Master of Divinity – M.Div
General Description and Program Goals
The Master of Divinity program is designed primarily for those who expect to enter the pastoral
ministry. It is, however, a flexible program that allows for special emphasis in the area of
Biblical Preaching, Christian Education, Christian Counseling, Church Ministry, and Church Music.
The degree program incurs three academic years or six semesters and requires 90 semester
hours of credit. As many as 45 semester credits may be transferred from another institution.
The goals of the Biblical Studies program are to:
(1) To prepare individuals for ordained ministry in the church and
(2) To prepare individuals for vocations in pastoral counseling, Christian education, youth ministry, college and university student ministries, and urban service.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this degree, students will be able:
(1) To exegete the text of scripture as given in the original languages (Scripture)
(2) To demonstrate growth in personal integrity and spiritual depth (Spirituality)
(3) To demonstrate knowledge of the Christian tradition gained through the study of theological disciplines (Christian Tradition)
(4) To understand the particularity of cultural context and apply God’s eternal word to a changing world and to particular individuals and congregations (Culture)
(5) To provide effective ministerial skills (Ministry Skills)
(6) To demonstrate ability to preach the meaning of Scripture with practical applications on the basis of the understanding of audience (Preach)
(7) To demonstrate knowledge of historic and modern Christian-worship forms and ability to construct and skill to lead a worship service (Worship)
(8) To demonstrate knowledge of counseling and ability to work as caregiver and as leader of a caring community of faith (Pastoral Counseling)
(9) To demonstrate ability to shepherd the local congregation by aiding in spiritual maturity, promoting use of gifts and callings and encouraging a concern for non-Christians (Pastoral Ministry)
(10) To demonstrate ability to influence people with a leadership philosophy and skills (Leadership)
(11) To demonstrate ability to articulate ideas and concepts clearly, including a concrete plan for future ministry (Articulation)
(12) To train and educate the lay leaders for the local church and the community(Leadership)
Graduation Requirements
(1) To graduate from the Master of Divinity degree program, the student is required to complete
a minimum of 90 semester credits and write a Ministry project. The student must have a GPA of 2.5 or above. M.Div students must pass a comprehensive Bible exam before graduation.
(2) To complete the program, a Ministry project must be submitted and approved by the graduation committee. The student will register for the course Ministry Project during the final year of the program and submit a prospectus and outline of the project for faculty approval.
The school will assign an academic supervisor according to the topic of the project.
The student will write a Ministry project on a topic which the student is interested and desires to further develop under the guidance of the supervisor.
The length of the Ministry project will be approximately 50 pages of text, double-spaced.
The Ministry project will meet the writing standards of FCUTS.
Residential Requirement
FCUTS requires Master of Divinity online program student are required to complete at least one course of work to be done in residence. This requirement may be fulfilled through intensive modular courses.
Course Titles and Level
All courses at the Masters level are numbered 700–899. Course descriptions are provided in this catalog.
The M.Div. requires 90 semester credits of course work comprised of 12 credits of biblical studies, 24 credits of theological/historical studies, 29 credits of practical ministry studies, 7 credits of field education, and 18 credits of open electives.