Clinical Pastoral Education

Summer Intern Unit (late-May to early August)

Application Deadline: January 31 (late applications will be considered if openings are still available)

The Summer Intern Unit is an 11‑week, full‑time, non-compensated program earning one unit of CPE. Hours are typically Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., plus participation in the Pastoral Services on‑call rotation. With approximately 45 hours per week of class, clinical work, and homework, this internship is not compatible with significant outside employment or activities.

Extended Intern Unit (mid-September through mid-May)

Application Deadline: February 28 (late applications will be considered if openings are still available)

The Extended Intern Unit is an 8‑month, part‑time (11 hours per week average), non-compensated program earning one unit of CPE. It is designed for people with significant commitments, such as full‑time employment. During the first three weeks, students are required to participate in five full days of orientation from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Following orientation, students attend a weekly 2.5‑hour class, scheduled at a mutually workable time within weekday business hours or in the evening. Clinical hours are flexible, and each student also participates in the Pastoral Services on‑call rotation.

Admission requires either a completed bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) or a three‑year Master of Divinity (or equivalent) from a U.S. Department of Education or CHEA‑recognized institution. Applicants must submit a completed ACPE application, available online through the ACPE.

Application page guidelines (single‑spaced):

• Reasonably full account of your life: 3–5 pages

• Spiritual growth and development: 3–5 pages

• Description of your work: 1–2 pages

• Account of a helping incident or verbatim: 2–15 pages

• Impressions of CPE: 1–2 pages

Admission is competitive. After reviewing the application, selected candidates may be invited to an interview to assess their readiness and fit for this intensive learning process.

Email completed application to PastoralServices@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Or, send to:

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Pastoral Services, H118
P. O. Box 850
Hershey, PA 17033

There are no application fees or tuition costs for this program.

Chaplain Kenneth Linder was born and raised in a northeast suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. After working for nine years as a mechanical engineer, he left his engineering career and earned an M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was ordained by the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination in 2005. He was the senior pastor of a Christian and Missionary Alliance church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, from 2003 to 2009. He did his residency and completed Certified Educator CPE training from 2009 to 2014 at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He worked as the Program Director of CPE at the Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Richmond, Virginia from 2015 to 2026. While there, he launched a new CPE program and grew it to include internships, residencies, and Certified Educator CPE. He began working as CPE Manager at Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center in February 2026. He is a board certified chaplain with the National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains (NAVAC).

“My relationship with my CPE educator [Ken] is one of the most peaceful, supportive, and genuinely healing educational relationships I've ever experienced, ranking among the most meaningful of my professional formation alongside my time at Mayo Clinic. His steady presence, availability, and open-door approach created an environment of trust and safety that made it easy to bring not just clinical questions, but also deeper spiritual, theological, and personal reflections. Through individual supervision, I became aware of blind spots and areas for growth that I wouldn't have easily seen on my own. This relationship stands out as one of the cornerstones of my CPE residency. I came to experience this as one of the most significant contributions to my growth as a spiritual care provider.”

- George Alan, Chaplain Resident, Academic Year 2025-26

"Learning the role of a chaplain at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is both an intense and rewarding experience. Unlike many CPE sites, the program offers a remarkable variety of opportunities to develop pastoral care skills. In a single shift, you may support the family of a trauma patient, sit with parents facing a new cancer diagnosis for their child, or simply listen as someone processes difficult emotions in the middle of the night.

The program also teaches you how to care for caregivers, including medical providers who are often overlooked when it comes to emotional and spiritual support. Through a high level of immersion and responsibility, interns develop confidence, strong pastoral care skills, and the ability to be an integral part of a healthcare team providing whole-person care."

- Kurt Nielsen, Chaplain Intern, Academic Year 2024-25

The Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center CPE Program is accredited to offer CPE (Levels I/II) and Certified Educator CPE by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.

For details, contact:

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education
1 Concourse Pkwy, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 320-1472
www.acpe.edu
ACPE CPE is Trademarked by the ACPE.