereafter.
The program extends a tradition of theological education at Shaw that spans more than 90 years. It also connects the emerging challenges surrounding AI with the university’s historic motto, Pro Christo et Humanitate — “For Christ and Humanity.”
As institutions grapple with the opportunities and risks of rapidly developing AI technologies, Shaw’s new doctorate offers one model for how theological education can bring its traditions of ethical reflection, moral reasoning, and leadership formation to one of the defining issues of the 21st century.
