M.Div. — Master
of Divinity Degree
The
Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) is a graduate professional
degree that equips women and men of various backgrounds and
life situations for ordained leadership in churches and other
forms of ministry. United Theological Seminary’s M.Div.
provides a broad and deep foundation in the essential knowledge
and
skills
for
leading
faith communities in a pluralistic and rapidly changing
world. Students learn to draw on the historic resources of
the Christian faith and depths of their own and others’ experience
of God to lead the people of God as they respond to the questions,
needs and struggles of our complex, global world.
Educational
Goals of the Degree
The excellent graduate
of the United Theological Seminary Master of Divinity
program:
1.
knows, understands, and can appropriate for contemporary
contexts the Christian tradition in its biblical origins
and subsequent major lines of development to its present
global diversity of expression;
2.
understands the nature and dynamics of the contexts in
which he or she, and the faith communities he or she leads,
are called to minister;
3.
knows herself or himself as a particular person with gifts
and yet limits, with global connections and yet a particular
location, with her or his own call and yet accountable
to a larger community, with her or his own ministerial-theological
identity and authority and yet a shared ministry, with
a life-long need for learning, and with a spiritual life
which she or he is equipped to nurture;
4.
is able to analyze and evaluate faith traditions, contexts,
and self, as well as the resources available for ministry
in those contexts;
5.
is able, out of the integration of faith traditions, contexts,
and self, to construct a theology that, with and for the
faith community of which she or he is a member meaningfully
names God’s presence and leading in the context;
and
6.
out of that theology is able to shape a pattern of community
leadership that is adaptive, collaborative, pastoral, and
transforming as it invites the faith community of which
he or she is a member to become a more theologically astute,
pastoral, and transforming presence in its context.
Requirements
of the Degree
The
M.Div. at United requires 90 credit
hours of study, normally taken as 30 3-credit courses.
On a
full-time basis these courses are taken over three years
at a rate of ten courses per year. The degree can be completed
on a part-time basis. All work for the degree must be completed
within seven years. The specific requirements are as follows:
1. Satisfactory
completion of 90 semester hours of credit. Of these, 66
hours are taken in the form of the required courses listed
below and 24 are taken in the form of free electives.
Required
courses that must be taken within the first full-time equivalent
year of study:
- IS100
– Principles of Writing and Critical Thinking
in Theological Interpretation (non-credit course; may
be
waived at admission
based on writing sample)
- IS151
– Theological Interpretation: God, Community, and
Transformation
- IS152
– Integration of Ministry and Local Theologies
- CH161
– Orientation to the Older Testament: Pentateuch
and Former Prophets
- CH261
– New Testament Texts in Context
- CH461
– Introduction to Historical Theology
- CH462
– Introduction to American Religious Histories
- CL670
– Introduction to Pastoral Care
- CL440
– Foundations of Christian Education
Required
courses taken within the second and third full-time
equivalent years of study:
- CH262 – Synoptic
Gospels
- CH162 – The
Older Testament in the Life of the Church: Selected
Prophets and Writings
- TR105 – Constructive
theology
- CS251-252 – Religious
Leadership, Organization, Administration,
and Finance in Context (two courses [9 credits] taken
in sequence
in the
same year)
- CL330 – Worship
of the Church
- CL336 – Preaching
- CS253 – Ministry
Practicum OR CS254 CPE Ministry Practicum
- TR107 – Christian
Ethics
- IS351 – Final
M.Div. Integrative Seminar
- One
course in a system or systems of
theological thought
- One
course in non-Christian religion or religions
- One
global justice course
2. Satisfactory
completion of three personal and professional development
consultations. These consultations are provided by the North
Central Ministry Development Center adjacent to the seminary campus.
Unit I is to be completed during the student’s
first autumn term; Unit II during CS25I-252; and Unit III during IS351.
The consultations are intended as occasions for reflection on vocational
aptitudes and choices in
ministry.
3. Completion
of an Integrative Notebook documenting the student’s
individual work in integrating the different elements of
his or her course of study in a manner appropriate
to his or her identity and context. This notebook or portfolio
contains a variety of materials (e.g., course papers,
sermon videotapes, reflections papers, art projects)
and is the basis for annual conversation with the
student’s advisor concerning his or her educational
progress.
4. Participation
in the Spiritual Chronicle process, which supports
a student’s integration of the spiritual, academic,
and vocational dimensions of his or her seminary journey.
5. Recommendation
by the faculty, which takes into account academic,
personal, and professional readiness for ministry. Denominational
judicatories may have additional requirements for ordination.
Students should be in conversation with denominational representatives
for candidacy procedures.
Concentrations
of the Degree:
Urban
Ministry | Pastoral Care
and Counseling | Theology and the
Arts | Leadership
toward Racial Justice
Concentration
in Urban Ministry
The concentration has the following requirements:
- Three
elective courses drawn from an approved list (available
from the dean), one of which must be a CH or TR course.
One of the electives must be taken by cross-registration
at Luther Seminary or Bethel Seminary.
- The
student’s contextual
placements in CS251-252 and CS253
must be in urban ministry sites.
Concentration
in Pastoral Care and Counseling
The concentration has the following
requirements:
- CS254/CL663
– Clinical Pastoral Education
- Three
elective courses in pastoral care and/or pastoral counseling,
one of which may be a second unit of CPE
Concentration
in Theology and the Arts
The concentration has the following requirements:
- TR271
– Theological Interpretation of the Arts
- TR272
– Arts Practicum (upon meeting course prerequisites)
- Three
additional electives in theology and the arts
- An
average grade of ‘P’ or ‘B’ in
the five courses
Concentration
in Leadership toward Racial Justice
The concentration has the following requirements:
- TR331
– Antiracism Dialogue, Theory, and Practice
- Three
electives selected from a list approved
by the Educational Planning and Evaluation Committee
- CL540
– Practicum in Antiracism Dialogue
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