Students may combine the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees to form a joint MDiv/MA degree. This is especially attractive to students who are preparing for a teaching ministry or those who are training for church ministry and wish to pursue an area of particular interest before seeking a call.

The joint MDiv/MA degree requires a minimum of 105 credits, normally completed in four years of full-time study or a maximum of six years part-time study. While the MDiv and MA cannot be taken concurrently, 24 units of coursework can be shared between the two degrees. For a student enrolled in the MDiv program at PSR, PSR is the Common MA school of affiliation.

Through this joint degree, students will gain:

• 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;
• The knowledge, experience, and willingness to lead Christian communities in worship and to prepare laity to participate;
• Focused knowledge in a chosen area of concentration in the context of the broader disciplines of theological or religious studies;
• An ability to conduct research in theological or religious studies at the graduate level;
• Competence and credentials for the possible pursuit of further academic studies in one of the disciplines of theological or religious studies;
• Critical perspective on a particular religious tradition as it engages theological or religious studies.