Master of Divinity

The classic degree to prepare for pastoral ministry, the M.DIV. covers what’s needed to serve God in any vocational role. Provides the resources and tools to think as a Christian about how to approach ministry with people today.

The Master of Divinity course of study covers a wide range of areas graduates will put to use fulfilling God’s mission in their lives, whether in the day-to-day calling of a pastor or in the life of a missionary crossing cultural lines to share Christ. The degree provides both the resources to draw on and the ability to think through new challenges. A student who completes this degree will be well equipped to face new and complex issues, to think as a Christian, and to know where to go to find answers.

Earning the Master of Divinity degree ensures students have received a foundation in the Scriptures, in the history and thought of the Christian church, and in areas of ministry skills needed to impact people for Christ and the Gospel.

1. The student will grasp the basic content and structure of the Old and New Testaments of Scripture as well as to understand the broad storyline of the Bible which narrates God’s mission to bring people to himself
2. The student will develop sensitivity to issues and procedures in interpretation of the text. With a facility in the original languages the student will be able to communicate the message of any portion of Scripture in a way that stays faithful to the intention of the text and is relevant for people today.
3. The student will learn how the church has developed and the Christian gospel has been proclaimed and lived over the last two millennia.
4. The student will gain an awareness of the unique beliefs of the Christian faith and an understanding of the evidence on which that faith is based as well.
5. The student will deepen Christian character and personal spiritual life, acquire the ability to think as a Christian about life, culture, and mission, and use resources to derive answers for developing issues in a pluralistic world.
6. The student will prepare for the work of pastoral care: to reach out to people to attend to their personal needs, to effectively communicate truth, to seek and cast God’s vision for a ministry, to foster healthy Christian community life in a church, to counsel individuals, to train and oversee leaders, and to lead a congregation.

PREREQUISITES – 6 to 8 hrs

To be completed before beginning seminary studies, if possible. If taken while at Urbana Theological Seminary the credit hours in first-year Greek will not count towards the total for the M.Div. degree.
BL 501 New Testament Greek 1
BL 502 New Testament Greek 2

BIBLICAL STUDIES – 23 hrs

Biblical Interpretation – 11 hrs
BI 501 Old Testament Survey, 3 hrs
BI 502 New Testament Survey, 3 hrs
BI 510 Inductive Bible Study Methods, 2 hrs
BI 601 Hermeneutics, 3 hrs

Biblical Languages – 6 hrs
May be completed before beginning seminary studies. If the student has completed the first year of Hebrew before seminary, the student is to add 6 hours of biblical electives.
BL 551 Classical Hebrew 1, 3 hrs
BL 552 Classical Hebrew 2, 3 hrs

Biblical Exegesis – 6 hrs
BI/BL 610 Hebrew Exegetical Study, 3 hrs
BI/BL 611 Greek Exegetical Study, 3 hrs

CHRISTIAN HISTORY & THOUGHT – 21 hrs

Christian History – 6 hrs
CH 501 History of Christianity 1, 3 hrs
CH 502 History of Christianity 2, 3 hrs

Christian Thought – 15 hrs
CT 501 Theology 1, 3 hrs
CT 502 Theology 2, 3 hrs
CT 510 Ethics, 3 hrs
CT 520 Apologetics, 3 hrs
CT 600 Theology and Contemporary Issues, 3 hrs

PRACTICAL MINISTRY – 23 hrs

Formation for Ministry – 9 hrs
FM 501 Ministry and Evangelism in Cultural Context, 3 hrs
FM 502 Spiritual Formation and Discipleship, 3 hrs
FM 503 Leadership and Vision, 3 hrs

Practice of Ministry – 13 hrs
PM 501 Pastoral Ministry: Duties and Issues, 2 hrs
PM 502 Worship, 3 hrs
PM 503 Biblical Preaching: Theory and Practice, 3 hrs
PM 505 Introduction to Christian Counseling, 2 hrs
PM 554 World Christian Movement: Gateway to Mission, 3 hrs

Supervised Ministry – 1 hr

FE 101 Field Education 1, 0 hr
FE 102 Field Education 2, 0 hr
FE 103 Field Education 3, 0 hr
FE 500 Field Education 4, .5 hr
FE 501 Field Education 5, .5 hr

INTERDISCIPLINARY – 2 hrs

GN 500 Introduction to Graduate Research and Study, 0 hr
GN 700 Integrative Seminar, 2 hrs

ELECTIVES – 21 hrs

As part of these electives the student should enroll in:
Any 4 hours in courses selected from the following: BI 600, 605, 620, 621, 740
Any 3 hours selected from the following: CH 601, 603, 605 or 740
Any 3 hours in courses selected from the following: CT 601, 602, 740 or PM 555

TOTAL SEMESTER HOURS REQUIRED – 90

1. The applicant must have earned a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an approved university or college.
2. The applicant must have earned the minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.25 on a 4.0 scale for admission to an Urbana Seminary program.
3. Applicants to the Master of Divinity program are encouraged to complete at least a year of undergraduate Greek (more advanced coursework is desirable) before beginning study at Urbana Seminary. Admission without Greek is allowed, with the understanding that Greek should be taken early in the program of study.
4. The applicant must complete the Urbana Seminary application file for Masters programs.