Chapter 9.1: Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
Program Guidelines
Introduction
The Master of Divinity is a three-year academic and professional degree that meets the needs for both academic training and pastoral experience of those preparing for pastoral ministry in the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. To accomplish this purpose, the Jesuit School of Theology provides courses of instruction in theology and related disciplines, introduces students to the use of source materials and the practice of scholarly work and investigation, and provides opportunities for supervised experience in pastoral ministry. The M.Div. degree is the ordinary course of theological education and training for those preparing for ordination to presbyteral ministry.
Rationale for the Program Curriculum
As a school we are committed to two major ideals: First, the reverent and critical service of faith that does justice. “Critical” here denotes informed, thoughtful respect of the tradition. Secondly, as a means to carrying out that first ideal, we are also committed to the contextualized study of theology and ministry. This curriculum incorporates a contextual learning approach to theological study. As a professional degree, the M.Div. emphasizes this praxis component. The curriculum employs four categories of coursework: Foundational, Distribution, Praxis and Elective. Foundational courses are taken in the first year and provide a foundation for subsequent coursework in each area. In the second and third years students satisfy the Distribution requirements by selecting courses in the areas of 1) Bible 2) Theology and History and 3) Ministry, Ethics, and Society. Praxis courses, which may be taken throughout the program, develop the ability to integrate maturing theological reflection with insight into the context of the pastoral situation. Elective courses may be taken at any time from any of the course offerings, as indicated on the worksheet. The nature and content of all these kinds of courses, together with the electives, are guided by the Program for Priestly Formation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as by the governing documents of the Society of Jesus, and by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops document “Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry.”
Goals /Objectives
Institutional Learning Goals
Students will gain a broad foundation in Christian theology, with a focus on the Roman Catholic tradition.
Students will demonstrate a critically-informed approach to faith that promotes social justice for the common good, especially for the benefit of those in greatest need.
Students will recognize the interplay between faith and culture in addressing issues that emerge in diverse cultural contexts.
MDiv Program Student Learning Outcomes
A three-year academic and professional degree for those preparing for pastoral ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. MDiv graduates will…
demonstrate an understanding of theological competencies in areas, including: Biblical Studies, Systematic Theology, Theological Ethics, Religion and Culture, and Pastoral Studies.
apply knowledge of theology to their preaching, teaching, liturgical presiding, celebrating sacramental rites, and pastoral situations.
appraise theological and pastoral issues in the cultural, social, and global contexts in which they emerge.
develop practices of prayer and discernment appropriate to their circumstances, with a particular grounding in Ignatian principles and spirituality.
demonstrate strong professional/ministerial ethics, including collaborative leadership, self- care, and clear ministerial boundaries.
articulate a deepening sense of their ministerial identity that emerges in their prayer and theological reflection on pastoral experience.
Prerequisites
Completion of a bachelor’s degree. Occasionally, an individual may be admitted with the academic equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, subject to the discretion of the faculty.
Nine semester hours or 12 quarter hours of philosophy. Typically, this prerequisite is satisfied by courses in the areas of history of philosophy, ethics, and systematic philosophy. Students preparing for ordination are required to have completed 24 semester units or 36 quarter hours of philosophy. At the discretion of the faculty, applicants with fewer than the required number of philosophy units may still be considered for admission.
The applicant should possess the personal maturity and faith commitment commensurate with preparation for full-time ministry. Preference is given to applicants with significant service or ministerial experience.
Advanced Standing
A student who has taken graduate courses in theology no longer than six years prior to registration at the Jesuit School may petition the Associate Dean for advanced standing in the Master of Divinity program. This petition may be included with the Application for Admission or it may be submitted at the beginning of the first semester of study. Ordinarily, the maximum amount of advanced standing that is granted is twenty-four semester hours (two semesters of full-time study). Petition forms are available online at http://www.scu.edu/jst/academics/registrar
A student may not transfer units which have already been counted toward another degree, with the exception of units earned toward completion of the combined Master of Arts/Master of Divinity (M.A. /M.Div.) program. Only units from regionally accredited institutions of higher learning and those taken at a graduate level can be transferred.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Divinity degree requires the completion of 81 semester units of course work, including nine units of Field Education. Students may take up to six (6) three-credit courses, or 18 credits, on a pass/no pass basis while in residence at JST. Credits for the Integration Seminars and Field Education Practicum (FE 1152, FE 2151, FE 2152, FE 2155 and M.Div. 4401) are not counted in the 18 pass/no pass credits allowed. A student may expect to complete the Master of Divinity degree in three academic years, and must complete the program within six calendar years from the date of initial registration in the program. The normal full-time course load is 9-12 units per semester.
The Jesuit School provides a spectrum of course offerings that enable the student to develop a solid theological foundation for future ministry. The academic advisor assists the student in the selection of courses. Together, they develop an academic plan that addresses the student’s specific needs and provides the diverse knowledge and awareness necessary for ministry in today’s Church.
The Master of Divinity curriculum is constructed around three theological syntheses. The first is comprised of foundations in Scripture, the history of Christianity, systematic theology and Christian ethics. The second emphasizes the application of theories and methods of theology for 7 ministry. The third involves the integration of this material so that students are able to articulate theologically informed and pastorally appropriate responses to varied ministerial situations.
Modern Language Study
Academic credit for basic modern language study is not applicable to the Jesuit School degree programs. However, students are encouraged to take advanced, ministerial language course while they are in the Master of the Divinity program. Proficiency in Spanish is recommended for all Master of Divinity students.
Credit Distribution for Course Work and Grade Point Average
Eighty-one hours of credit must be completed according to the course distribution outlined below. M.Div. students also participate in a three-year cycle of field education seminars, which incorporate their ministerial formation into their academic program of study. This three-year cycle is outlined below in the Ministerial Formation section. Students must maintain a 3.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) to graduate. A grade of B- or better is necessary in all courses used to satisfy a requirement for the M.Div. program.
Foundational Courses: (27 credits total)
Systematic Theology, ST2003 (3) | History (6) |
Christian Ethics (6) | Systematics Core Courses (6) |
Bible (6) |
Systematics core courses include (a) Trinity or Christology, (b) Ecclesiology or Vatican II; (c) Anthropology and (d) Liturgical/Sacramental Theology.
Students are encouraged to take these Foundational Courses in their first year. Please see the M.Div. 1 Advising Addendum on page 20. Note that some Foundational Courses, particularly those in Scripture, are prerequisites for more advanced courses. Details will be provided in the Program Orientation and advising sessions.
M.Div. 1 Field Education Orientation Seminar (1 credit):
JST utilizes a Field Education Integrated Learning Model. During their first semester, incoming M.Div. 1 students will participate in an Orientation Seminar. Students will then proceed to engage in supervised field education placements connected to courses across the curriculum. Students will accrue nine credits of field education. Please see below.
Distribution Courses (30 credits total)
Students will be required to directly observe and/or draw upon various social contexts as part of their coursework. Goal III.A. (See page 5) specifies that students will incorporate skillful socio- cultural analysis into their reflection on theological and pastoral issues. Accordingly, students will take RS 2092: Culture, Context, and Lived Religion, or some other course that teaches the same content as approved by the Program Director, as part of the Distribution Courses below.
RS 2092: Culture, Context, and Lived Religion or equivalent (3) | Electives (9) |
Systematics and/or History and/or Christian Ethics and/or Religion & Society (6) | Bible (9) |
Inter-Religious Dialogue or Ecumenism (3) |
Pastoral Courses (12 credits total)
Students will take 12 credits of courses in preparation for pastoral and liturgical work.
Requirements for candidates seeking ordination: | Requirements for candidates not seeking ordination: |
Canon Law (3) | Canon Law (3) |
Preaching (3) | Preaching or Lay Presiding (3) |
Celebrational Rites (3) | Pastoral Counseling or Spiritual Direction (3) |
Confessional Counseling (3) | A pastoral elective (3) |
Please note: Candidates seeking ordination are required to take a course in Liturgical or Sacramental Theology prior to taking Celebrational Rites.
Incoming M.Div. 1 Field Education Requirements
Incoming M.Div. 1 students will participate in the Field Education Integrated Learning model. In the fall semester, students will take a one-credit M.Div. Field Education Orientation Seminar (FE- 1152).
Starting with the Spring 2024 semester through the fall semester of their third year, M.Div. 1 students will engage in supervised field education placements in concert with three-credit Integrated Learning courses offered by JST faculty. M.Div. students will work toward completing six Field Education credits. Students will register for a one-credit Field Education Practicum (FE- 2151) in connection with each Integrated Learning course. Students will develop leadership and ministry skills through practical experiences in professional settings. Please see the JST Field Education Handbook for further details.
Second and Third Year Seminar Requirements
Second and Third-Year Field Education
Second-year M.Div. students will continue with Field Education Integrated Learning courses and the Field Education Practicum, undertaking a field education placement for the fall and spring semesters. 9 During the fall semester of their third year, M.Div. students will undertake a two-credit FE-2155 M.Div. Capstone Seminar. The Seminar will support students as they integrate their field education Practicum experiences with their theological studies and evolving ministerial identities.
Third Year Integration Seminar (3 credits)
The M.Div. Program Director coordinates the Third Year Integration Seminar in the spring of the cohort’s third year. Its focus is to help students integrate their theological, pastoral and spiritual learning and to prepare for comprehensive exams.
Categories of Course Work
Foundational and Distribution Courses
BIBLE: The two foundational courses are survey courses intended to build socio-historical, literary, and theological- spiritual competence in reading and interpreting biblical texts. The distribution courses are text-based studies with either a field component or a contextual project that focuses particular and sustained attention upon the appropriation and/or relation of biblical texts to ministerial settings.
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY AND HISTORY: The systematics requirement addresses basic theological themes and includes both Foundations of Theology and additional coursework focused on particular doctrinal areas (Trinity/Christology, Ecclesiology/Vatican II, Theological Anthropology, and Liturgical/Sacramental Theology). This requirement is intended to expose students to the methodology and resources available for the study of theology. In addition, all students are required to take two semesters of church history.
ETHICS, RELIGION AND SOCIETY: The two foundational courses in Christian ethics introduce students to the principles of Moral Theology and Catholic Social Teaching and provide a foundation for any further elective ethics courses they may choose to take.
The Culture, Context, and Lived Religion course, or its approved equivalent, introduces the concept of culture and its implications for theological study and pastoral ministry today. Students will be expected to focus on some aspect of cultural analysis and draw upon specific cultural contexts as part of their coursework.
Pastoral Courses
The pastoral course requirements differ with respect to whether the student is seeking ordination, with ordination candidates being required to take courses on confessional counseling and celebration of liturgical rites. In conjunction with the formation program (see page 12), students will hone their pastoral skills and reflect on their experiences as they prepare for ministry in a multicultural Church.
Third Year Capstone: Comprehensive Examination
One of the capstone experiences for the M.Div. program, the Comprehensive Exam, is held at the end of the third year and tests for both theological and pastoral competence. At the conclusion of their program, students will be required to successfully complete a comprehensive examination 10 comprising both written and oral components. It will employ the same case method as developed in the Integration Seminar (see below) where students will be expected to bring their academic and pastoral knowledge to bear in thinking through hypothetical ministerial situations. The examination questions prepared by the examination board will integrate all aspects of the theological program.
Students’ performance on the comprehensive exam, consisting of written and oral components evaluated by their Examination Boards must demonstrate a competency in historical and contemporary knowledge in biblical studies, systematic theology in is various subdisciplines, theological ethics, and pastoral applications. A passing grade, awarded after the oral exam, indicates that the student was able to answer questions in both the written and oral exams satisfactorily.
Integration Seminar
Third Year preparation for the comprehensive examination by means of the M.Div 3 Integration Seminar intends to provide the student with an opportunity to synthesize the various theological disciplines and to delineate their pastoral applications.
Seminar and Examination Registration
Students must register for the 3-unit Integration Seminar course during the semester in which they take the comprehensive examination. The school administers M.Div. comprehensive examinations only at the end of the spring semester. If a student cannot take comps during the semester of final registration, s/he must request a leave of absence from the Associate Dean.
Worksheet for the M.Div. Program
Each student should, in conjunction with his/her advisor, keep track of progress toward the degree. The worksheet is available online here.
Formation Guidelines
Formation
The formation component of the Master of Divinity program is comprised of various components. Incoming first-year M.Div. students will participate in the FE-1152 M.Div. 1 Orientation Seminar. The seminar will orient students to the Field Education Modular Learning Model. First-year M.Div. students will commence field education in the spring 2023 semester. Second-year M.Div. students will continue with Field Education Modular Learning, undertaking a field education placement for the fall and spring semesters. Students also participate in spiritual and community formation opportunities at the Jesuit School of Theology and/or the student’s religious community, which include spiritual direction, regular faith-sharing in a small group, days of prayer, participation in liturgy and an annual retreat. Students are also invited to attend personal development or skills-based ministry workshops on various topics. See here for more general information about formation at JST. Please see here for the JST field education handbook.
Formation Goals
The M.Div. degree is guided by three interrelated formation goals, as follows:
Ministerial Identity: Focus on students’ respective ministerial identities as lay ecclesial ministers, Jesuits, and other religious.
Ministerial Praxis: Focus on pastoral praxis, supervision, and mentoring.
Ministerial Integration: Focus on the integration of theology with ministerial and pastoral experiences.
Ministerial Assessment
In addition to assessment of students’ supervised field education experiences, students will be assessed on ministerial competency. This assessment will be done for students in religious communities by the appropriate formation authority in the community (i.e. Superior, Rector, or Formation Director). During the spring semester of the second year of the M.Div. degree lay students will be assessed through the “Interim Review” process. This will include an interview with the Director of Ministerial Formation (DMF) and assessment based upon other relevant input brought to the attention of the DMF by faculty and administration. Students are assessed on their ministerial formation particularly, but not exclusively, in the following areas:
Capacity for collaborative leadership
Integration of service and learning, and of faith and justice
Knowledge of and commitment to professional ministerial ethics.
Ministry Opportunities
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to many diverse cultures and pastoral needs. Students are invited to find ministry opportunities where they can hone their skills as well as grow. Examples of these Field placements include parishes, high schools, university ministry, health-care settings, social justice agencies, and prisons at the local, state, and federal levels. Students develop skills in ministerial leadership and presence, spiritual direction, education, parish management, pastoral counseling and outreach to the sick, dying, and homeless, and working with migrants. The Jesuit 12 School of Theology also collaborates with San Quentin State prison, with students undertaking field education at the prison. For further information regarding the M.Div. Field Education requirements please see the JST Field Education Handbook.
Spiritual Preparation
In pursuit of its mission to help candidates prepare for ordained and non-ordained ministry in the Church, it is a goal of the school to facilitate students’ development for building up the Church as a community of faith, worship, justice, and love. In light of that goal, the school considers the individual student’s spiritual formation integral to preparation for ministry. The student should expect to grow and deepen his/her relationship with God throughout the course of studies leading to the Master of Divinity degree. The Ministerial Formation element of the M.Div. program supports students in their growth in faith.
The attainment of this goal means that students are:
Men and women of faith, familiar with the Word of God in Scripture and with the Catholic tradition in interpreting and understanding that Word; contemplative in their personal assimilation of this faith in a life of prayer.
Prepared to exercise leadership in Christian worship, through planning liturgies, preaching, administering sacraments, and presiding at Eucharist and other community liturgical celebrations, according to the gifts each has received.
Prepared to counsel, guide, encourage and instruct in the Christian way of life, with special attention to issues of justice and human dignity, to lead in the formation of the just society and to exercise ministries of reconciliation, according to their gifts.
An important dimension of preparation for pastoral ministry consists of theological reflection upon contemporary human concerns, a contemplative reflection requiring time, disciplined training, communal experience, study, dialogue, and prayer. The Ministerial Formation component of the Master of Divinity program provides opportunities for growth in this process.
M.Div. students are expected to be in spiritual direction and to make a retreat each year; and students are also encouraged to participate in a small faith sharing group that meets regularly. Jesuits and other students who are members of a religious community fulfill these requirements of the program through their own religious community. These aspects of the program are available to lay students through the school’s Office of the Assistant Dean of Students. Participation in the liturgical life of the school is another way that students’ spiritual life is nourished.
In addition, all students in the M.Div. Program must attend an annual afternoon of reflection with their cohort. The purpose of the reflection time is for the students to focus on their common call to ministry and their efforts to respond faithfully to that call.
Priestly Formation
The Program for Priestly Formation of the National Conference of Catholic bishops requires that all candidates for ordained ministry complete four full years of theological study. This normally entails one year of study beyond completion of the Master of Divinity degree. For Jesuits of the United States, the Jesuit Conference stipulates that this fourth year will generally include the 13 completion of eight semester-long courses in theological study at the graduate level, the completion of an Advanced Master’s degree, or the Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.).
Special Requirements for those to be Ordained
Since canonical faculties for preaching and celebration of the Sacraments are granted by the ordained’s religious and ecclesiastical superiors, ultimate responsibility for the certification of the individual’s readiness in these areas lies with the relevant superiors. As an aid in this aspect of ministerial preparation, however, regular courses designed to prepare students for the priesthood and for the pastoral administration of the Sacraments, are offered both at the Jesuit School and other schools in the Graduate Theological Union. The normal means by which competency is certified in the pastoral administration of the sacraments will be through successful completion of courses which focus on preaching, the celebration of the rites of the Church, and confessional counseling.
Ordination track students fulfill their ordination requirements by taking the following pastoral courses offered at JST or at the Dominican School of Theology and Philosophy:
Canon Law – FTST 2336 – Canon Law: Introduction & Marriage
Preaching – HM 1073 – Foundations of Preaching
Celebration of the Sacraments – FTLS 4725 Celebrational Rites
Sacrament of Reconciliation – CEFT 2107 Confessional Rites & Practices
Some of these courses have prerequisites (e.g. Celebrational Rites requires the course in either liturgical theology or sacramental theology, and Confessional Rites and Practices requires Canon Law). Students together with their advisors should plan their schedules in such a way that they have met the prerequisites prior to taking the course.
In addition to the courses listed above, 2nd and 3rd -year ordination track students must take Theology and Spirituality of Priesthood (STSP 2600) when it is offered every other year. This course is also open to non-ordination track students. Special Examinations for those to be Ordained The normal means by which competency is certified in the pastoral administration of the sacraments will be through successful completion of courses which focus on preaching, celebrational style, and confessional counseling. For exceptional circumstances, in which the student for some good reason has not taken the relevant course(s) outlined above, and is asked by the student's competent religious superior to certify a student's pastoral readiness in the given area(s), faculty in the area of Ministry, Ethics, and Society are delegated by JST to administer the special ordination examinations which certify the individual's competence in preaching and the administration of the Sacraments.
Combined Master of Arts/Master of Divinity (M.A./M.Div.)
Students may elect to do a combined Master of Arts/Master of Divinity program. Students must formally apply to each program separately, indicating the intent to pursue a Combined M.A./M.Div. Program. A student should apply to the JST Master of Divinity program through the JST Office of Admissions. The student must also apply to the Graduate Theological Union Master of Arts program through the Admissions Office of the GTU. The Master of Arts applicant should request affiliation with JST during the period of studies.
The demands of the two degree programs combined will determine the total time required to complete the concurrent M.A. /M.Div. program. In accordance with the Association of Theological Schools standards, the time will in no case be less than a total of four academic years. The student may transfer no more than half of the credits required for one degree into the other; and no more than half of the credits required may be granted based on transfer credit. This means that the JST/GTU Combined Master of Arts/Master of Divinity program allows a student to count up to 24 units total toward both degree programs.
Subject Area Competencies Addendum
BIBLE COMPETENCES
To have a working knowledge of the literary, historical, and theological grounding of at least two of these areas of the Old Testament canon: Pentateuch-Histories, Prophets, and Wisdom/Deutero-canonical Writings.
To have a working knowledge of the socio-historical setting, sources, literary features, theologies, and Christologies of at least two of the following: Synoptics, Johannine corpus, and Pauline writings.
To be able to negotiate the various representations of God (Creator, Redeemer, Liberator, Savior, the Christ, etc.) across the testaments with good theological understanding.
To be able to enunciate the unique revelation of each of the testaments as sources of faith and to be able to identify the various levels of the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
To be able to appropriately enlist Scripture in the explication of the nature and practice of prayer in the Catholic tradition.
To be conversant on the following topics: Biblical notions of justice, dealing with violence in the Bible, sin, narratives on the miraculous, and fundamentalism.
To explain the following notions in conjunction with the Pauline teaching on these topics — Baptism, Salvation, Eucharist, Church, Life of Faith, Reconciliation, and Grace.
To be able to address the developments of these topics across the canon — Creation, Covenant, Salvation, Christology, Apocalypticism, and Eschatology.
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY COMPETENCES
To apply critical methodologies to the interpretation of magisterial texts.
To give a critical account of major developments in the history of the Church from its beginning until the present.
To bring appropriate support from the history of the Church to the interpretation of the major theological themes both in various pastoral settings and in relation to the student’s ministerial role.
To correlate biblical, historical, and theological developments on the doctrinal themes of God, Christ, creation and eschatology, the Human Person, Sin and Grace, Church, and Sacraments.
To apply the principles of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue to communicating Christian doctrine in a particular cultural and social context. 16
To integrate responsibly and critically the topics and practices of Christian spirituality into the analysis of biblical, theological, historical, and pastoral theology contexts.
MINISTRY AND PASTORAL STUDIES COMPETENCES
To be able to lead a church community in prayer through the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.
To communicate effectively in preaching, teaching, presiding, celebrating, listening, and counseling.
To be able to organize and work with liturgical ministers – ordained and lay – in preparing worship services.
To be able to use the pastoral circle for theological reflection and pastoral planning.
To hone a competency in group facilitation and Christian discernment, especially in an environment characterized by racial and ethnic diversity.
To be able to explain pastoral practices in a manner that relies upon important ideas within the Catholic theological tradition.
To bring Gospel values to bear in attending to issues concerning power and privilege.
To integrate spirituality as both a personal characteristic and a pastoral resource.
To integrate service and learning in solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
To apply norms of ministerial ethics to cases.
THEOLOGICAL ETHICS COMPETENCES
To integrate the following sources of ethical deliberation in personal and social moral discernment: Scripture, Tradition, reason, and experience.
To be able to explain natural law, theological anthropology, moral norms, freedom, agency, the fundamental option, and double effect.
To understand the relationship among the individual’s formation of character, conscience, moral discernment, and magisterial authority.
To be able to explain the connection between ethics, grace and sin, conversion, and reconciliation at both the individual and social levels; to understand frameworks for assessing social sin, such as cooperation with evil, complicity, and corporate vice.
To have a working knowledge of the following themes in Catholic social teaching: human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, common good, preferential option for the poor, stewardship of creation, participation, the dignity of labor, the role of government, rights 17 and responsibilities, and religious freedom.
To explain and assess the various contributions of ecumenical, interreligious, feminist/womanist/mujerista, liberationist, Black, Latino/a, Asian, decolonial, and other enculturated ethics.
To have a theoretical and practical knowledge of the following ethical methods: deontology, relationality/responsibility ethics, consequentialism, proportionalism, teleology, and virtue ethics.
To be able to marshal the sources and methods from Catholic theological ethics in addressing some of the following topics: integral ecology, sexuality; marriage and the family; health care ethics; economics, war and peace; oppression (e.g., sex/gender, race, ethnicity, class), migration, incarceration.
RELIGION AND CULTURE COMPETENCES
To be able to articulate a basic understanding of culture as well as how it shapes meaning-making, consolidates identities, and steers human behavior.
To interpret how culture both shapes, and is shaped by, Christian scripture and tradition.
To be able to explain the meaning of secularization and how it affects religious commitment and worldviews.
To give an account of the ways and extent to which religion influences social solidarity, conflict, change, and political engagement.
To gain an appreciation for the extent to which religious ideas, institutions, and publics attend to pressing societal issues within various historical contexts.
To understand the difference and mutual relationship between “official” and “nonofficial” (or popular) religion and its ramifications for theology, ministry, and the sacred arts.
To be able to track the ways in which religious traditions inform one another just as they are themselves influenced by broader socio-cultural trends.
Be able to interpret and discuss images, objects, built environments, buildings, spaces, performances, and sounds that have emerged from religious traditions using appropriate methodological approaches.
M.Div. 1 Advising Addendum
First-Year Coursework
All M.Div. students are strongly encouraged to complete as many of the Foundational Courses (24 credits total) as possible during their first year of residence. (See pages 8, 10, and the M.Div. Worksheet for details on Foundational Course requirements.) This will avoid difficulties with course sequencing in later semesters, and ensure that students are adequately prepared for more advanced coursework in their second and third years. The foundational courses in Old Testament and New Testament are particularly important to take in the first year, as they provide instruction in biblical exegesis that is a prerequisite for all upper-level Scripture courses at JST.
Course Sequencing
Below is one possible (very rudimentary) outline of the sequence in which M.Div. students might take the required Foundational Courses in order to ensure timely completion of their degree. All students should consult with their faculty advisor on course selection, particularly if they are proposing to transfer coursework from other institutions to meet Foundational Course requirements.
Year 1 | Fall | Spring |
ST 2003: Systematic Theology (3) | Systematics Core Course (3) (E.g. Christology, Ecclesiology, Theological Anthropology, Sacramental Theology, etc.) | |
OT 2095: Pentateuch, Histories: Methods (3) | NT 2530: Methods: Study of the Synoptic (3) | |
CE 2056: Fundamental Moral Theology (3) | RSCE 3230: Christian Social Ethics (3) | |
HS 1196: Church History I (offered at Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology) (3) | HS 2196: Church History II (offered at DSPT) (3) | |
FE 1152 M.Div. 1 Orientation Seminar (1) | FE 2151 Field Education Practicum (1) (Students begin a sequence of six one-credit Practicums in concert with Integrated Learning Courses. For example, students may elect to undertake two Practicums per semester.) | |
Year 2 | RS 2092: Culture, Context, & Lived Religion or equivalent (3) |
Last updated