Master of Divinity, Non-Language Track, M.Div.

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 up to one-half the degree from other institutions. Students with a completed master’s degree from another institution may transfer up to one-half of the degree. Students with a completed master’s degree from Wayland Baptist University may transfer the entire degree. To transfer credit, the student must have earned a grade of C or higher in the course(s). To attempt transfer from other institutions, a student must submit an official transcript of the courses to be considered, and may also be required to submit a catalog description and course syllabus from the institution where the course was taken. Courses applied to the Master of Divinity degree, whether transferred into the program or taken at Wayland Baptist University will not be limited by the seven-year time limit applied to other degree programs. All transfer credit must be approved by the dean of the School of Religion and Philosophy.

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.