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2024-2025 Graduate Catalog
Divinity, M.Div. (In-person)
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 Return to: Academic Programs
Purpose
The Master of Divinity degree is designed primarily for students who plan to be ordained clergy and serve in Word, sacrament, service and order. It may also equip a person for other specialized ministries.
Learning Outcomes
- Interpret scripture. Students will interpret scripture effectively, using a wide variety of approaches informed by an understanding of biblical history, the social and cultural realities of ancient Israel and the early church, and the interpreter’s own context.
- Comprehension of history and culture. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the life and thought of the Christian community in its historical expressions and of the interrelations between Christianity and global culture.
- Theological and ethical reflection. Students will be able to engage in constructive theological and ethical reflection, informed by an understanding of the content of the Christian faith in its historical and contemporary articulations, as well as current Christian thinking on philosophical, scientific, political and cultural developments.
- Ministerial leadership roles. Students will demonstrate the capacity to function successfully and effectively in various ministerial leadership roles, evidencing critical awareness of the social context of their ministry and the capacity to have an impact on that context.
- Worship leadership. Students will demonstrate the ability to plan, lead, and assess the basic rituals of the church in ways appropriate to local community and to the wider Christian tradition.
- Effective preaching. Students will preach effective sermons that are exegetically faithful to the biblical text and fitting to the congregation, utilizing an appropriate range of style, form, and sequence appropriate to the substance of each sermon.
- Spiritual formation. Students will demonstrate familiarity with and appreciation for the church’s spiritual traditions and the disciplines of prayer and devotion, and exhibit a capacity to evaluate specific instances of spiritual practice from an experiential and theological standpoint.
Requirements for Admission
The number of new students to be admitted each year is determined by policies of selection established by the faculty. The following considerations are decisive:
- Seriousness of purpose, emotional stability and likelihood of satisfactory performance in the degree program and of responsible membership in the Perkins and Southern Methodist University community.
- Presence of and potential for growth in those emotional, moral and spiritual qualities requisite for the profession of ministry and the absence of patterns of personal behavior tending to be seriously disabling to ministry.
- Academic ability as shown by a minimum GPA of 2.750 (on a 4.000 scale) in a well-balanced curriculum. Normally, an applicant must hold the B.A. or equivalent degree from a college or university which is accredited by one or more of the organizations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (chea.org). An applicant with a degree from an unaccredited school may be considered if the case is exceptional.
- A reasonable program of financial support that will enable students to be devoted properly to the main business of their theological training.
Persons who have already graduated from college or who are considering the ministry as a second career are given special consideration by the admissions committee, especially with regard to the adequacy of their pre-theological curriculum.
To supplement the data furnished by transcripts, letters of reference and other written material, a personal interview with the Office of Enrollment Management or with a person designated by the Office of Enrollment Management may be required of the applicant.
Requirements for Graduation
The M.Div. program requires 75 credit hours of academic credit, inclusive of a supervised internship. Each M.Div. student will also complete and submit artifacts for assessment.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 on all coursework is required for graduation to the M.Div. degree.
All degree requirements must be completed within seven calendar years from the time of initial registration.
Core required courses must be take in-person. Core electives and other electives courses may be taken through in-person, hybrid, or online modalities.
Course Requirements
Students may use electives to concentrate in an area of theological studies, to study Hebrew and/or Greek, and/or to complete requirements for ordination. The course requirements including internship, 75 credit hours, are as follows:
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History of Christianity and Cultural Context
One core elective from the following:
Ministerial Studies
- PC 6301 - Introduction to Pastoral Care
- PR 6300 - Introduction to Preaching
- WO 6313 - Introduction to Christian Worship
- Core elective from CE (Christian Education), WO (Christian Worship), XS (Christianity and Society), CA (Church Administration), CM (Church Music), EV (Evangelism), MN (General Ministries), PC (Pastoral Care), PS (Prayer and Spirituality), PR (Preaching), or others by approval of the Associate Dean
Electives
Students may choose to complete one or more areas of transcriptible concentrations as part of the elective requirement. In order to complete a concentration, students must:
- Formally register for the concentration through the office of the Perkins Registrar and the concentration adviser or Perkins Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
- Have sufficient hours remaining in their degree program.
- Not yet have applied for their internships (M.Div. candidates)
Baptist Studies Concentration
Students pursuing this concentration will be expected to appreciate and analyze the complexity of the Baptist tradition. It is intended that students will develop the following competencies to:
- Assess social, cultural, political and economic dynamics that affect Baptist congregations and others in the free church tradition.
- Frame the history of the Baptist tradition in the North American context as it impacts specific congregations.
- Interpret Baptist theology and the Bible for lay audiences.
- Model effective pastoral and spiritual leadership, advocacy and relationship building skills within and beyond congregational settings.
One course from the following list:
Some attention in the course should be given to considering the subject in light of a Baptist context.
Black/Africana Church Studies Concentration
Students pursuing this concentration will be expected to appreciate and analyze the complexity of Black/Africana life and culture and how it shapes the Black/Africana church. It is intended that students will develop the following competencies:
- Acquire skills for assessing social, cultural, political, and economic issues as these affect Black/Africana congregations in urban and rural settings.
- Understand the history of the Black/Africana church throughout the Diaspora and in the continent of Africa.
- Understand the biblical and theological underpinnings of the historical and contemporary Black/Africana church.
- Understand the role of the Black/Africana church in forming Black/Africana spirituality and the Black/Africana worship experience.
- Acquire effective pastoral and spiritual leadership, advocacy, and relationship-building skills within and beyond Black/Africana congregational settings.
Choose one course from the following:
Healthcare Chaplaincy Concentration
Competenices include:
- Articulate the holistic nature of healthcare chaplaincy and how it relates to pastoral care, healthcare, and administration.
- Articulate the biblical and theological underpinnings for healthcare chaplaincy.
- Demonstrate pastoral and spiritual leadership, as well as relationship-building skills in a hospital setting–with its employees, and with patients and their local congregations.
- Understand the multifaceted, multicultural, religiously pluralistic nature of healthcare chaplaincy, and exemplify skills for self-care and a healthy lifestyle.
Required courses (12 Credit hours)
Concentration-Specific Courses (6 Credit Hours)
Choose two from the following:
Pastoral Care Concentration
The concentration in pastoral care allows Perkins students to concentrate on theory, skills, and practices of pastoral care to equip them for specialized or general pastoral care ministries. Specialized pastoral care ministries include but are not limited to the following: ordained clergy or elders whose ministerial focus is pastoral care, clergy in agency settings (such as hospice), chaplains, and clergy in social outreach or social work.
Choose one of the following:
Theology and Science Concentration
In this concentration, theology, including especially Wesleyan theology, and theological ethics are critically and constructively related to selected issues in science, emerging technologies (including bioengineering and artificial intelligence), and ecological/environmental issues such as human contributions to climate change.
Choose one from the following:
Spiritual Formation
Students will experience the integration of spiritual formation within required core courses for the degree, emphasizing the following elements:
- The opportunity to explore the vital connection between spiritual formation and ministry.
- Opportunities to explore the central genius of spiritual traditions (the unique contributions of various spiritual traditions).
- The development of a critical capacity that will allow the student to evaluate those traditions theologically.
- Broad-based exposure to a variety of spiritual disciplines.
- Experience in prayer and contemplation devotion.
Internship
The M.Div. program requires the satisfactory completion of a supervised internship carrying six credit hours of academic credit. While the student registers for three hours of internship course credit during each of two consecutive terms, the internship degree requirement is satisfied only upon completion of the six credit hours.
ST 6300 - Introduction to Theology and either ST 6304 - Advanced Systematic Theology: Credo and Selected Topics , ST 6305 - Advanced Systematic Theology: God the Creator , or ST 6306 - Advanced Systematic Theology: God to Eschatology are recommended prior to the internship course.
M. Div. student internships are nine months long, over the fall and spring terms of one academic year. One option is a full-time Clinical Pastoral Education residency, which is 12 months long. All interns receive a stipend.
All internships are coordinated through the Perkins Intern Office. The placement process begins in September when a prospective intern is invited to apply for an internship that would begin in August of the following year. A student completes an application and interviews with the intern faculty who will determine throughout the placement process the student’s readiness for internship. If at any point during the placement process, the student exhibits patterns of behavior that suggests that the student needs further preparation prior to participating in an internship, the intern faculty may conclude that a student is not ready for an internship. The intern faculty will engage in a consultative process to determine appropriate measures to help the student become prepared for internship.
If a student declines two faculty-approved intern placements in a year, the Intern Program will remove the student from the placement process for that year. A student who is removed from the placement process is encouraged to re-apply for an internship the following year; however, the student must accept a subsequent faculty approved intern placement.
A student demonstrating readiness for an internship is encouraged to pursue placement possibilities for discussion in the initial interview with the intern faculty. Internship placements include church, agency and hospital chaplaincy settings. During the placement process serious consideration is given to the student’s denominational preference.
While interns are not prohibited from taking additional Perkins courses beyond the internship course or from holding employment outside the internship placement, the intern faculty will consult individually with students to help them make a plan in order to balance life and learn successfully on internship.
Students who hope to do internships outside the immediate five-state area (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma) must initiate an early conversation with an intern faculty member, preferably in the first year of their degree program.
Note: Student pastors who are appointed as the sole or senior pastor of a church may choose to apply for an internship. The student pastor’s salary replaces the required internship stipend.
Master of Divinity students may complete the Perkins internship requirement (six credit hours) by successful completion of a Clinical Pastoral Education residency that consists of three units of CPE (Level II). Typically, CPE residency consists of four units (a full calendar year). However, the Perkins requirement is only nine months (mid-August to mid-May). Eligibility for consideration into a CPE residency normally requires the completion of the introductory unit of CPE (Level I).
Master of Divinity students may receive elective academic credit for PC 7340 - Level 1 Clinical Pastoral Education for an introductory unit of CPE (Level I) if they choose.
An intern faculty member will be assigned to the CPE intern and will consult with the CPE certified educator regarding satisfactory completion of the internship requirement.
During internship, students do ministry under supervision and reflect theologically on their experiences. As the interns become more competent and self-confident in carrying out the tasks of ministry and gain theological, emotional and spiritual maturity in their understanding of it, they prepare themselves to provide resourceful, faithful Christian leadership in the world.
The design of the Perkins Intern Program assumes interns to be adult learners who can assess and value their past experiences and vocational goals and build on these creatively and systematically in pursuing the learning opportunities offered at their particular internship site. To that end, the internship course curriculum specifies a set of required competencies under each of three categories: be aware, think theologically and lead faithfully.
The Perkins Intern Program faculty partners with pastoral staff and laity at congregations and agencies and with mental health professionals experienced in church family systems to provide supportive supervision for students during internship. The mentor pastor and lay teaching committee assigned to each intern receive orientation and training as part of the intern program.
A student’s internship begins with a required Intern Orientation conducted by the intern faculty.
Pre-Internship Screenings
As a condition of participation in any off-site internship or clinical experience, Perkins requires any student enrolled in a degree program which requires an internship experience to provide written consent to a pre-placement screening for any criminal record/history. Students must complete the criminal background screening process during the internship application process and no later than April 1 of the spring semester prior to the start of the internship. The background screening process is administered by the Perkins Internship Office via a University-approved third-party vendor. The process will be administered in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws as well as the SMU Policy Manual and SMU Student Handbook.
In the event a criminal background check report is returned with information indicating any history or pending matters beyond minor traffic offenses, the Director of the Internship Program will contact the student and may request the student to submit additional information regarding the listed offense. The Director may then consult with other appropriate SMU offices and personnel in order to determine appropriate next steps. SMU reserves the right to defer or deny enrollment in any experiential-based course – including placement at an internship site – to any student whose criminal background screening process indicates items of concern, including but not limited to previously adjudicated matters, or pending matters.
Third party internship placement sites may also require an additional criminal background check. Payment and processing of these background checks will be determined by the internship placement site.
Global Theological Education
Through cultural immersion courses, the Global Theological Education Program offers students a study of theology, Scripture, missions, ministry or interreligious relationships in a cultural context different from the students’ own, usually outside the United States. These elective courses give special attention to the role of theological reflection in an environment affected by globalization in all its dimensions through focused, on-site study in a particular culture or region of the world.
Ordination Requirements
Students preparing for ordination should become aware as early as possible of any specific educational requirements their denomination or judicatory may expect them to satisfy in the course of their M.Div. work (e.g., in the biblical languages or in denominational history, doctrine, polity and evangelism). They should explore, with their academic advisers, how best to deal with these expectations.
The requirements of the current United Methodist Book of Discipline concerning work in United Methodist history, doctrine and polity may be met by satisfactorily completing the following three courses: HX 7365 - United Methodist History (three credit hours), ST 7034 - United Methodist Doctrine (1.5 credit hours) and CA 7013 - United Methodist Polity (1.5 credit hours). These courses are not required for the M.Div. degree; they are provided as a means of satisfying these requirements of the church in the context of the programs. The Book of Discipline also indicates that these requirements may be met in ways other than through regular coursework, and students may wish to explore these other options.
In the United Methodist Church, the provisions for education and preparation for all forms of professional status in ministry are expressed in detail in the books The Christian as Minister: An Exploration into the Meaning of God’s Call (2009–2012), General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, and Understanding God’s Call: A Ministry Inquiry Process (2009), GBHEM, The United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee.
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Return to: Academic Programs
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