Master of Divinity

Total hours required: 79

In December of 2000, the Faculty adopted a new curriculum for the Master in Divinity degree. It combines a commitment to the study of the basic theological and pastoral disciplines, embodied in the degree requirements, with a commitment to flexibility in how students shape their programs. Students' careful consultation with their dioceses about diocesan vision and requirements, consultation with their faculty advisors, and their own prayerful reflection on their needs and goals should help them shape a program that will prepare them well for the ministry to which they are called.

Entering Students are required to participate in the August Term, which combines intensive study of a biblical language with a short course in the public reading of scripture, and orientation to life in the Seminary community. The required 3 credit hours of a biblical language is completed following the August Term, in the first quarter of the student's first year. First year students are also required to take at least one of the required introductory sequences in scripture, i.e., OT 1, 2, and 3, or NT 1, 2, and 3.

Students who enter the program with prior academic work in one or more of the required areas of study are encouraged to apply to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for assessment and possible permission to fulfill the requirement by other means than the standard introductory course.

Requirements for the Master in Divinity Degree

Greek or Hebrew: 3 credit hours fulfilled by taking OT 101 or NT 101 in the August Term and the first quarter of the fall semester.

Old Testament: 4.5 credit hours fulfilled by taking OT 1, 2, and 3

New Testament: 4.5 credit hours fulfilled by taking NT 1, 2, and 3

Church History: 4.5 credit hours fulfilled by taking CH 1,2, and 3

Systematic Theology: 6 credit hours fulfilled by taking two of the introductory ST semester courses, ST1 A, B, or C. Courses must be taken from different instructors.

Christian Ethics: 3 credit hours fulfilled by taking CE1

Homiletics: 4.5 credit hours fulfilled by taking HOM 1, 2, and 3

Liturgy, Music, and Art: 6.5 credit hours fulfilled by taking LMA4, Oral Interpretation of Scripture, in the August Term, and LMA 1 and 2 concurrently with LMA 5 and 6.

Christian Education: 3 credit hours fulfilled by taking any two elective quarter courses in CED
Mission and World Religion: 3 credit hours fulfilled by taking MWR 111

Pastoral Theology: 4.5 credit hours fulfilled by taking any three elective quarter courses in PT

Field Education: 9 credit hours fulfilled in one of the following ways:

1. Three semesters of Field Education in one parish site.

2. Two semesters of Field Education plus a four-week intensive, all in one parish site.

3. Two semesters of Field Education in one parish site, plus either a four-week intensive or a one-semester placement in an institutional site.

4. Two semesters of Field Education in one parish site, plus either two semesters in a different parish site, or an eight-week intensive in a different parish site.

5. An exemption from 3 credit hours of Field Education is available for students who take a year of both Hebrew and Greek.

• Students must complete electives offered in the January Term totaling at least 4.5 credit hours. Credit hours earned in a second August Term will count toward this requirement.
• Further electives, making up a total of 79 credit hours, are required for the degree.
• One course must be taken from another faculty member in the Washington Theological Consortium
• Two years of full-time residence at VTS is required for the M.Div. degree. Full-time residence means taking at least 12 credit hours each semester, attending daily chapel, and attending daily lunch.

Notes: Master in Divinity
1. Biblical language requirement. 
Students may fulfill the biblical language requirement by taking OT 101 (Hebrew) or NT 101 (Greek), beginning in the August Term and completed in the first quarter. This course may be taken pass/fail or for a letter grade, at the option of the student, declared at the beginning of the course. While either course will satisfy the language requirement, students generally continue in the chosen language for two semesters, at which point they are able to translate significant portions of the Bible. It is possible for students who want to take both Hebrew and Greek to do so in two years and to keep up their language skills by means of reading courses elected during the second and third years.
2. Homiletics. 
Homiletics 1, 2, and 3 have as a prerequisite the completion of the requirement in biblical language and the completion of both introductory sequences in Bible (OT 1, 2, and 3 and NT 1, 2, and 3) or the completion of one and concurrent registration in the other.
3. Clinical Pastoral Education. 
While CPE is not required for the degree, many dioceses require or recommend it. Students are urged to confer with their dioceses about such requirements or recommendations. CPE may be elected as a 3 credit hour course, and the Seminary's office of Field Education will assist students with their placement.
4. Faculty Approval of Registration. 
Students shall consult with their faculty advisors each semester before registering for courses. Advisors shall sign their advisees' registration forms indicating that such consultation has taken place. The faculty may require a student in the senior year to elect courses it specifies in order to remedy deficiencies.