Praxis at Meadville Lombard is field education that takes place concurrently with academic work. It provides opportunities for the integration of classroom and practical experience and facilitates the development and identity of professional ministry. Praxis requirements are different for students in the modified residency program than for those in the residential program. 

Modified Residency Program Praxis
Because modified residency students do not have the continuing community of discourse that is part of the educational/formational experience of residential students, Meadville Lombard has designed MRP praxis to provide an opportunity for students to be part of a religious community in which they can reflect on the lived experience of the theory they are learning. Students are required to complete eighteen months (two church years), ten hours per week, of reflective, supervised work in a congregation or agency. The student’s home congregation is an acceptable site. The student works with a Transition Support Committee made up of people representative of the congregation or agency, and with a minister or other suitable professional who functions in a supervisory relationship. The committee and the supervisor help the student to define goals, evaluate experiences, and reflect on his/her growing ministerial identity.

Residential Program Praxis
Praxis is recommended but not required for residential students. There are a variety of opportunities for reflective, supervised involvement in churches or agencies in the Chicago area. Summer projects in other locations can also be considered. Praxis experiences typically cover the span of an academic quarter or a full academic year. It is expected that students devote ten hours a week to their praxis placements. These engagements allow students to test themselves in many settings, to learn new skills, and to develop new ministerial interests. In most cases residential students can earn up to 1/3 credit per praxis quarter.