Master of Science in Ecclesial Administration and Management (MEAM)

A friend in Europe just registered for this MEAM program at the University of St Thomas in Houston and said that, due to COVID-19, most of the courses will be offered by distance learning. I'm still waiting to learn of any details about actual residencies but will share anything I hear.

Glancing at the website, it looks like it may be a carbon copy of a program by the same name at the Catholic University of America.

Both programs seem to be something of an MBA degree specifically for Roman Catholic priests, which I for one never imagined would exist. Has anyone ever seen anything similar out there: business/finance/parish management for clergy?

 

Wonder how the typical funding structure for this would go. Imagine many will have parishoner or parish benefactors, but would be surprised if all did.

 

Diocesan Catholic priests have very generous tuition assistance at the Diocesan level. The problem is that many are too busy to use it. There are also quite a few parish educational funds out there for laypersons since many church administrative roles are going to lay administrators these days.

 

It's good that such funding is available, but besides theological or canon degrees have you ever seen other degrees for Catholic clergy (or lay administrators) such as this? This was the first I'd encountered.

 

Duquesne University had this online graduate program in parish management advertised back in ‘07. Not sure what ever became of it?

https://www.duq.edu/news/releases/duquesne-university-offers-online-graduate-degree-for-parish-managers

 

That's a very oddly narrow line you took there.

Besides theology degrees have I ever seen degrees for Catholic clergy such as this? Typically, the only degree specifically geared toward clergy would be theological degrees and, in the case of Catholic clergy, pontifical degrees. You do not need to be a priest, deacon or bishop to be an administrator. Those three vocational offices have specific sacramental roles and traditionally it is a member of clergy who filled many administrative positions but there is nothing inherent to being a parish administrator that requires you to be a priest. So then, there are very few degrees specified centered on clergy with them as their primary audience. Theology, canon law (JCL) etc are all typically geared toward priests or seminarians and sometimes lay people get them too but they are not the primary target demographic.

I don't see this degree is specifically for priests. Priests might benefit from it but the proliferation of lay administrators, at the parish and diocesan level, has been going on for so long in the US that is has largely become the rule rather than the exception in all but the most conservative dioceses. As such, it is merely a Catholic version of the common protestant take on degrees in "Church Administration" or, more commonly, Leadership. Though I wasn't a fly on the wall when all of these evangelical schools began offering programs in leadership, I would have to imagine it was an outgrowth of the old "Church Administration" degrees and the realization that evangelical ministries very often extend beyond the somewhat limiting title of "Church Administration." You might be in a far flung mission or teaching kids in the inner city or working with drug addicts in Appalachia and the ability to function as an administrator could be key in all of those even if there is not a brick and mortar church for miles around. Thus "Leadership" makes perfect sense. Here, I guess it was the same sort of progression. "Church Administration" sounds like what the parish secretary does. In the diocese where I went to (Catholic) high school we went, over the course of 15 years, from the Chancellor always being an old priest to suddenly becoming a middle aged woman (there have been more than one). This sounds like the sort of degree that would play well with that sort of role and everything in between the parish and the top chancellor spot.

To me this doesn't strike me as odd. Though I think the phrasing of the degree is very unique.

 

I apologize if my query was poorly formed. I didn't think of this as something odd nor merely for priests (as I did specifically mention lay administrators as well). It was just unique in that I hadn't previously seen degrees for clergy or lay administrators of Catholic parishes, beyond philosophical, theological, or canonical programs.

The closest match I have seen were religious education degrees for running or teaching in Catholic schools.

But if other "Church Administration" or "Church Leadership" degrees exist in the Catholic world, that would be something I'd be curious to learn about, especially if they are available via distance learning.

 

Here's one.

Master of Catholic Leadership

 

Great find! Thanks for the follow-up, Neuhaus!

 

Sure thing, I also found this:

Master's in Theology and Leadership | Gonzaga University | Gonzaga University

I feel like a natural progression here is Catholic education, so I'm throwing these out there too...

Master of Catholic School Leadership (udallas.edu)
Online Masters Degree in Educational Leadership for Catholic School Leaders | Saint Leo University
Master of Arts in Catholic School Leadership - St. Mary's University (stmarytx.edu)