Master of Divinity
Overview
The Master of Divinity (MDiv) program is designed for women and men preparing for roles as pastors, missionaries, chaplains, or some other form of Christian service. The MDiv curriculum is designed to enable students to prepare for ordination, licensing, or recording.*
The MDiv curriculum is developed around biblical, theological, and historical foundations courses, leadership and pastoral studies courses, and spiritual formation courses as well as some elective credit courses. The entire curriculum pathway is designed to prepare you to lead and serve like Christ, the Way.
*While the seminary provides training, it is denominations-not the seminary-that oversee the process of ordination, licensure, or recording.
Program Competencies
The MDiv Program will equip and form students to think with clarity like Christ, live with integrity in Christ, and serve with the heart of God for Christ.
To think with clarity like Christ students will
- Analyze ancient sources and contextualize meaning
- Examine Information value
- Engage interdisciplinary research
- Practice intentional thinking
- Explore creative arts as a thinking process
To live with integrity in Christ students will
- Embrace identity & belonging in Christ
- Deepen self awareness for Christ
- Engage the sacramental life with Christ
- Embody listening and discernment with the Holy Spirit
- Cultivate hospitable community for God’s world
To serve with the Heart of God for Christ students will
- Steward one’s calling
- Form communities of shalom and grace
- Create healthy systems and environments
- Communicate the wisdom and mission of God
- Lead as a servant influencer to a sustainable future
Degree Outcomes
Students will:
- Interact with Christian Scripture, history, and theology; interpret understandings critically and express them faithfully
- Cultivate tools and habits to pursue an ever-deepening sense of the reality of Jesus Christ through spiritual formation
- Experience themselves and relate to others as created in God's image and called into community
- Support the just transformation of societies through personal and social holiness motivated by love
- Lead the church under the lordship of Jesus Christ in its mission and ministries
- Preach, teach, exercise pastoral care, equip, and lead in local churches and Christian communities
Admission Requirements
Applicants seeking admission to the MDiv program must hold a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university,† with a minimum GPA of 3.0. In addition, applicants must complete the following to be considered for admission to the program:
- Submit Portland Seminary application and application fee
- Submit one official transcript from each college/university attended
- Resumé
- Personal mission statement and statement of faith
- Three letters of reference (as specified in admissions materials)
- An interview
†Applicants who do not hold a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university may apply to the seminary and will be required to submit additional documentation to be considered for admission.
Transfer Credit
Transfer of up to 36 hours of credit is allowed toward the MDiv program from ATS-accredited graduate schools. Students must have earned a grade of B or better for a course to be considered for transfer. Transferability of credits earned at this institution and transferred to another is at the discretion of the receiving institution. Consult the registrar's office for information on eligibility of transfer credit.
Residence Requirements
Residence, as described in this section of the catalog, does not refer to the time a student spends on campus. It refers to the portion of a degree program that students are required to earn with Portland Seminary, as compared to transfer credits and credit applied as advanced standing. With regard to the MDiv program, students are required to complete half of the degree (36 semester hours) directly with Portland Seminary. A leave of absence is valid for up to one year, after which the student must reapply to the program. Reinstatement to the program after withdrawal requires Admissions Committee action and may subject the student to additional requirements for the degree.
Course Requirements
Chaplaincy
Clinical Pastoral Education
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) brings seminary students into supervised ministry with people in crisis. The heart of CPE is ministry with people and learning from that ministry through reflection, discussion, and evaluation with other students and a certified CPE supervisor. CPE training centers are usually located in hospitals and medical centers. Portland Seminary is a member of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. Any seminary student in the MDiv degree program may choose to do his or her internship in a CPE setting; students in the chaplaincy specialization are required to complete a CPE internship. Students pay regular seminary tuition for seminary credits awarded for CPE units. However, because students also pay tuition to their CPE site, Portland Seminary students may be eligible to be reimbursed for that hospital tuition. Reimbursement is limited to 75 percent of the seminary tuition paid for the credits awarded for CPE experience. Students can apply for reimbursement by submitting receipts upon successful completion of the CPE program. Students who feel called to hospital chaplaincy would take the following recommended path at Portland Seminary and beyond:
Hospital Chaplaincy Path
Students pursuing hospital chaplaincy are advised to fulfill the following requirements:
- Acceptance into the MDiv degree program with chaplaincy specialization (while some hospitals accept people with seminary MA degrees as chaplains, the MDiv offers more long-term options [and a minimum of 72 semester hours is required for board certification]).
- Completion of a unit of CPE training at an approved training site. The chaplaincy specialization includes CPE training (worth 6 credit hours at the seminary). CPE internships are typically offered in two formats:
- Summer 11-week intensive (full-time) = 1 unit of CPE (100 hours of structured group supervision and training and 300 hours of clinical practice—stipend offered by some hospitals)
- Extended unit (part-time) = 1 unit of CPE spread over 5 months (100 hours of structured group supervision and training and some clinical practice—no stipend)
- Ordination or a certificate of ministry from the person's denomination. “Endorsement by a judicatory” is required for board certification.
- One year of post-MDiv residency. After completion of the MDiv, the student must apply for a year of residency at an approved CPE training hospital. These are full-time paid positions for which the individual completes an additional three to four units of CPE. The seminary CPE director keeps a file of residency positions available; these are posted on the bulletin board opposite the seminary office. An application should be made one year before the desired placement.
- Board certification. After fulfilling the requirements of the Association of Professional Chaplains, the graduate would apply for board certification. Students are encouraged to become student members of APC.
MDiv Curriculum for Hospital Chaplaincy Students
- All the normal curriculum requirements for the MDiv degree, following the chaplaincy specialization.
- Internship requirement would be PSTD 563 CPE one unit (6 hours, two of which are registered under PSTD 563, continued practicum). The student would not take PSTD 568/9/570 Ministerial Apprenticeship.
- A student coming to the seminary with previous CPE units may register up to a maximum of 8 credit hours of PSTD 563/4/5.
Registering for PSTD 563-565 Clinical Pastoral Education
Students should apply for acceptance into an approved CPE center one year ahead of their desired internship date. In Oregon, there are several centers: Legacy Health System, Oregon State Hospital, Providence/Portland Medical Center, Good Samaritan in Corvallis, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The ACPE directory with information concerning the centers, the contact persons, and application processes is available online at http://www.acpe.edu/. The student will contact the CPE coordinator at the preferred site, fill out an application, and pay the application fee. Once the student is accepted, he or she will register for PSTD 562. One unit of CPE is equal to 6 semester credits (two of which will be registered under PSTD 563, continued practicum). CPE courses are graded Pass/No Pass. Upon completion of the training, the student will submit the final supervision report to the seminary faculty director in order to record the course grade.
Military Chaplaincy Path
Those who feel called to military chaplaincy should contact the branch of service in which they desire to serve. The chaplain recruiter for the area will acquaint the student with the scholarships, requirements, and steps toward accomplishing this objective. Those who attend Military Chaplaincy School will receive 8 hours in lieu of the chaplaincy specialization.
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate with the MDiv degree, students must:
- Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 72 semester hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
- Achieve no grade lower than a C- in all courses. If a grade lower than a C- is received, that course must be retaken (for more specific information, please refer to the student handbook).
- Successfully complete each milestone
- Be admitted to candidacy for the degree
- Be recommended by the seminary faculty for graduation from Portland Seminary of George Fox University
Other Degree Requirements
Each masters student will undergo an initial personality assessment with a mental health professional upon matriculation to identify areas for fit and growth in relation to ministry and vocational discernment. This initial review process serves as a way to assess the student's fit for the profession; emotional, psychological, and intellectual ability; as well as maturity level for functioning safely as a ministry leadership professional. The seminary faculty will review this assessment for newly matriculated students each fall semester and take it into consideration alongside conversations regarding the student performance during the semester. At times, the faculty may recommend, or require counseling in order to better identify areas of personal growth in order to maximize one's ministry potential and capitalize on discovered strengths through one’s seminary career. For more specific information, please refer to the student handbook.
Curriculum Plan
Complete the following:
Choose one of the following:
OR
Choose from the following:
Complete the following:
Complete the following:
Complete the following:
Students must complete 3 credits in one of the internship options listed below. An internship is either Apprenticeship, Teaching Apprenticeship, Mentoring, Spiritual Direction Training, or Clinical Pastoral Education. All students complete an internship.
Choose one of the following:
Apprenticeship
Students completing an apprenticeship will complete the following courses. Students can complete either one 3-credit course, three 1-credit courses, or any variation.
Teaching Apprenticeship
This course combines instruction in pedagogy for higher education with a teaching internship in a higher-ed setting. Prerequisite: BIST 501 and BIST 503 or BIST 502 and BIST 504, dependent on emphasis.
This course is the second part of a three-course sequence. It combines instruction in pedagogy for higher education with a teaching internship in a higher-ed setting. Prerequisite: BIST/CHTH 568.
Mentoring
Clinical Pastoral Education Apprenticeship
Spiritual Direction Training
Students completing Spiritual Direction Training will take the following Spiritual Direction Training course.
Concentration (9 hours)
Choose from the following:
Choose from the following:
Students wanting to do a concentration in Christian History and Theology Studies would complete 9 credits from the listed Christian History and Theology Concentration courses.
Complete the following:
Complete the following:
Any 3-credit elective course or three 1-hour formation courses.
Interdisciplinary Concentration students must complete 9 credits of electives. Students can choose any combination of courses from the subject areas listed below.
Choose from the following:
Any 3-credit elective course or three 1-hour formation courses.