Master of Divinity in Interreligious Chaplaincy—Islamic Focus

The MDiv in Interreligious Chaplaincy—Islamic Focus program prepares you to provide interreligious and intercultural spiritual care with a focus on serving Muslims in interreligious contexts. Graduates of this program can pursue careers in chaplaincy in a variety of contexts as well as pastoral and spiritual care within religious and spiritual communities. This program is offered in partnership with The Islamic Seminary of America.

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Concentration Learning Outcomes

In addition to achieving the core MDiv degree learning outcomes, a graduate of this Islamic theology degree program will be able to:

• demonstrate an informed understanding of the sīra, Islamic law and Usul al-Fiqh, Islamic spirituality and Aklaq, and the history of Islam in America;
• demonstrate an informed understanding of the fields of ʿulūm al-Qur’ān and ʿulūm al-Ḥadīth;
• demonstrate skills for effective, professional, ethical, and compassionate pastoral and spiritual care to a diversity of persons;
• craft, deliver, and reflect on a sermon or public address that demonstrates effective speaking form/style and content based on a selected context;
• articulate effective strategies for pastoral/spiritual care and counseling with a person or group of a given cultural identity that demonstrate an informed understanding of the student’s own culture(s) and theology, as well as the behavioral and social sciences;
• articulate effective strategies for providing spiritual care in a given interreligious setting;
• incorporate an informed understanding of trauma into describing its impact on the spiritual well-being of individuals, families, and communities;
• articulate their own theology/spirituality of trauma informed pastoral care, particularly as it relates to their ministerial/vocational path; and
• identify appropriate specific strategies for trauma healing that they can incorporate into their practice as a spiritual/pastoral care provider.

United’s MDiv at a Glance

• 72 credits
• Twenty-four 3-credit courses, including one field experience; some courses offered online through The Islamic Seminary of America (TISA)
• A final thesis or project is not required, but you can choose to complete a thesis as an elective course
• Can be completed in approximately three years if you take a full-time course load of 9 credits per trimester
• United courses in this concentration can be completed entirely via distance learning; some courses provided by TISA require one weekend in Dallas, TX

To apply for this program, visit The Islamic Seminary of America’s (TISA) application page. >

Employment as a chaplain requires completion of additional CPE units beyond United’s degree requirements and endorsement by a recognized religious authority. BCCI certification, which is a common employment requirement, requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and an additional 2,000 hours of chaplaincy work experience after CPE.