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Master of Divinity
 (MDiv)

Admission

Applicants for the Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree must have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.0 from an accredited college or university, and must hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

Curriculum Requirements

Rationale: The Master of Divinity at Boston University School of Theology is shaped by a conviction that prophetic, practical religious leaders, thoroughly grounded in the wisdom of their traditions, are essential in the work of ongoing transformation of the church and the world. The curriculum seeks to educate religious leaders who can interpret complex and evolving local and global contexts and who can engage those contexts in creative and confident conversation with a full array of theological resources.

The curriculum is built on two year-long first-year courses that begin the process of exploring the knowledge, skills, and practices of religious leadership. In Reading the World, students engage in interdisciplinary reflection on the contexts, theologies, and historical experiences of Christian communities. Employing theological, historical, and sociological lenses, they explore leadership for the 21st century in a variety of contexts. In Practices of Faith, students investigate the spiritual and ethical practices of Christian communities across time and throughout the world. In the course of the year, students engage the lived challenges of ministries in Boston and begin to develop a vision of their vocation as leaders in the church and the world.

In addition to these two year-long courses, the MDiv curriculum includes core required courses in the study of scripture, additional required courses in history and theology, and at least two semesters of contextual education.

Recognizing that religious leadership will take place in a variety of vocational arenas, the remainder of the curriculum is then shaped around four distinct tracks: Pastoral Ministry; Global and Community Engagement; Church and the Arts; and Religion and the Academy. Each track includes specific required and recommended courses, including additional courses in the study of scripture and from each of three course clusters.

In addition, students in each track may choose up to five courses as free electives.

The program requires a minimum of six semesters of full-time study for a total of 24 semester courses (96 semester credits). Some of the courses are in a sequence with prerequisites; in certain instances two or more courses are designed to be taken concurrently, if possible, although it is recognized that some students proceed on a part-time basis. The residency requirement is two semesters with a minimum of 24 credits. The time limit for the degree program is five years (ten semesters).

Scholarships for Merit: Scholarships for Merit are awarded for the academic year, September to May. They are renewable each year, contingent upon the annual evaluation of the recipient’s grade point average (3.3 minimum), character, and commitment to ministry. All awards are for a maximum of three academic years of full-time MDiv study. Scholarships for Merit are awarded before initial enrollment in the School of Theology; however, money is not available to the student until the first day of classes.

Tuition Scholarships: Tuition Scholarships are awarded for the academic year, September to May. They are renewable each year, contingent upon the annual evaluation of the recipient’s grade point average (2.7 minimum), character, and commitment to ministry. All awards are for a maximum of three academic years of full-time MDiv study.

See the Financial Aid section of this site for more information on Scholarships for Merit and Tuition Scholarships.

Master of Divinity Curriculum Requirements

The Master of Divinity degree consists of core requirements (40 credit hours), distributional electives (36 credit hours), and free electives (20 credit hours).

Core Requirements (40 credit hours)

  • Reading the World (2 sem/8 credit hours: STH TF 701 and 702)
  • Practices of Faith (2 sem/8 credit hours: STH TF 703 and 704)
  • Engaging the Bible: Hebrew Scripture (STH TO 704)
  • Engaging the Bible: New Testament (STH TN 721)
  • Theology II (select ONE of the following: STH TT 731, 732, or 733)
  • History II (select ONE of the following: STH TH 825, 826, 827, 832 or 848)
  • Contextual education (2 sem/8 credit hours: STH TC 801 and 802)

All MDiv core requirements must be completed at Boston University School of Theology.

All students must complete two yearlong courses, Reading the World and Practices of Faith, during their first year of study. Students who do not earn a passing grade in the first semester of Reading the World and/or Practices of Faith may continue on to their second semester of coursework; however, students will be expected to retake the semester that they did not pass.  All core requirements must be passed for graduation.

Students may, in exceptional circumstances, petition the associate dean for academic affairs for advanced standing in order to move directly to more advanced study in scripture, history, and/or theology. These students will remain obligated to complete an equivalent number of credit hours in any area for which they are granted advanced standings.

Distributional Electives (36 hours)

Courses offered in the School of Theology (and certain courses available through the Boston Theological Institute [BTI] and elsewhere in the University) are organized into three curriculum clusters:

  • Cluster One—Texts and Traditions
  • Cluster Two—Contemporary Contexts
  • Cluster Three—Theories & Practices of Leadership

The registrar will maintain a current list of courses available in each cluster.

Students will choose courses to fill distributional electives based on the specific requirements and suggested programs of study for their Master of Divinity track. In each track, those requirements and electives will include:

  • 1 additional TO (Hebrew Scripture) course
  • 1 additional TN (New Testament) course
  • 2 courses from Cluster One
  • 2 courses from Cluster Two
  • 2 courses from Cluster Three
  • 1 track-specific elective course

MDiv students are allowed to take up to any one cluster course and all free electives outside STH at BU or through the BTI. No core courses may be taken outside STH and the track-specific elective must be an STH course. This means that up to a total of 32 out of the 96 (one-third) MDiv credits may be taken outside STH.

Free Electives (20 credit hours)

Five courses, for a total of 20 credit hours, may be taken as free electives.

Grade Minimums: No grade lower than C is acceptable for use in satisfying any course requirements for the Master of Divinity degree.

Pastoral and Spiritual Formation: All students must complete STH TF 703/704 Practices of Faith I & II (8 credits) in the first year of the MDiv program. All MDiv students must complete, normally in their second year, a minimum of 8 credits of supervised contextual education and pastoral formation in a parish setting.

MDiv Degree Requirements

Core Courses (40 credits)

  • STH TF 701 History, Theology, Context: Reading the World I (4 cr)
  • STH TF 702 History, Theology, Context: Reading the World II (4 cr)
  • STH TF 703 Practices of Faith I (4 cr)
  • STH TF 704 Practices of Faith II (4 cr)
  • STH TO 704 Intro to Hebrew Bible (4 cr)
  • STH TN 721 Intro to New Testament (4 cr)

Theology II (4 credits)

Choose one of the following:

  • STH TT 731 Theology & World Religion (4 cr)
  • STH TT 732 History of Christian Theology (4 cr)
  • STH TT 733 Constructive Theology (4 cr)

Church History II (4 credits):

Choose one of the following:

  • STH TH 825 The Medieval Church (4 cr)
  • STH TH 826 Reformations (4 cr)
  • STH TH 827 History of American Christianity (4 cr)
  • STH TH 832 Modern Church History (4 cr)
  • STH TH 847 Global Christianity (4 cr)

Contextual Education (8 credits)

  • STH TC 801 Contextual Education I (4 cr)
  • STH TC 802 Contextual Education II (4 cr)

Distributional Electives (36 credits)

  • Hebrew Bible II Distributional Elective (4 cr)
  • New Testament II Distributional Elective (4 cr)
  • Two Cluster One electives (Texts and Traditions) (8 cr)
  • Two Cluster Two electives (Engaging Contemporary Contexts) (8 cr)
  • Two Cluster Three electives (Theories & Practices of Leadership) (8 cr)

Track-Specific Elective (4 credits)

  • One course

Free Electives (20 credits)

  • Five courses

Related Bulletin Pages

Beyond the Bulletin