Master of Divinity
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Academics > Master of Divinity
The Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree is a three-year program that prepares students to enter the ministry. Students may complete the program through part-time enrollment. Part-time students generally complete the program witin six (6) years.
While we are a Unitarian Universalist seminary, we encourage ministerial aspirants of other faith traditions who seek a ground-breaking experience with world-class faculty to consider our MDiv degree program.
Meadville Lombard's MDiv program is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and satisfies the requirements of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Meadville Lombard offers a unique model for theological education, designed to prepare ministers for our theologically diverse, multicultural, multiracial world. Built into this model is a web of support where students learn the theory and practice of religious leadership with and from academics, clergy, community leaders, and each other. Our educational model is based on insights from Engaged Buddhism, Native American traditions, and feminist theory: we do not think ourselves into new ways of acting, but act ourselves into new ways of thinking and being. This model and this maxim help us to inspire leaders who will have the skills to change lives in order to change the world.
MDiv Signature Courses
The MDiv degree program is anchored by our three experiential Signature Courses that give students an opportunity to integrate their academic learning with fieldwork that they are required to do in placements in community and congregational settings.
Students take the courses in the following sequence, building on their learning from year to year:
Community Studies Seminar (3 credits): In the first year, with the guidance of our Director of Contextual Ministry, students find placements in community service organizations. Placements are selected with the purpose of enhancing the student’s multicultural competencies. Students are required to provide up to 8 hours of weekly service to the organization.
Congregational Studies Seminar (4 credits): Requirements: successful completion of the Community Studies Seminar and the completion of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Students are required to commit to up to 20 hours a week in a congregational setting. In addition to the faculty, Teaching Pastors (experienced ministers leading the congregation) help direct the work of the students.
Leadership Studies Seminar (4 credits): Requirements: successful completion of the Community Studies and Congregational Studies Seminars. This course must be taken the year immediately following Congregational Studies. During the course of their enrollment in the Congregational and Leadership Studies Seminars, students undertake a project within the congregation that enhances the ability of the congregation to engage in border crossing.
Master of Divinity Core Requirements
Required Courses | 20 credits+
- Community Studies | 8 hours site work per week | 3 credits
- Congregational Studies | 20 hours site work per week | 4 credits
Leadership Studies | 20 hours site work per week | 4 credits
- UU Polity*/UU History* | 1 credit
- Religious Education for A Changing World
- Liberal Theology
- Arts and Aesthetics
- Preaching As If You Mean It
- Introduction to Pastoral Ministry
- Clinical Pastoral Education | 3 credits
Distribution Requirements | 10 credits
- Scripture | 2 credits
- Western Religious History | 2 credits
- Theology/Ethics | 2 credits
- Religious Education | 1 credit
3 more credits from any of the other course offerings/rotations in theology, ethics, pastoral ministry, aesthetics, history, world religions, scripture, religious education, etc.
+Up to 9 credits may be transferred from prior graduate work, dependent on a faculty review. Once students matriculate, they may take up to 3 credits outside of Meadville Lombard Theological School at another accredited graduate institution. All transfer credits must be pre-approved by the student’s academic advisor. Transferred credits will not appear on the Meadville Lombard transcript with a letter grade (only the credit is transferring) and the letter P, for Pass, will accompany all transferred credits.
*Students from other denominations are not required to take these courses but should consult with their credentialing body for equivalent requirements.
Clinical Pastoral Education
Ministry students are required to complete one basic unit in a program certified by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). Since placement sites often limit the number of available spots each year, students are encouraged to apply to these programs early in the first year of study to complete the requirement during the summer between the first and second year of study.
There are three main components in CPE:
- pastoral encounters with persons in need or crisis
- structured educational (didactic) sessions
- theological and ministerial reflection with supervisors and peers
