Hello everyone. I am a graduate of Liberty University with a MS in Religion. I have also attended another college at which I comlpleted half of my credits. I ma now pursuing an M. DIv. at Liberty. As some may know, the way the courses are setup at LU it is near impossible to complete more than one course at a time at the Master's level through the Seminary. At my current rate of taking one 8-week course at a time, I will finish in 5 years. I am looking for other ways to complete an M.DIv. in more like 3 years. I was wondering if anyone has come across any other comparable school that delivers in a different format that accomodates quicker completion. I have some friends that tried to complete more than one course at a time through LU Seminary and they had to drop one. Any other idea? Also, I have no problem with taking my time on the D. Min. ater completing the M. Div., but due to my age (42) I was hoping to complete the M. Div. a little sooner. Any information is appreciated. I am a serious student with a 3.9 undergrad GPA and currently 4.0 on grad work. So, I am looking for a good school, not easy but with perhaps a different delivery format or schedule, etc. thanks, rdb
Get yourself copies of Baker's Guide to Christian Distance Education and Walston's Guide to Christian Distance Learning.
Hi rdb, welcome to Degree Info. I agree with you that it is nearly impossible to work full time and take two simultaneous courses at Liberty. I'm enjoying Liberty, but it is a hefty workload. Hopefully, someone here will know of other programs that can be completed more quickly. There are plenty of secular degrees that can be completed more quickly but I'm personally not aware of any MDiv's that can be done that way.
If you don't require RA, you could try doing your MDiv through LRU which is NA (TRACS), I'm not sure whether a typical course from them is "lighter" in terms of workload than Liberty but I would *guess* that it probably is (LRU also has a generous transfer policy): Luther Rice University - Online MDiv If you're planning to use your MDiv for a particular role in your church, you will want to check with them re whether a NA degree is acceptable. Since you mention doing your DMin, you'd want to check with whichever school(s) you are considering to see if they will accept a NA degree for entry.
I did not think it was impossible at all. One option is to take 15 a semester. Take the next semester off to read all the books and watch the videos and then repeat the process.
BrianH, In the undergrad there were videos to watch but in the grad I haven't encountered any videos. It is all reading, papers, and projects. 15 every other semester is still the same pace as 6 per semester, anyway. In undergrad, I did do 12 and 15 per semester but in grad and working as a pastor, I find it near impossible (wife and 4 kids also add to the load). If anyone else has an idea let me know. Thanks.
Have you tried staggering your courses? 9 hours, total, one class in each of the A, B, and C terms? I just finished a degree through the counseling department at LU, and this is the method of scheduling I used.
M.Th. suggestion Rdb Campbellsville University offers a good 30 semester credit "M.A." disguised as a M.Th. I know it is not a M.Div. but thought you would be interested in a very cheap RA accredited 30 credit Master's degree. Here is the link Master of Theology | Campbellsville University Good luck!opworm:
I had videos in about a 1/3 of my graduate classes at LBTS. I found the break, especially Christmas to be helpful for viewing and reading. While it might not be everyones cup of tea, it worked for me so it is an option for others reading. I never started a semester without all the videos watched and books read ahead of time. The discussion boards were always new but that was about it for surprises. It does require 4 months head start. I have five kids and am a elementary principal.
Interesting...but misleading? As a former minister, I have flirted with the idea of returning to school to finish the MDiv I started years ago and was unable to finish due to relocation. Isn't the M.Th. traditionally regarded as a post-MDiv study? Does this seem like a bit of chicanery on the part of Campbellsville U? How do other ministerial types on this board view this?
Typically the post-MDiv degree offered by seminaries is called a ThM not the MTh. (Confusing, yea?) Ex, BIOLA, DTS, SBTS, etc all offer ThM degrees. Now those are all ATS schools; Campbellsville is not ATS accredited. Checking ATS' website, almost all the schools use the ThM nomenclature, while strangely two schools use MTh (Acadia Divinity College & Associated Canadian Theological Schools). In the UK, I think the MTh is considered roughly equivalent to a MA ... the MPhil being the usual pre-PhD/ThD/DMin degree. Ex, Spurgeon's College offers MA/MTh programs: MA & MTh - Master's Courses Bottom line is ... it's confusing I guess. I'm not sure why Campbellsville decided to go with MTh instead of MA, but I agree that it may cause unnecessary confusion.
IMO, it should be a Master of Arts in Theology or a Master of Theological Studies. The nomenclature "Master of Theology" is almost always used in the US for the post-MDiv ThM.
Sure, the abbreviation MTh differs from ThM, but when you write them out, there is no difference. Examples: Master of Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary (120+ hours) Master of Theology, Campbellsville University (30 hours) Sure, the presence of the MDiv might make it clear in context, but a few schools like Dallas do not offer an MDiv, only a ThM. In this case, the ThM would be the only master's degree listed.
StefanM, Yeah, my friends tried that (both 4.0 students) and said...no way while working full-time ministry. bobby
I understand. I have taken a couple seminary courses at LU, and it can be a lot of work. When I decided to overlap my courses, I reviewed the course guides to strategically plan my courses. Have you tried this?
does anyone know of a M.A. program with a thesis that is online? I can get into the PhD program (which I am open to) if I have a M.A. with thesis. Most I have found are non-thesis. Over the last few days I have really given consideration to the PhD rather than the D.Min. It will require Greek (already had that), Hebrew, German, and either French or Latin on a competency exam. Any schools come to mind?
