Master of Divinity Degree

THE THEOLOGICAL-HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

TH.108 MAYM: God-Talk and Youth Ministry

TH.110 MAYM: Moral Questions in Youth Culture

PROGRAM IN FORMATION FOR MINISTRY (PFM)

YMP-I/II MAYM: Ministry Practicum I and II (Supervised Practice of Ministry)

ELECTIVE OPTIONS In order to fulfill the degree requirements of 88 credits, students select from a variety of elective options such as courses in United Methodist studies, Presbyterian polity, travel seminars, and August and January course offerings.

MASTER OF DIVINITY

VISION AND GOALS

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary intends its Master of Divinity degree program to prepare men and women to enter the office of ordained minister in the church for the sake of the church’s obedient service in the world. Most seminary graduates serve as ministers to congregations or in other leadership capacities in the church. The Master of Divinity program takes this fact seriously. It nevertheless acknowledges the real differences which exist in student needs, interests, and goals, and it therefore endeavors to mediate that knowledge and to allow for the development of those skills which together provide the essential foundation for a variety of ministries. To foster this development, our theological education occurs in a residential community.

The church has the right to expect that those who graduate with professional degrees from theological seminaries will be prepared to practice Christian ministry consistently and with integrity. The Seminary therefore intends to foster the integration of self-understanding, knowledge, and skills, and the faculty has committed itself to achieve a style of education appropriate to this intention.

To this end, the faculty has adopted the following Vision Statement for the Master of Divinity program:

MASTER OF DIVINITY VISION STATEMENT God calls the church to be light, salt, and leaven in a beautiful but broken world. Alive in Christ, the church must respond to the vitality of God, proclaiming and embodying a prophetic witness to life. Amidst national and international political strife, economic injustice, social and spiritual alienation, and abuse of the natural world, the Spirit bears Christ’s joy and wholeness to broken places. As the church, we sense the call to participate in this reconciling work of God.

The task of theological education is to form leaders who will prepare and embolden the church for service to God in offering healing in this world.

Thus, the purpose of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Master of Divinity program is to nurture church leaders who will give strong, loving, and imaginative leadership to congregations that will be worshiping, learning, and serving communities. These leaders and congregations will prize and bear witness to life in God as grounded in Christian tradition, faith, and practices; nurture relationships within the church as the body of Christ; navigate the complexities of contemporary culture; and so recognize and answer God’s call to love God and neighbor.

Graduates of the Master of Divinity program will learn to integrate selfknowledge, the traditions of the church, awareness of the world and particular contexts, and ministerial skills in order to minister effectively in contexts to which God calls. Such pastoral leadership may take several forms, including ministries of Word and Sacrament, specialized congregational ministries, chaplaincies, and leadership in the public arena.

Based on this vision statement, the faculty has developed the following goals.

Our Master of Divinity graduates are leaders in the church and will: ♦ understand the varying perspectives of the Christian tradition, humanities, and social sciences and how they impact personal, ecclesial, and public contexts of ministry; ♦ preach and teach the Word of God through the artful integration of biblical exegesis, theological reflection, historical awareness, and cultural analysis; ♦ demonstrate proficiency in the content and methodology of the pastoral arts, administering and shaping communities as places of worship, care, nurture, learning, spiritual growth, and mission; ♦ pursue and evaluate knowledge through inquiry, research, contemplation, critical thinking and practice, and wide-ranging discussion and collaboration; ♦ communicate effectively in speech and writing to a variety of audiences; ♦ exercise leadership needed for congregations to mobilize for Christian witness in the world; and ♦ possess capacities for self-understanding, self-care, and spiritual practices that foster wholeness, humility, faithfulness, and vocational vitality.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER OF DIVINITY DEGREE 1. Have on file with the registrar a complete and official transcript of credits showing graduation with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. 2. Complete satisfactorily 180 credits of required and elective work with at least a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. 3. Complete satisfactorily at least the last sixty credits of required and elective work while enrolled and in residence at Austin Seminary. 4. Complete all curricular assignments prior to commencement and by the deadline posted in the official academic calendar. 5. Clear all indebtedness to the Seminary by the Wednesday prior to commencement. 6. To participate in commencement exercises, complete satisfactorily all

degree requirements noted above. Note: A student who is admitted to the MDiv degree program may receive the Diploma instead of the MDiv degree upon the satisfactory completion of all the degree requirements except Hebrew and/or Greek and any courses for which these languages are prerequisite. Such an exemption must be approved by the faculty, meeting in executive session, and is considered only upon the request of the student and the denominational governing body which has responsibility for the student’s ordination process. The Diploma requires 180 credits, and any language courses waived are substituted with other courses as prescribed by the academic dean.

DURATION OF PROGRAM The program of study leading to the Master of Divinity degree requires a minimum of three years (i.e., thirty-three months) of full-time academic study. The program must be completed within six years of matriculation into a master’s-level degree program at Austin Seminary.

PROGRAM OF STUDY The Master of Divinity degree requires 180 credits. (Note: a regular course at Austin Seminary is valued at six credits, equivalent to three semester hours.) The MDiv program is composed of the following required and elective work (courses are valued at six credits unless otherwise indicated):

REQUIRED COURSE WORK THE BIBLICAL DEPARTMENT

Bi.102 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

Bi.116 Introduction to the New Testament

PRESBYTERIAN STUDENTS: Two-Language Track Bi.108 Elementary Biblical Hebrew Bi.120 Elementary New Testament Greek One exegesis course in biblical Hebrew One exegesis course in New Testament Greek One additional exegesis course in either biblical Hebrew or New

Testament Greek

NON-PRESBYTERIAN STUDENTS: One-Language Track

HEBREW OPTION Bi.108 Elementary Biblical Hebrew Two exegesis courses in biblical Hebrew One additional course in New Testament studies (English-based)

GREEK OPTION Bi.120 Elementary New Testament Greek Two exegesis courses in New Testament Greek One additional course in Old Testament studies (English-based)

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE CHURCH’S MINISTRY

CM.122 The Church as a Worshiping Community