I have a MEd and am nearing the end of my MA in Buddhist Studies. During my time of Buddhist Studies, I often handed in assignments comparing it with, and showing up paralells with, Christianity. I became so interested in Christanity, that I would like to pursue a further study programme to gain more knowledge. Just for self-improvement. My partner said that this is OK (moneywise!!!) as long as I dont enroll in a degree lower than Masters. Does anybody know of a university (except ULC ) that would be offering a pure-DL MTheol without a BTheol, but on the base of having two Masters degrees, onw of which is kind of related to religion, but not to Christianity? Thank you for any advise, adelheid:
I don't know of any universities which WOULD actually require a bachelor's degree in theology before taking on a masters. Most masters programs seem to assume that you will have a bachelors degree in some other subject -- at least in the US. And even if such were the case a school offering a generic theology degree (that is, not ministerial preparation) is going to think that your previous master's work is more than equivalent than a bachelor's degree in religion.
Re: Re: MTheol without BTheol boydston, thanks for your reply. I was not aware that there are degrees specifically for ministerial preparation. Would you mind explaining this to me, please? Cheers, adelheid
Re: Re: Re: MTheol without BTheol I'm the only one browsing this forum right now, so I'll take a shot at it. The standard credential for Christian clergy in the U.S. is the Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.), which is usually 90 semester credits beyond the Bachelor's degree. There are several schools that offer a M.A. in Theology/Ministry/Religion degree, which is usually between 30-45 semester credits. A good place to start looking is Jason Baker's Guide to Christian Distance Education.
Re: Re: Re: MTheol without BTheol Some schools offer what is called a Master of Divinity degree which prepares a person for the ministry. If you go to a Christian school to earn a Master of Divinity degree, then you would study Hebrew, Greek, the Old Testament, the New Testament, Christian theology, church history, counseling, etc. Many people go to a seminary to earn a Master of Divinity degree. A seminary is a kind of a graduate school where one can obtain ministerial training. Some seminaries offer certificate programs which would prepare one for the lay ministry instead of a pastoral ministry. Some seminaries offer degrees that are not specifically for ministerial preparation such as the Master of Arts in Church History, Master of Arts in Philosophy of Religion, etc.
Re: Re: Re: MTheol without BTheol It seems to me that in the US you can study Christianity in four somewhat distinct types of institutions: 1. Theological seminaries which see their mission as training leadership for the church – various types of clergy and academics. In the US, as pointed out by Bruce Tait, the standard graduate degree (for those who require graduate education) is the 3-year M.Div. There are also a variety of other masters degrees. e.g. check out Fuller Seminary, St Vladimirs, or Dallas Theological Seminary. 2. Theological seminaries which see their mission as helping people develop their religious world view. Many of the mainline seminaries have shifted this direction. While they still do some clergy training they also teach religion in a more generic sense. e.g. check out the schools in the Graduate Theological Union or Iliff. 3. There are Christian universities which offer graduate degrees in religion – with a distinctively Christian twist. e.g. Wheaton College or Notre Dame. 4. There are secular universities which offer graduate degrees in generic religion. You can study Christianity within this context. e.g. Bowling Green State University in Kentucky has a good religious studies program. The schools which have been the most aggressive in developing distance based graduate degrees in Christianity have been those in #1. However, most of these schools are accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and ATS up to this point will not allow its schools to offer a program that can be completed exclusively online or through distance education. They do offer degrees with short-term residency. I suspect that there are a few schools in the categories #3 & #4 which offer some distance degrees in religion. This is the picture in the US. In the rest of the world the lines between the categories blur considerably. Some of your best opportunities for a masters in Christianity might be in the UK, South Africa, or Australia.
