{"id":3076,"date":"2026-07-09T16:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3076"},"modified":"2026-07-09T16:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:36:11","slug":"why-shaw-university-is-launching-a-new-ai-degree-in-its-divinity-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3076","title":{"rendered":"Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Shaw University says the new doctoral degree in Artificial Intelligence and Moral Agency coming to its divinity school is the first program of its kind offered at any of the country\u2019s HBCUs.<\/p>\n

Read more Most NC private school students now get a taxpayer-funded voucher to pay costs<\/a><\/p>\n

The four-year program is aimed at church leaders, including those who also work in secular jobs outside the church. The program will start next spring and include how to examine AI ethically, with courses on AI literacy, algorithmic bias, privacy and transparency, AI governance, human agency, cognitive bias and the impact of AI on marginalized communities.<\/p>\n

Dean Mark Harden told The News & Observer the program aligns with Shaw University\u2019s 160-year-old mission of advancing education and social justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Southern chaplain who founded the school was getting attention to the need for former slaves to have literacy \u2014 to know how to read and write, and to become civic-minded \u2014 so that\u2019s why the school got founded,\u201d Harden said.<\/p>\n

Because of AI, a lot of people may get left behind,\u201d he said. \u201cWe see ourselves as filling in that gap to respond to people who may get left behind and people who want to stay above the curve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rather than training students purely as AI developers, the program prepares ethical leaders, Harden said, who can lead organizations in using artificial intelligence responsibly.<\/p>\n

Students are expected to have theological reflections on their engagement with AI to understand how the technology can replace human decisions.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the private Shaw University, like many historically Black colleges and universities, have struggled financially<\/u><\/a> due to declining enrollment, underfunding and rising costs of operating the campus. Harden believes the new program could help attract new students by addressing the growing demand for ethical AI education in myriad jobs.<\/p>\n

Read more These are the 10 hottest restaurants in Asheville right now to try<\/a><\/p>\n

AI cuts across healthcare, education, ministry, law, criminal justice, finance, social work, art, communications and nonprofits and people in any of those fields could benefit from the degree, Harden said.<\/p>\n

The degree is aimed at people with at least five years of pastoral leadership experience and a graduate theological degree, such as the master\u2019s degrees that Shaw already offers.<\/p>\n

Shaw has already enrolled 12 students for spring 2027, with applications for admission for future classes accepted beginning this summer.<\/p>\n

The day after the university sent out the press release, 22 people had already expressed interest in enrolling. A little over a week later, that was up to 52 people, Harden said, and they hadn\u2019t started advertising yet.<\/p>\n

Harden said students won\u2019t be learning new AI software that could quickly become outdated.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology is changing every day, so we don\u2019t want to train one widget, and then we get a new version of a widget in two months,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know that the need is there, we know the interest is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM<\/span> with the headline “Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Cold front could drop Charlotte\u2019s temperatures 10 degrees below normal, NWS says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh unveils a four-year EdD in Artificial Intelligence and Moral Agency to train pastoral professionals starting in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3076\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh unveils a four-year EdD in Artificial Intelligence and Moral Agency to train pastoral professionals starting in 2027.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3076\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T16:36:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T16:36:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076\"},\"wordCount\":550,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/717053206aee484731bf112f519373fb.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076\",\"name\":\"Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree \u2014 in its divinity school - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/717053206aee484731bf112f519373fb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T16:36:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3076#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/717053206aee484731bf112f519373fb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/717053206aee484731bf112f519373fb.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"An aerial view of Shaw University campus, lower foreground, in relation to downtown Raleigh Tuesday, April 4, 2023. 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