The Master of Arts in Leadership Studies (MALS) degree program equips you with the knowledge, skills, and experience you need to be an effective, faith-grounded, justice-seeking leader in community-based ministries. Through the MALS program, you will:
The program is organized around a series of courses and unique real-world engagements through which you will learn to integrate the spiritual and emotional self-awareness, professional proficiencies, and global consciousness necessary for more mindful, compassionate leadership in diverse organizational contexts.
The MALS program is ideal for social activists seeking to ground their work in the transforming power of liberal faith, laypeople seeking to deepen the theological roots of their leadership, students in discernment regarding their call to ordained ministry, and graduates of the Master of Divinity program who would like additional internship experience.
Grounded in a theology of social engagement, the MALS program is attuned to the diverse challenges and opportunities of leadership in a multifaith, multiracial, and multicultural world. You will learn how to lead, and how to continue to learn, by working within and across diverse communities.
The MALS educational model combines cohort learning, intensive seminars, and practical experiences in a low-residency format. You can complete your degree while remaining based in your home community, whether in the United States or elsewhere around the globe.
MALS students tailor their learning to their needs and purposes by choosing from one of two concentrations:
This concentration prepares students to minister to the social and spiritual needs of multifaith, multiracial, and multicultural communities and organizations. It is especially appropriate for those who are called to initiatives in faith formation, justice work, music and/or the arts, and religious leadership in international and/or non-traditional settings.
This concentration provides advanced work for community activists, faith-based community leaders, and social entrepreneurs who wish to deepen the theological, moral, and spiritual framework and grounding they bring to their justice work.
The MALS degree program requires 36 completed credits. The program can be completed in 18 months by full-time students.
Utilizing Meadville Lombard’s Contextual Learning model of theological education, you’ll complete and discuss coursework with peers and faculty via our low-residency education platform, and you’ll get hands-on experience through an internship at a nonprofit organization. Our faculty will work with you to find the best internship site and teaching mentor for your personal formation.