Graduate Theological Union (GTU)

One of the most exciting and challenging opportunities available to SFTS students is the ecumenical educational environment of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

The GTU is regarded as the model for a successful theological consortium in the United States, offering doctoral, masters, and education for denominational leadership within a unique interfaith context. Founded in 1962 by four seminaries, including SFTS, the consortium now consists of nine theological schools representing the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, three institutes of Jewish, Buddhist, and Orthodox studies, and five research centers. The GTU works collaboratively with the University of California at Berkeley, and is the home of the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, the most comprehensive theological library in the county.

The nine member seminaries of the GTU individually train religious leaders in their respective faith traditions while uniting to grant common masters' and doctoral degrees in theological studies. Those who teach and study at the GTU learn to live, study, and engage in theological reflection amidst religious and cultural pluralism.

Through a common course scheduling and registration system, students in all member schools may take courses in any other member school. Master of Arts students are required to take at least five courses outside their school of affiliation, and SFTS Master of Divinity students are permitted to take any elective and approved substitutes for core courses and area requirements at another school.

SFTS faculty regularly teach elective courses in Berkeley in order to encourage cross-registration among the GTU schools. The GTU also provides opportunities for cross-registration with the University of California at Berkeley, Holy Names College, and Mills College in Oakland.

A copy of the annual GTU course announcement listing all schools' courses is available from the SFTS Registrar's Office and on the GTU website.

• GTU Bay Area Map
• GTU Neighborhood "Holy Hill" Map

• American Baptist Seminary of the West
• Church Divinity School of the Pacific (Episcopal)
• Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
• Franciscan School of Theology
• Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley
• Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
• Pacific School of Religion (Multi-denominational)
• San Francisco Theological Seminary (Presbyterian)
• Starr King School for the Ministry (Unitarian Universalist)

• The Center for the Arts, Religion, and Education (CARE)
• The Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies (CJS)
• The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS)
• New College Berkeley (NCB)
• The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (PAOI)
• The School of Applied Theology (SAT)