Bay Area Center for CPE  is committed to giving fair and thorough consideration to all qualified applicants and to enhancing the educational experience by selecting students with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.  We select students who are seminarians, ministers, religious professionals and lay persons according to aptitude, ability and potential for ministry without regard to race, gender, age, faith group, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.

Admission Requirements

• A completed CPE Application form, essays (no application fee is required)
• Student and Supervisor evaluations from any prior units of CPE
• Acceptance into CPE unit and payment of non-refundable deposit of $200
• Successful completion of Hospital health clearance and background investigation
• Payment of tuition balance by the second Friday from the start of the program

After a completed application has been screened by our CPE faculty, the applicant may be invited to visit one of our component sites, for an admission interview.  The purpose of the interview is both to acquaint the applicant with the program and to learn more about the applicant in a personal encounter.  If the applicant is unable to come to the Bay Area, s/he may be interviewed by telephone.

• Academic preparation: Bachelor's degree and theological education, generally at least one year at the graduate level or specialized training in the applicant's faith tradition.
• Educational readiness: motivation, openness to clinical learning, participation in individual and group supervision, and capacity for self-reflection.
• Aptitude for interpersonal work: capacity to function professionally in a hospital environment and ability to minister in a multi-cultural, multi-faith setting.
• Writing and word-processing skills sufficient to manage use of the hospitals' computerized information systems and to produce weekly written assignments, off-site.
• Practical considerations related to fulfilling requirements of program requirements, including clinical assignments, educational components, and on-call responsibilities.

Admission to supervisory CPE training entails additional criteria including sufficient ministry experience to demonstrate pastoral competence, completion of four units of CPE with successful attainment of Level II Outcomes, Consultation on Readiness with a regional consultation committee, and clinical membership in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).

We do not have application deadlines.  Applicants are encouraged to apply early.  Within ten (10) days of receipt, applicants will be informed of available openings and the status of their applications, including when to expect an interview and/or decision.  Persons accepted into the program will be informed in writing and allowed tem (10) days to accept an offer of admission by sending in a two hundred dollar ($200) non-refundable deposit.  Applicants not accepted into the program will be informed in writing.  Any application not accepted for admission will be destroyed unless the applicant requests in writing that it be returned to the applicant, forwarded to another center, or retained for consideration for future units of CPE.

Application:  For information and how to apply for CHW's CPE program, please contact:

Reverend Ruth Schulenberg
Manager, Spiritual Care
Bay Area Center for CPE
(Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center and Sequoia Hospital)
2255 Hayes Street, 7th Floor
San Francisco, CA  94117
Telephone No.:  (415) 750-5718
Fax No.:  (415) 750-8126

CHW-CPE@chw.edu

You can also print and complete an application form and mail it to the above address.

If you are not a citizen of the United States and are interested in applying as an International student, click here.

Bay Area Center for CPE  is accredited to offer Levels I and II CPE and Supervisory CPE by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. (ACPE)

The ACPE is an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that may be contacted at:

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.
1549 Clairmont Road, Suite 103
Decatur, GA 30033  USA
Telephone No.:  (404) 320-1472
Fax No.:  (404) 320-0849
Email: acpe@acpe.edu
Website: www.acpe.edu

The program at Bay Area Center for CPE  is also active in the Pacific Region of ACPE.