Master of Divinity (MDiv)

A graduate professional degree, the Master of Divinity (MDiv) at Pacific School of Religion prepares students for lay and ordained ministry, related vocations, and further academic study. The program meets the educational requirements for ordained ministry in most major Protestant denominations. Within the framework of a curriculum of required course work in biblical studies, history, theology, ethics, field education, formation for leadership, cultural resources for ministry, and ministerial practices for leadership, MDiv students can shape their course of study to reflect their particular interests or specialized ministries. We encourage students to pursue an understanding of their own faith tradition in light of global, ecumenical, and inter-disciplinary concerns, institutions, and movements represented at PSR and the Graduate Theological Union (GTU).

The goal of the MDiv program is to provide students with:

  • The ability to draw critically on the biblical Christian heritage and resources of contemporary society to provide for their own spiritual and ministerial formation and to prepare effective leaders to the Christian movement in witness and mission.
  • Insight and skill for communicating Christian faith and ethics through preaching, teaching, speaking, writing, personal involvement, contemporary visual electronic media, arts, and other appropriate means.
  • The capability, experience, and willingness to take leadership in social change on behalf of the prophetic witness of the Christian tradition and its commitment to justice and love.
  • Knowledge, experience, and willingness to lead Christian communities in worship and to prepare laity to participate in leading worship.
  • Preparation and practice in caring ministries.

Course Requirements for the MDiv

The MDiv requires a minimum of 81 total credit units, usually completed in three years of full-time study. You may, however, take up to seven years of part-time study. You are invited to take advantage of a wide variety of courses offered at other GTU schools, provided that you earn a minimum of 27 credits at PSR. The course requirements are distributed as follows:

Required courses (54 credits)

Required courses must be at least 3.0 units each and must be taken for letter grade unless otherwise specified.

  • Biblical Studies (9 credits)
    • The Bible in the Near East
    • Interpreting Sacred Texts
    • Intermediate or above level elective
  • History, Theology and Ethics (9 credits)
    • Theology and Ethics in Christian History I
    • Theology and Ethics in Christian History II
    • Introduction to Christian Ethics
  • Field Education (6 credits)
  • Formation for Religious Leadership (6 credits)
    • Spiritual Disciplines for Leadership
    • Organizational Leadership
    • Senior Integrative Seminar
  • Cultural Resources for Ministry (9 credits)
    • Art and Religion
    • Faith Tradition other than Christianity
    • Local or Global Contextual/Cross-Cultural
  • Ministerial Practices for Leadership (15 credits)
    • Frameworks for Critical Engagement
    • Christian Worship
    • Preaching
    • Pastoral Theology and Care
    • Christian Education
  • PSR encourages its MDiv students to take their required courses at PSR, but every year a list of alternative courses to the PSR required basic course offerings is published from the Office of the Dean and Registrar.

27 credit units are electives:

Elective courses do not need to be taken for letter grade, but letter grades are recommended for those planning to do post-masters level work such as enolling in a doctoral program in the future.

  • Guided Electives/Area of Concentration (12 credits)
    These are upper level courses in an academic area or interdisciplinary field that continue work done in required courses. Students determine their areas in consultation with their advisors, and areas may include but are not limited to those found on the GTU Fields of Study page as well as the PSR Faculty Expert Areas page.
  • General Electives & Denominational Requirements (15 credits)

Field Education

For more information on Field Education, go to the Field Education page.

Contextual Learning Requirements

For more on the requirements go to the Contextual Learning page.

Denominational Requirements

Each denomination has a unique set of requirements to be fulfilled by persons seeking ordination. The MDiv degree is just one of those requirements. It is your responsibility to learn what particular course work in church polity, languages, field education, and internships might also be required for ordination and what you can fulfill during your course of study at PSR. We provide the church polity courses and field education required by the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Students seeking ordination in other denominations may fulfill church polity, language, and internship requirements at other GTU schools or through specially designed reading courses.

Milestones for the MDiv

First year: By the end of your first semester of study, you will complete an MDiv Entrance Interview in consultation wiht your advisor. By the end of your first year of study, you will submit a Vocational Academic Plan as a statement of covenant between you and PSR for the completion of your degree. This plan proposes a rationale for course selection in light of your vocational plans and denominational and academic requirements. For your convenience, you may download forms and guidelines relevant to these first year milestones, and they are additionally located in your MDiv program manual:

Middler year: The Middler Review, a meeting held at midpoint in the M.Div. program, is a comprehensive review of your theological understanding of ministry, academic record, field education experience, and development of proficiencies in ministry in the light of your denomination's requirements for ordination and personal vocational objectives. This Middler Review meeting — attended by you, your advisor, another faculty member, a denominational representative and a peer — is a time of support, assessment, review, and planning. It includes a middler interview with your advisor and the development of a substantive middler theological statement of 15-20 pages which forms the basis for discussion at the review meeting. Upon completion of this review, you must submit a report to your advisor in order to enter the program's final year. For your convenience, you may download forms and guidelines relevant to these first year milestones, and they are additionally located in your MDiv program manual:

  • Middler Review Guidelines
    Includes Panel Assessment Guide, Middler Review Theological/Vocational Statement guidelines, Middler Review Summary Sheet, and Midder Review Report form

Senior year: Finally, you will complete a Senior Integrative Essay at the end of the M.Div. program. This essay is developed in the Senior Integrative Seminar, and should demonstrate the competencies of a person completing the required courses of study in the M.Div., and ready for professional ministry.  In addition to this Essay, you will also submit an MDiv Exit Interview. For your convenience, you may download forms and guidelines relevant to these first year milestones, and they are additionally located in your MDiv program manual:

Academic Program Manual for the MDiv

Other MDiv forms and guidelines

For more information on how to apply for the MDiv, consult the Admissions Information and Requirements chart and contact Admissions.