Core Curriculum
Up to 24 courses for the four-year M. Div. degree are taken in six required areas of study, as outlined below with suggested course content. (Additional units must also be taken in Field Education.) Meadville Lombard’s faculty believes the six areas of study are essential for preparation for ministry in today’s world.

Area 1: The Historical Context of Ministry – Five Courses. The first four are normally taken at another nearby seminary or the Divinity School of the University of Chicago:

• Hebrew Scriptures
• Christian Scriptures
• Western Religious Traditions I (Church History)
• Western Religious Traditions II
• Unitarian Universalist History

Area 2: Introduction to Ministry – One Course

Area 3: Theology – Three Courses

Area 4: Arts of Ministry – Three courses of which the following are offered at Meadville Lombard:

• The Contemporary Context of Ministry
• Worship and Preaching Among the Unitarian Universalists
• Justice, Ministry and Advocacy

Area 5: Religious Education – Two Courses

Area 6: Ethics – Two Courses

Residential students take four courses at the University of Chicago. Additional courses may be taken at any of the other seminaries in the Association of Chicago Theological Schools, the ACTS consortium in which Meadville participates. For students in the residential program, a minimum of 9 academic units (1 course = 1 unit) must be taken at Meadville Lombard in order to be granted the degree from this institution.