Princeton Theological Seminary has earmarked $27.6m for the development of programmes "to repent for its ties to slavery". 

The seminary has drawn up plans to fund over 20 initiatives, including new scholarships and doctoral fellowships for students descended from slaves or underrepresented groups. 

The decision follows a two-year historical audit that uncovered the seminary's ties to the slave trade. 

While the seminary never owned slaves and did not use slave labour in the construction of its buildings, the audit concluded that it had still benefited from the slave economy through investments in Southern banks in the mid-19th century and contributions from donors who had profited from slavery.

Founding faculty and leaders were also found to have used slave labor at some point in their lives, and several of the first professors and board members were "deeply involved" in the American Colonization Society, which advocated sending free blacks to Liberia, the seminary said. 

Princeton Seminary President M Craig Barnes said it was important to acknowledge that "ties to slavery are a part of our story".

"It is important to acknowledge that our founders were entangled with slavery and could not envision a fully integrated society," said.

"We are committed to telling the truth. We did not want to shy away from the uncomfortable part of our history and the difficult conversations that revealing the truth would produce."

It follows the announcement last month from Virginia Theological Seminary that it would be allocating $1.7m towards an endowment fund as reparations for its direct ties to slavery.

The fund will be used to support African American clergy and the work being done by historically African American congregations. 

The Rev Joseph Thompson, director of VTS' Office of Multicultural Ministries, said that the gesture could be "transformative" for both the seminary and the recipients.

"Though no amount of money could ever truly compensate for slavery, the commitment of these financial resources means that the institution's attitude of repentance is being supported by actions of repentance that can have a significant impact both on the recipients of the funds, as well as on those at VTS," he said. 

"It opens up a moment for us to reflect long and hard on what it will take for our society and institutions to redress slavery and its consequences with integrity and credibility."