Nations University MRS...last questions

OK guys! I have a question or two that may be the deciding factor for me taking the Master's in Religious Studies Course through Nations.

I have a 4 year degree in Lib Arts/Pub Admin from a regionally accredited school. I want to enroll in the MRS program at Nations, but I was wondering.....would this degree qualify me in any way to be an instructor at a Christian High School or Christian college?
Could this degree be used in the Secular world in any way at all....in other words make me more hireable being that I would have a Master's under my belt, no matter what it is in? I would prefer Counseling, or Christian Counseling, but Nations getting National accreditation for the price is too good to pass up, and the courses are tough from what I understand. Thank you all! I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Don't count on accreditation. They have not been approved yet, and it can be a long process.

It would probably not qualify you for teaching.

If you want to teach at a college, you need to have a regionally accredited degree. You might even need a doctorate to get hired, and even that wouldn't be a guarantee.

For a high school, most of the high schools I have encountered require a regionally accredited degree as well, but I am not as familiar with these requirements.

Bottom line, if you are looking to teach, you need regional accreditation as a bare minimum. For religion, some schools might even require ATS accreditation on top of regional accreditation. DETC-accredited degrees (which NU does not yet offer) can be helpful in industry, but avoid them at all costs if you intend to work in education.

 

Last time I talked to anyone overthere they were years off from getting it.

Other cheap options..

Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development - Degree Programs
Programs for Tennessee Temple a Christian University
Seminary Degrees / Online Seminary / Theological Seminary

 

I always have to look twice when someone posts about the "MRS degree".

That term can have an entirely different meaning.

 

Indeed....

 

Teaching in a Christian High School is a somewhat complicated matter as standards vary a lot. These will go from requiring a regionally accredited Masters degree to requiring a degree from a college run by that denomination. Next, even if the MRS already had accreditation, it is possible it might help you teach a religion course (ie not much more). In the secular world, this or any others MRS is not likely to help you do much.

Not that money matters to you but Christian High Schools generally do not pay well at all (some rare ones do but most do not).

In terms of a Christian College, this degree would not likely help since it is not yet accredited, most Christian colleges are regionally accredited (unless you are looking at the subset that are nationally accredited or accredited by a professional religious accreditor or whatever the new US Dept of Ed term is for the ABHE, ATS, Rabbinic Accreditor, TRACS), and even doctoral grads are not finding it easy to secure tenured academic positions.

Bottom line, if you want the degree for your own self satisfaction (subject you are interested in) then it has merit since it is affiliated with the Church of Christ (recognized and respected denomination unless you are an independent fundamentalist Baptist) and they are working on accreditation by a recognized accreditor. Does not mean they will get accredited so you must be satisfied with ambiguity. If you want to get the degree for teaching (etc) then I would look at other options and frankly, I would be cautious about any MRS degree since you are talking about a specialized and narrow field of use with little financial incentive. The Master of Religious Studies (M.R.S.) is a first level, non-professional degree and represents a minimum one-year of study. The primary objective of the M.R.S. program is to provide an orientation to religious studies, with a major interest in the Christian faith. These sorts of degrees are often for personal interest or narrow use and not for becoming a theologian. The path to a doctorate in theology is usually Bachelors, Masters of Divinity, Master of Theology and then the Doctorate (PhD or ThD). Then comes the tough job market.

If your desire is to study Counseling then I would say study for that degree. What is the point of spending a year of full time study on a degree that is not in your field of interest (plus you might as well get going on the counseling degree since it is 48 credit hours long). If you want a degree that will come from a religious school and qualify for state licensure as a psycho therapist, try Liberty University. Can study by distance learning with some short residency. Decent tuition (even cheaper if you are a vet).

 

I appreciate the comments. You are very helpful.
Well, I wanted to pursue counseling, but I could not afford it, which led me to investigating tution free Bible Colleges, non of which are free, accredited that offer counseling, even as a minor. Counseling and or Criminal Justice/Sociology are very interesting to me..but I cannot afford traditional payments. My employer wont pay anything until degree is completed. Any suggestions guys??

 

Simply put, if you want a degree that employers will recognize, you will have to pay for it.

You also should clearly define your area of interest first.

Do you want to pursue licensure as a counselor, or are you interested in non-professional counseling (like in a volunteer or ecclesiastical context)?

 

Forgive me for intruding on this thread, but I wanted to get some clarity on this institution. Before registering, I remember reading that NationsUniversity does not yet have accreditation, and it seems that people here are skeptical about that happening any time soon or at all. If I may ask, why is that? Is there something wrong with the school? Are the administrators not really trying to pursue proper accreditation? Or perhaps, is the school somehow fraudulent? Please help me to understand the situation!

 

As has been said, if you want to seriously counsel you will need to take out loans and get the counseling degree from an accredited school.

If you want the degree for your personal interest and some chance it may become accredited, then try NU. It is affiliated with a recognized denomination. At the moment this is unlikely to help with your secular employer. Even at NU, although many courses have texts embedded in the course others courses require several texts each which you have to pay for.

The only other free school I am aware of that has some credibility is The North American Reformed Seminary (TNARS). They are free, texts are all online (older theological texts so free), lectures are from seminaries that put them on line and are also free. Their graduates can sit for ordination in some very reputable reformed denominations (such as PCA). They are endorsed by a couple of reputable Reformed Theologians. | The North American Reformed Seminary Again, if this is for your own edification or you want to sit for ordination exams in the denominations listed on the site this may work. Won't do much for you with a secular employer.

Think carefully. Even at these two schools you are likely to spend 2-3 plus years of study to earn a degree. If it is in the area you want and will meet your needs, fine. But if you really want to be a licensed therapist or school counselor, it may be a wiser use of your time to get a student loan and earn an accredited counseling degree rather than a theological degree.