Th.M. Program Degree Requirements
Degree
Requirements
The Master of Theology degree is conferred upon the attainment of certain personal and academic requirements. In addition to the general seminary requirements outlined on pages 30-31 and the specific Th.M. competencies listed above, degree candidates must (1) give evidence of a genuine Christian character, orthodox belief, and conduct consistent with a God-given call to a position of leadership, and (2) complete all courses in the prescribed Th.M. curriculum with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
The Th.M. degree can be completed in one year of full-time study. Students may take up to an additional year to write a thesis and pass comprehensive exams. All full-time students, however, are expected to finish the degree within three years of initial registration. For part-time students, a good deal of flexibility is built into the program that allows for a longer period of time for degree completion. All Th.M. students are expected to maintain active progress toward their degree with at least an annual registration. A 3.0 grade point average must be maintained throughout the program.
The Master of Theology is a highly personalized degree program. Students may design their program to fit particular academic and/or vocational goals. All programs, however, must fit the following basic structure:
- Th.M. Only Seminars 8 hours
- Th.M. Integration Seminar 2 hours
- Th.M. Electives 10 hours
- Thesis research and writing (RES 600) 1 hour
- Thesis (RES
602) 4 hours
Total 25 hours
An acceptable thesis and comprehensive examination are integral parts of the program. The examination includes both an oral defense of a student’s Th.M. thesis and an oral investigation of a student’s competency in his/her concentration courses.
Post-M.Div. studies completed at another professionally or regionally accredited seminary or graduate school may be considered for transfer credit, if the proposed transfer credit fits the nature of the program and other requirements are met. A maximum of eight semester hours may be transferred. Students wishing to transfer credit should contact the Registrar’s Office.
Students may complete up to eight hours through the Jerusalem University College (formerly the Institute of Holy Land Studies) in Jerusalem, Israel. These hours may be selected from among approved master’s level courses at the Institute. The selection of such courses should be under the guidance of the director of the Th.M. program.
Th.M.
Core Outcomes
In addition to the Seminary’s general educational goals, the Master
of Theology program attempts to achieve specific outcomes. For each
student, these outcomes are:
- Be a scholar who appreciates and understands the various disciplines that contribute to evangelical scholarship and can articulate a model of integration of those disciplines and employ that model in his/her research and writing.
- Be able to engage competently in high level research and articulate clearly and precisely his/her discoveries in both written forms (including a thesis) and oral presentations.
- Be a person who has mastered the key concepts, themes, and skills of his/her Th.M. courses and can adequately defend his/her thesis before others.
- Be able to interpret Scripture (a proficiency in the grammatical-historical method) with particular skills in textual criticism, lexicography, grammar, syntax, and genre awareness.
- Know what biblical theology is and know how to engage in it, understanding how biblical theology affects both the exegesis of Scripture and systematic theology.
- Know what systematic theology is and what are its proper sources, and know a methodology and how to employ that methodology in actually doing systematic theology.
- Know the usefulness and role of historical theology in evangelical scholarship, being familiar with the most significant resources and knowing how to proceed in historical research.
- Be able to recognize and appreciate the role of reason, logic, tradition, and world view in biblical and theological studies, and be able to interact with past and present philosophical and cultural issues which impinge on those studies.
