Shaw University Launches AI and Moral Agency EdD

Shaw characterizes the EdD as an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented degree for non-traditional adult learners, particularly bi-vocational and pastoral leaders. Its stated curriculum combines AI literacy and use with applied theological ethics, moral reasoning, social justice, and applied ethics.

In the announcement, Divinity School Dean Dr. Mark Harden cited AI's use in healthcare, criminal justice, hiring, and public policy, arguing that those applications raise fairness and accountability questions beyond technical fields alone. University President Dr. Paulette R. Dillard described the degree as a historic moment for Shaw and theological education.

The program is framed by the university as preparation for responsible AI leadership across public-sector, private-sector, and ecclesial settings. The official Divinity School page likewise describes the EdD as intended to prepare pastoral and bi-vocational leaders to guide responsible AI use across sectors.

The degree addresses responsible AI education through a theological-ethics focus. Its curriculum pairs AI literacy with questions of moral reasoning, social justice, accountability, and human dignity.

The dean's comments frame a practical boundary in AI deployment: applications in areas such as healthcare, criminal justice, hiring, and public policy raise fairness and accountability questions that technical fields alone cannot resolve. The announcement presents theological and moral traditions as part of addressing those questions.

Shaw University was founded in 1865, and its Divinity School traces its ministerial-training mission to education for formerly enslaved people and their descendants. The new EdD links that institutional history with contemporary debates over AI's social consequences, while the university's published materials emphasize moral agency and equity.