Sneak Peek: Revised MDiv curriculum taking shape B y D r . S t e p h e n F o w l , t h e R e v . M a r k C h u n g H e a r n , P h D, a n d t h e R e v . J o h n D w y e r
Since the announcement of our hybrid shift, our faculty have been hard at work revising the MDiv curriculum and supporting program at CDSP. This article is intended to serve as a kind of guided tour of where that work is heading. As you probably know, we’ve chosen to narrow our focus to CDSP’s signature strengths and invest much more heavily in our students and the local church. Why? Quite simply, because we want to form the most responsive and faithful priests we can. Our hybrid students prepare to face current and future ministry realities in the local communities they are already serving faithfully. We can’t remove every barrier to thriving as a faith leader in challenging times. But we can give them the best possible chance to begin their years of ordained ministry in a healthy and high-impact way. We begin with four years of hybrid coursework, advising, and community-based spiritual formation culminating in the MDiv degree. All students accepted into the program will receive a full-tuition scholarship, have meals provided during multiple yearly onsite sessions, and have their travel to those sessions reimbursed. But the program doesn’t end at graduation. CDSP will work with each student and their bishop to design a two-year curacy position in one or more Episcopal settings (see “Early Returns,” pp. 4–7). We will pay for students’ salaries and benefits in the form of a grant to the diocese from Trinity Church Wall Street. Cohorts will remain connected via continuing 8 | Church Divinity School of the Pacific
programming for professional development and mutual support. Student Outcomes We’re designing this curriculum with very specific student outcomes in mind. As Dr. Hearn shared previously (see “Charting the Courses,” Fall 2023, pp. 12–13), they represent the faithful discernment and planning of our faculty. We’re identifying knowledge, skills, and sensibilities that today’s Episcopal priests need in order for them, and their communities, to thrive. Here are the four categories of outcomes:
common pitfalls. Our students will analyze and navigate complex social systems and embody healthy pastoral and ministerial leadership. Creative Community Formation: Tomorrow’s churches and faithbased organizations need support cultivating flexibility, developing a sense of communal responsibility for leadership and care, and forming partnerships that benefit, mobilize, and inspire the wider community. Our graduates will have a passion for reimagining what is possible for the mission of the Church, with God’s help.
Facility in Foundational Disciplines:
Revised course scope & sequence
Students will have a facility with scripture, doctrine, liturgy, moral theology, historical theology, and practical theology. They will critically probe the resources of the Christian tradition to deepen their love of God, and to inspire their communities to do likewise.
As you can see from the graphic at right, there are some important changes to highlight in the new course scope and sequence.
Contextual Understanding: Our students need a clear-eyed understanding of the realities facing their communities, the Episcopal Church, and Christianity more broadly. This program will prepare them to respond to those realities in a creative, Spirit-filled way, including by engaging difference in their communities without diminishing the vitality of diversity. Wise, Faithful Leadership: Priests must know themselves as people on a journey into a deeper experience of Christ, giving thanks for the joys of that journey and developing resilience amid its
First, we will transition to a quarter system with online and onsite learning included in each term. This change is primarily intended to help hybrid students’ workloads and focus. Our previous hybrid student schedule was beholden to the traditional academic semester, which is optimized for residential students. To graduate on time, our hybrid students were forced to divide their attention among multiple courses each semester in addition to the demands of their work and family commitments. We are working closely with current hybrid students and other stakeholders to determine a manageable rhythm and duration for on-site sessions, some of which will take place in other locations to reduce the average travel burden and take advantage of partner relationships.