Graduate Certificate in Faith, Work, and the Common Good
How does the certificate program in faith, work, and the common good work?
Accompanied by a cohort learning community and coached by experienced professionals in various fields, students in the Graduate Certificate in Faith, Work, and the Common Good learn from both academics and active practitioners. Through four hybrid courses, vocational discernment, theological analysis for the marketplace, a coaching relationship, and an integrative capstone project, including a vocational action plan, students complete 12 semester credit hours of coursework for this certificate.
Classes begin in September, and intensives take place four times over the course of 12 months, including completion and presentation of students’ final projects at a conference geared toward values-driven work conversations. Hybrid online and in-person classes allow leaders to set apart time to grow in communal vocational formation while staying rooted in the regular rhythms of their context and discerning the next most faithful step.
Schedule
Faith and the Working Life: Spiritual Formation for the Marketplace
Cohort Session 1
Sept. 16-19, 2026
This in-person course takes a deep dive into why it’s often hard for people to live out their faith in the real world. We’ll explore the cultural and historical forces, as well as the traditions and habits, that have caused faith to become increasingly private and disconnected from people’s public lives, and how some beliefs have gone too far in trying to control public life. Through reflection on vocation and intentional spiritual practices, this course will help participants find a meaningful integration of faith with every aspect of their lives, including their public/work lives.
Leading with Faith: Moral Leadership for Everyday Life
Cohort Session 2
Nov. 18-21, 2026
This in-person course helps students explore and develop a biblical and theological vision for one’s work and the common good.
Building Communities for Flourishing
Cohort Session 3
Feb. 2-6, 2027
This fully online class helps students learn how to build strong, caring communities in their own line of work. With support from experienced coaches in their field, students will practice listening to the needs of their neighborhood or workplace, team-building, and experimenting with creative ways to bring people together in their public/work lives.
Leadership for the Common Good: Capstone Project
Cohort Session 4
April 28-May 1, 2027
With help from skilled coaches, students will design, carry out, and reflect on a leadership project in their own community or workplace. A strong project will connect what they've learned in the program with their personal sense of calling, respond to real needs and opportunities around them, and show thoughtful reflection on how their faith and leadership come together in practice.
Who should complete the certificate program in faith, work, and the common good program?
Applicants will find the certificate provides skills in theological analysis to support faithful, values-driven work in secular contexts. Students who successfully complete the certificate will be granted 12 semester hours of credits that can be applied to a master’s degree at Pittsburgh Seminary. Those who already have master’s degrees in divinity, theology, or other areas will find that the certificate offers an opportunity to leverage their leadership and theological training to support their professional work.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
The admissions process for this graduate certificate follows normal admissions procedures, with the applicant’s personal statement taking the form of a brief essay describing the applicant’s current vocational or community context and articulating the applicant’s sense of call to align their work and their values in a particular setting. Applicaitons are due July 15, 2026. Please e-mail for further information.
COST AND FINANCIAL AID
Visit the Tuition and Fees website to learn more about the cost of this program and the aid options available. To receive need- or merit-based aid, you must submit a financial aid application.
Graduate Certificate in Faith, Work, and the Common Good Student Learning Outcomes
- Develop, describe, and make use of a theologically-informed, contextually-aware, mission-shaped vision for vocational work in a secular setting.
- Demonstrate capacity to leverage community practices to build a shared culture of values, mission, and expectation in a social entrepreneurship environment, volunteer setting, or other secular work setting.
- Demonstrate a capacity to communicate one’s values in contextually appropriate ways in relationship to secular or professional contexts.
- Demonstrate knowledge of racism in historical, social, and cultural contexts, especially learning to recognize and name its economic, social, and professional manifestations.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PITTSBURGH SEMINARY’S GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN FAITH, WORK, AND THE COMMON GOOD
The Graduate Certificate in Faith, Work, and the Common Good provides practical and spiritual training to facilitate bringing faith to bear in your professional context. Join the upcoming cohort!
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