The Way We Come Together Sets Us Apart
Founded in 1834, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (HIU) has long been a visionary institution. The first seminary in America to admit women, we continue to lead the way in interreligious education and peacebuilding.
The question that drives our research, our teaching, and our outreach, which spans the globe, is simple on its surface but complex in its execution: How can we thrive together?
Our Mission Is In Our Name
Dr. Deena Grant Acting Academic Dean
“Our name is our adamant insistence that religion and peace can, do, and must go hand in hand.
We are an intentionally multi-faith setting where people of multiple religions, multiple spiritualities, and no religion learn together. This is not always easy. And so we practice. We practice how to talk about our own religious beliefs and traditions, even when our forebears didn’t always offer peace and love to one another, to put it mildly. We work to model for others how to build relationships with those who are unlike us so that we may collaborate peacefully and productively for the common good.”
Academic Programs
MA in Interreligious Studies
• Optional specialty in Islamic Studies
• Optional specialty in Ministerial Studies that can lead to a Cooperative Master of Divinity at one of our partner schools
MA in Chaplaincy
• Optional specialty in Islamic Chaplaincy
Dual MA in Interreligious Studies and Chaplaincy
• This pathway is available for students interested in military or prison chaplaincy, and for others who need a 72-credit degree
MA in International Peacebuilding
• This is a one-year residential program
Doctor of Ministry
Interreligious Studies Graduate Certificate
Eco-Spirituality Graduate Certificate
Ph.D. in Interreligious Studies
Online/On Campus Options
Hartford International University provides quality online learning with knowledgeable faculty and an engaging, intellectual student body of diverse identities and religious traditions. Online courses can be used in combination with on-campus or hybrid courses to complete most of our degrees.
Academic Programs
Religion Research
Global and Community Partnerships
Continuing and Professional Education
Institutional Areas of Focus Centers
Hartford Institute for Religion Research
Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
Center for Transformative Spirituality
Howard Thurman Center for Justice and Transformational Ministry
• Home of the Black Ministries Program (BMP)
Join our World-Class Compelling Theological
When you study at Hartford International University, you can expect to build lasting partnerships with our faculty. They see themselves not only as professors but as career mentors committed to your success.
World-Class Faculty for Theological Conversations
Some recent events and opportunities include: Chaplains of the BookA Conference for Jewish and Muslim Chaplains • Christians, Muslims and Jesus: A Conversation About Jesus • Race, Religion, and Slavery • Series on Earth and Climate • Wild Spirituality: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred
HARTFORD INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY FIRSTS
1889
The first seminary in America to open its doors to women
1902
A founding member of the American Association of Schools of Religious Education
1938
Began editing The Muslim World, still in publication today
1973
The first American center for the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
1990
The first nondenominational theological institution in North America to name a female president
1991
The first theological institution in North America to name a Muslim to its core faculty
2001
The first accredited Islamic Chaplaincy Program in the nation
2015
Established the Imam Ali Chair for Shi’i Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools, the first academic chair dedicated to Shi’i Studies in North America
2021
The first university in America specifically dedicated to Religion and Peace
President
Joel N. Lohr
At Hartford International University for Religion and Peace
We believe strong religious institutions and healthy communities of faith are necessary to the wellbeing of individuals and society.
We affirm the goodness of religious differences that exist in the world, and we support faithful living in a pluralistic and multi-faith environment.
We are committed to the pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence, to the understanding of religion and spirituality as they are lived out in daily life, to the exploration of issues of gender, race and class, and to education that integrates the many dimensions of human experience.
”Love, peace, understanding, active listening, having regard for one’s experience, and healthy human interactions are the foundational elements of conflict transformation, and HIU is a unique institution that provided me with a space to learn and put these principles into practice.”
Fatima Basharat MA in International
“My life experience at Hartford International continually teaches me to engage people of different backgrounds — be it in interreligious, interracial or intercultural contexts — via our minds but more importantly via our hearts, within which we find our common humanity. ”
Rev. Gilbert Victor “GV” Basbas Cooperative Master of Divinity 2018
“The professors at HIU gave me the broadest possible overview of religion and spirituality in America, while also giving me the freedom to focus on the subjects and issues that mattered most to my work as a chaplain in a hospital setting.”
Rabbi Neal Loevinger Doctor of Ministry 2023
