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The Asian Theological Institute (ATI) is a mentoring program designed exclusively for doctoral students (PhD/ThD) of Asian heritage engaged in religious and theological studies and enrolled in North American universities and seminaries. Distinguished Asian and Asian American faculty serve as mentors in a weeklong residential Institute, guiding and supporting students in their dissertation writing process.
ATI accepts only 20 candidates for the Summer Institute who meet the eligibility criteria each year. Applications are accepted from January 1 to February 10, 2025. We advise you to submit your applications within this period to secure your opportunity to be selected. ATI is held on the campus of the United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia. Selected candidates are eligible for a travel grant and a stipend—provided through a Lilly Endowment, INC grant.
ATI has mentored over 325 doctoral students from 40 universities, divinity schools, and seminaries in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. In addition to the Summer Institute, ATI offers teaching and learning workshops, dissertation grants and collaborative research grants, and other resources to doctoral students.
Rev. Dr. Paul Rajashekar, Director/Founder (since 2007)
Contact: atsi@uls.edu
To be accepted, applicants must have completed their doctoral coursework and comprehensive exams. In addition, selected candidates must be prepared to present their dissertation or project proposals to a peer group of students and ATI faculty for review/feedback. ATI faculty also offer individual mentoring.
Applications for the 2025 Institute will be accepted until February 10, 2025. We recommend submitting your applications within this period to increase your selection chances. Successful candidates will be notified before March 1, 2025. Thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment, the ATI will offer selected candidates travel to an from their institution on record and a small stipend.
APPLY HERE FOR THE 2025 INSTITUTE
The Vision of ATI
- Introduce and interrogate issues and themes concerning Asian/Asian Americans in graduate theological studies;
- Revisit and revitalize Asian heritage within an academic setting;
- Deepen and diversify the many perspectives that can be brought to bear on the areas of research;
- Form an interlinked network with fellow students and scholars;
- Share and sharpen perspectives through bibliographical and webliographical resources; and,
- Offer and open avenues for further cooperation and mentoring.
Rev. Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar
Director, ATI
Luther D. Reed Professor of Systematic Theology Emeritus
ati@uls.edu
Rev. Dr. Junehee Yoon
Coordinator, ATI
Adjunct Professor of Ethics
jyoon@uls.edu
ATI was founded in 2007 as an experimental project by Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar, the then-academic dean of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), and his teaching colleague, Dr. H. S. Wilson, Professor of Church History and Missions. As doctoral students of Asian heritage in the US in the 1970s, we felt the absence of an academic advisor or mentor of Asian background who understood our theological priorities, orientation, and commitments; we were invisible “foreign students” in the landscape of theological education in North America. Those were the days when very few professors of Asian heritage taught in North American universities and theological seminaries. Our personal experiences inspired us to explore a mentoring program for Asian and Asian/ American doctoral students in the US.
The idea took root when the seminary applied for a small planning grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The grant allowed Dr. Paul Rajashekar to initiate a dinner conversation with a group of Asian and Asian American scholars/professors at the AAR/SBL meetings in Baltimore in November 2006. The i dea of an annual workshop was enthusiastically endorsed, although there were hesitations on the structure of such a program given the profound diversity among Asians. The program was launched as the Asian Theological “Summer ”Institute (ATSI) in May 2007 as an experiment.
The institute's design from the beginning was to invite students of Asian heritage engaged in theological/religious studies who have completed their coursework and comprehensive examination and are preparing to submit their dissertation projects for a weeklong mentoring program to help shape their projects from an Asian/Asian American theological/contextual/cultural perspective. The intent was to encourage and promote Asian theological scholarship in the context of the academy as well as the pastoral ministry of the church. Each doctoral proposal is reviewed and critiqued by the Asian faculty and a peer group of students in a cross-disciplinary seminar. The faculty provided individual mentoring as well.
Over the years, the program has evolved and flourished, initially with grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and, in recent years, from the Lilly Endowment. The Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia is the host institution offering financial and logistical support. The program has expanded its capacity and offerings beyond the Summer Institute, leading to the name change from ATSI to ATI in 2023. A generous grant from the Lilly Endowment has allowed ATI to offer travel assistance to candidates to participate in the summer institute with a small stipend. ATI has launched new initiatives and provides small grants for dissertation writing and collaborative research.
Since its inception, 16 Asian and Asian American faculty mentors have participated in this program, and over 325 candidates have attended the Summer Institute. ATI has mentored doctoral students from over 40 universities, divinity schools, and seminaries in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
As noted above, ATI's reach extends far beyond North America, nurturing and promoting a network of graduate students of diverse nationalities and ethnicities that no other program of study has accomplished. The program was intentionally designed to promote pan-Asian, cross-national, cross-cultural, cross-denominational, and cross-racial/ethnic solidarity, networking, and collaboration. ATI has mentored doctoral students from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, The Philippines, Nepal, Syria, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United States, Canada, and Europe (Germany, UK, Belgium and Scotland).
As a global network of Asian scholars in theology and religious studies, ATI’s contribution to theological education is immeasurable. With a growing number of Asian students involved in graduate studies in North America, ATI is exploring expanding the mentoring program in Europe and Asia. ATI is proud of its contributions to developing a vibrant network of Asian scholars in North America, Asia, and Europe.
The annual ATI Breakfast at the AAR/SBL meetings allows ATI faculty and alumni to renew their fellowship and network.
In addition to mentoring doctoral candidates, the ATI Faculty functions as the Advisory Committee that plans and guides the program (see the list of ATI Faculty above). Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar, Luther D. Reed Professor of Systematic Theology Emeritus, ULS, serves as the Director of ATI, and Dr. June Hee Yoon, Adjunct Professor of Ethics, ULS, is the Coordinator of ATI.
ATI collaborates with the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning and periodically organizes workshops on pedagogy for ATI alumni (2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024). The Wabash Center sponsors the annual ATI Breakfast at AAR/SBL Meetings.
ATI was instrumental in forming AANATE (Association of Asian and Asian North American Theological Educators in the United States) and has collaborative relationships with PANAAWTAM (Pacific Asian North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry) and Aatfweb.org (Asian American Theological Forum), an online journal developed by ATI alumni. ATI has also collaborated with Candler Foundry of Emory University to offer online courses on Asian and Asian American Study of Christianity in 2024.
Dissertation Research Grants
ATI offers up to 10 grants of $ 3,000 to ATI alumni engaged in dissertation research, writing, and editing expenses. Strict criteria apply. Applicants must have attended the Summer Institute in the past two years to be eligible.
Applicants must be full-time PhD students (ABD) who have participated in the Summer Institute in the last two years.
Applicants must submit evidence of an approved dissertation proposal/prospectus and a reference letter from the applicant’s advisor recommending the grant.
Applicants must submit a budget narrative for the grant.
Applicants who have received similar grants from other agencies (FTE, Louisville Institute, home institution, etc.) are ineligible).
Applications are received on a rolling basis.
Submit your application with a cover letter, personal profile, mailing address, and email address to Consultant to ATI at jsebastian@uls.edu. Indicate “Dissertation Research Grant” in the subject line.
ATI offers 5 collaborative research grants (up to $5,000) for ATI alumni to encourage collaborative research among Asian and Asian American scholars who focus on an identified research project or interdisciplinary work related to Asian and Asian American Christianity, history, and theologies.
Applicants for this grant must submit a written proposal with project details, participants, timeline, budget narrative, outcomes, plans for publishing the results, etc
Application are received on a rolling basis. Submit your proposal to Consultant to ATI at jsebastian@uls.edu.
"Wonderful opportunity. Incredibly generous program. Supportive and nurturing faculty.”
"Thank you for your wisdom and willingness to share your experience and advice to an emerging scholar! The formal and informal consultations and conversations added much depth and breadth to my perspective on proceeding with my proposal.”
“The profound company of Asian scholars enlivened my work and spirit. I am grateful for the informal mentoring offered by faculty and participants.”
“Sometimes it’s easy to feel almost as though you have to suppress your identity, but in an informal and open setting like ATI, you find out not only what others have to offer through their experiences, but what you have to offer to others.”
