Academic Catalog 2016-2017 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]


M DIV DEGREE PLAN

Master of Divinity, M.Div.



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Master of Divinity (M.Div.)


The Master of Divinity is the standard professional degree for individuals entering Christian ministry. For a variety of reasons, however, many individuals find themselves actively engaged in ministry and unable to relocate to a school providing the M.Div. The School of Religion and Philosophy offers a Master of Divinity program that can be completed fully online or through a combination of face to face classes at one of Wayland’s many campuses.

The program prepares the student for effective ministry in the twenty-first century, whether serving in the church, on the mission field, in a denominational institution, or through a parachurch organization. The program seeks to prepare the entire person for service in the kingdom of God, by connecting the intellectual disciplines with practical training and spiritual development.

Goals


The School of Religion and Philosophy strives for the following competencies in graduates of the Master of Divinity:

  1. Students will demonstrate an internalization of Christian spirituality and the purpose and practice of spiritual disciplines that enable the Christian to increasingly conform to the Image of Christ.
  2. Students will demonstrate competence in the use of sound methods to analyze and interpret biblical material in order to apply and communicate the message in contemporary, contextualized settings.
  3. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze critically and articulate clearly their own personal faith and the practice of their local congregation within the context of historic and global Christian beliefs and practices, particularly the Baptist tradition.
  4. Students will demonstrate an ability to compare and contrast the biblical worldview with competing historical and contemporary worldviews in order to communicate the gospel and enact its redemptive message effectively and persuasively within contemporary, contextualized settings.
  5. Students will demonstrate an understanding of their personal call as servant leaders, guiding the local body of Christ to discern and join God in his work of building the kingdom.

Admission Requirements


Applicants for the Master of Divinity must have the following:

  1. Bachelor degree from an accredited institution
  2. 2.0 or better GPA on all undergraduate and graduate hours earned at the time of application.
  3. Letter of endorsement from a Christian congregation in which the applicant is actively involved.
  4. One academic and one personal letter of recommendation.

Transfer Credit


Students in the Master of Divinity program may transfer a total of up to one-half the requirements for the Master of Divinity degree. Students with a completed master’s degree from another institution may transfer up to one-half of the completed degree. Students with a completed Master of Arts in Religion or Master of Christian Ministry degree from Wayland Baptist University may transfer the entire degree subject to the transfer limit of one-half the total Master of Divinity degree requirements

Advanced Standing


Applicants to the Master of Divinity program who have a bachelor’s degree in religion, religious education, or other field within Christian ministry may be granted advanced standing for one or more portions of the core. Advanced standing is defined as a waiver to take advanced coursework in lieu of introductory coursework. For example, a student with upper level baccalaureate work in Old Testament may be allowed to take two Old Testament electives in lieu of Old Testament Foundations I and II.

Advanced coursework would be in the same field as the introductory course. Any request for transcript evaluation must be made in writing to the dean of the school.

Master of Divinity - 81 hours


Core Classes - 72 hours


Electives - 9 hours


Notations:


* Taken in the first two terms of enrollment, at first opportunity.

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