Institution Princeton Theological Seminary State New Jersey Academic Level Graduate Issue Area Retention Website http://www.htiprogram.org Key Personnel Joanne Rodriguez Program Focus Discipline/Subject Overview With the support of the 24 consortium member institutions, the mission and vision of the Hispanic Theological Initiative revolve around increasing recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of Latina/o Ph.D. students across the nation by uniting and leveraging institutional resources (human, financial, and infrastructural). The Hispanic Theological Initiative aims at graduating Ph.D. Latinx students in religion and theology to become full-time faculty and leaders in for-profit and non-profit seminaries, schools of theology, and university religion departments. Program Description The Hispanic Theological Initiative provides graduate students with mentoring, networking, editorial opportunities, and dissertation fellowships. These various resources help Latina/o students cope with the lack of supportive environments, financial resources, and feelings of marginalization and isolation during their graduate studies. At the commencement of their doctoral studies, Hispanic Theological Initiative fellows are teamed with a seasoned Latina/o scholar in their field of study and denomination, once they have obtained All But Dissertation status. Once assigned, the fellow is assigned a seasoned editor to support the writing of their dissertation. Outcome Increase alumni holding faculty and leadership positions: Since its inception in 1996, they have graduated 136 Latino/a Ph.D. students, with 86 of them holding full-time faculty positions, 5 are presidents, 3 are deans, and 48 of them are leaders in administrative, research, and ministry careers. Increase graduation rates: As of 2020, the Hispanic Theological Initiative's graduation rate is 94%, and on average obtain their degree in 5.5 years. Learn more about Latino College Completion in New Jersey Return to Growing What Works Database
