Field Education Criteria for Placements

Field education integrates academic study, spiritual discipline, and the practice of ministry. It is the portion of the MDiv curriculum that involves students in supervised work in ministry in PSR-approved ministry settings.

Field Education differs from field work, unsupervised church employment, and other employment because it requires:

  1. Involvement in significant learning opportunities for the full range of the work of ministry;
  2. Development of a learning/serving covenant at the beginning of each semester as the first step in the self-directed, self-reflective learning process;
  3. Regular reflection sessions, one hour weekly, with an on-site mentor;
  4. Written evaluations by the mentor and the seminarian that are submitted to the Field Education Office at the end of each semester;
  5. Regular feedback from a constituency group (Teaching Parish Committee or Teaching Agency Committee) concerning the seminarian's growth and level of competency;
  6. And, for students in Concurrent Field Education, participation in a weekly seminar throughout the academic year in which there is disciplined reflection on the practice of ministry.

Mentors within the local area are expected to participate in scheduled meetings with Field Education faculty. During the first year of mentoring, there are six meetings. In subsequent years, there are three.

Field education placements may be part time (concurrent) or full time (internship) during the academic year. As an elective option, students may receive academic credit for full-time summer placements.