Our Programs ~ Ordination Studies ~ Master of Divinity

Master of Divinity

The focus of the M.Div. curriculum and the nature of its courses are directed toward the vocation of ordained ministry. The program is designed primarily for students preparing for ordination in the Episcopal Church. Students pursuing ordination in other denominations are also admitted.

The Seminary recognizes that some applicants may have particular educational or vocational goals apart from ordination that can be undergirded by the breadth and orientation of the Master of Divinity program. Whatever their goals, students are expected to involve themselves fully in academic study, corporate worship, private prayer, and service to the community. For those pursuing ordination, ecclesiastical endorsement is required for this program.

Normally applicants to the M.Div. program must hold the degree of Bachelor of Arts or its equivalent. For students whose Master of Divinity degree is intended as preparation for ordination, ecclesiastical endorsement is required. In the Episcopal Church, this means endorsement by the student's bishop; for persons in other churches, it means endorsement by the comparable church authority.

The Tutorial Seminar Program
The Tutorial Seminar Program (TSP) is required of all M.Div students during their first term of study, whether full-time or part-time. This pass/fail course is intended to help entering M.Div. students discover and develop their own voice as theologians and to begin making decisions about the focus of their studies while at General. The course is divided into four units: (1) Spiritual Autobiography; (2) Theological Discourse; (3) Theology and the City; and (4) Conversation with Scripture.

In the first unit, students are encouraged to bring their own immediate spiritual experience into conversation with several autobiographical texts. In the second unit, students read a short theological work, analyze it, and identify themes and issues that reflect their own questions and concerns. The third unit takes students and teachers into the city--commonly to a play or a museum exhibition--to explore the relationship between theological questions and themes sounded by the arts. The fourth unit invites students to engage theologically with a complex text from the Hebrew Scriptures or the New Testament. Each unit is led by a different member of the Faculty. At the end of each unit, students write short essays related to the texts or experiences presented during that unit.

The course has several pedagogical components. First, every student is assigned a tutor, normally a Th.D. candidate, who meets with the student five times during the term. At these tutorials the student presents what she or he has written in response to a given unit, and the tutor provides constructive criticism. Second, students are assigned to a seminar group. These groups, co-led by a faculty member and a tutor and made up of six or seven students, meet weekly to discuss the current course material. Finally, the entire class meets weekly for lectures and large-group discussions of the assigned texts. Thus, during a typical week, students participate in an all-class session and meet with their seminar group to reflect on what was presented in the class session. Individual tutorial sessions occur about every third week, near the end of each unit.

The Foundation Curriculum
The Foundation Curriculum for the Master of Divinity Program is designed to give students a balanced theological education. Required Foundation Courses prepare students in the areas of Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, Theology, Ascetical Theology, Ethics, Liturgics, Preaching, Church Music, and Pastoral Theology.  Elective courses give students opportunity to explore additional areas and to study more deeply in areas of particular interest.

Students may study on a full-time or part-time basis. Full-time status is defined by a minimum of nine credits in a term. Full-time students may take no more than 15 credits each term without the permission of their faculty advisors, and a course loads above 17 credits must be approved by the faculty as a whole.

Pastoral Formation at General
New York City offers a rich environment for experiencing and participating in ministry in diverse contexts and neighborhoods. During their first year, M.Div. students are encouraged to visit a wide variety of churches, outreach programs, cultural events, and ecumenical and interfaith ministry settings. Beginning the summer after the first year of study, or at another time that part-time students arrange with their advisers, M.Div. students are required to participate in the Pastoral Formation Program.

The first part of the program is Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), an intensive experience in the formation of pastoral identity and ministry. Common in North American theological education since the mid-20th century, CPE is required at General for graduation with an M.Div., and it carries six academic credits. Placements, typically in hospitals, expose students to pastoral care with persons in need, illness or other forms of crisis. Supervisors are accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). CPE programs emphasize pastoral visitation, peer group discussion of clinical experiences in an ecumenical or interfaith context, the development of the student’s self-awareness, and careful supervision. CPE is normally undertaken during the summer between the first and second years, but may be taken at other times with the approval of the Chaplain, who coordinates CPE placements. The Chaplain conducts an orientation to CPE and its application process every September, because students need to apply to Summer CPE programs during the first two or three months of the academic year.

The second component of pastoral formation is a sequence of four pastoral theology courses, PT1-4, that address the areas of Congregational Systems, Pastoral Care, Catechetics, and Congregational Leadership. The third component, usually simultaneous with the PT courses, is four semesters of ongoing Theological Field Education, TFE1-4, in a parish or other ministry setting where the student undertakes ministry with the guidance of a clergy mentor. (See the course descriptions of PT1-4 and TFE1-4 in the Ministry Leadership area of the course listings.)
 
The student’s engagement with the field education parish or other ministry setting entails attendance, observation, and a variety of ministerial tasks such as liturgical roles, preaching, teaching, home and hospital visiting, youth work, and outreach. Tasks expand and the seminarian’s skills deepen over the two-year engagement with the setting. Field Education sites are developed by the Director of Field Education, who must approve all site assignments. Beginning in Easter Term of the first year, the Director assists each seminarian in the selection of a suitable placement in a parish or other setting. The seminarian and mentor sign a learning agreement each semester and carry out a written evaluation at the end of each term. A lay reflection group is normally convened in each setting to enhance feedback and the seminarian's reflection. Additional theological integration of the experience may take place in the courses PT1-4.

M.Div. Curriculum Options

Several options are available.

  1. Exemption Examinations: A student may sit for the exemption examination in any of the Foundation Courses. Normally courses exempted should be replaced with elective courses in the same field.
  2. Theology Elective: Students are required to take an elective in the field of Systematic Theology. The elective may be fulfilled by ST01.
  3. History Substitution: One of the required church history courses may be replaced with an advanced elective course in the same historical period, with the written approval of the instructor of the course being replaced. If the instructor is on sabbatical or leave, another professor of church history may approve the substitution. 
  4. Semester Abroad: Students may enroll for a semester in a seminary abroad during the M.Div. program.  This offers opportunity to undertake theological study from a different cultural perspective, especially in Africa, Asia or Latin America. Careful consultation must be undertaken with the adviser and Sub-Dean well in advance to ensure that curricular requirements are fulfilled. Plans must be approved by the Faculty.
  5. Misconduct and Racism Prevention: Although not required in the curriculum, General offers training in sexual misconduct prevention and anti-racism, which many dioceses require of their ordinands.
  6. Master of Divinity with Honors: Students may be awarded the degree of Master of Divinity with Honors. Students maintaining an overall grade point average of at least A- (3.67) are eligible to write a thesis. Honors are conferred if the faculty adviser and second faculty reader assess the thesis as meriting honors. Aside from honors, the thesis-writing project must be registered as a class for three credits.
  7. Intern Year and Summer Field Placements: Full-time students may expand their Seminary programs to four years by spending a year in a supervised parish or institutional situation and may register for supplemental Field Education. Students are charged for credits taken in an intern year. Intern year and summer placements are arranged through the Field Education Director.

Graduation Requirements
The current maximum time for completion of the M.Div. degree is 4 years, which may include an intern year or special circumstances approved by the Committee on Academic Affairs. Candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

  1. possession of the degree of Bachelor of Arts or its equivalent;
  2. completion, unless admitted as a transfer or part-time student, of three years of full-time academic residence (a minimum of nine credits per term);
  3. completion, unless admitted as a commuter, part-time or transfer student, of three years of physical residence at the Seminary;
  4. completion of (or exemption from) all Foundation and required courses, including Field Education and Clinical Pastoral Education;
  5. accumulation during the course of residence of a minimum of 83 credits with an average of not less than C-.

Total credits required for graduation:  83

Recommended Course Plan for a Three-Year Master of Divinity
Listed below are the Foundation Courses, as well as Electives, required for the M.Div. This three-year full-time course plan allows students to take all of the Foundation Courses in sequential order and to acquire the requisite number of credits for graduation. This particular sequence is not required, but in considering alternatives, students are urged to plan ahead to ensure that they will not encounter time conflicts in the scheduling of Foundation Courses. In addition, part-time study is possible and permitted.

Junior Year

Michaelmas term
 Tutorial Seminar Program
 Old Testament 1
 New Testament 1
 Church Music 1
 Biblical Language or other Elective

Easter term
 Old Testament 2
 New Testament 2
 Church History 1
 Philosophical Foundations (ST 01)+ or other Elective
 Biblical Language or other Elective

Trinity term (summer)
 Clinical Pastoral Education

Middler Year

Michaelmas term
 Church History 2
 Systematic Theology 1
 Liturgics 1* or Elective
 Preaching 1
 Pastoral Theology 1
 Field Education 1

Easter term
 Church History 3
 Christian Ethics 1
 Pastoral Theology 2
 Field Education 2
 Elective
 Elective

Trinity term (summer)
 Elective Summer Field Placement

Senior Year

Michaelmas term
 Ascetical Theology 1
 Liturgics (LT1)* or Elective
 Pastoral Theology 3
 Field Education 3
 Elective
 Elective

Easter term
 Pastoral Theology 4
 Field Education 4
 Elective
 Elective
 Elective
 Elective

Total credits required for graduation: 83

Note: As the full course list indicates, all foundation courses carry three credits, with these exceptions: CM1, two or three; PT1-4, two each. CPE carries six credits. TFE1 and 2 carry one credit each; TFE3 and 4, two each. TSP carries no credit.

+Philosophical Foundations for Theology (ST 01) is an encouraged elective that provides an introduction to the language of theology and key philosophical concepts. It serves as a foundation for both ST and the historical theology of the CH sequence.

*Liturgics 1, a required course, may be taken in the Michaelmas term of either the Middler or Senior year in this recommended plan.

9/20/06