THEOL-MDIV - Theology

• Core elective from HX (History of Christianity), HR (History of Religions), or WX (World Christianity)

• 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

Students may choose to complete one or more areas of transcriptible concentrations as part of the elective requirement. Concentration courses listed below may not be regularly offered online and may require attending an in-person course. In order to complete a concentration, students must:

1.Formally register for the concentration through the office of the Perkins Registrar and the concentration adviser or Perkins Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

2.Have sufficient hours remaining in their degree program.

3.Not yet have applied for their internships (M.Div. candidates)

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.

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.

Competencies 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.

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.

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.

This concentration offers students the opportunity to engage in theological studies with a focus on the growing presence of diverse Latinx communities and their congregational responses to that population. The program aims to foster reflection on the fundamental questions of Latinx human experience, including the study of theology, ethics, and church leadership in light of Hispanic/Latinx experience.

The M.Div. program requires the satisfactory completion of a supervised internship carrying six credit hours of academic credit. The purpose of the Internship Course is to enable students to reflect upon themselves, their ministry experience, and their contexts, and integrate them in a way to provide resourceful, faithful Christian leadership in the world. 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.

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 6303 - Interpretation of the Christian Message 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.

During internship, students engage in 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.

M.Div. student internships are nine months long, over the fall and spring terms of one academic year, averaging 20 hours per week of work (inclusive of the internship seminar). All internships are coordinated through the Perkins Intern Office. Internship placements include church, agency, and hospital chaplaincy settings. During the placement process, serious consideration is given to the student's denominational preference. Interns in churches or agencies receive a stipend. Students who are already employed in a ministry setting may request this as their internship placement. If the intern is already on staff, their salary satisfies 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 two units of CPE. 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.

If at any point during the placement process, the student exhibits patterns of behavior that suggest 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.

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 that 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. 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.

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 (2 credit hours), ST 7034 - United Methodist Doctrine (2 credit hours) and CA 7013 - United Methodist Polity (2 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.

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.