minary W orld Class Seminary - Bethel Seminary - Bethel University

St. PaulThe M.Div. requires at least threeacademic years. The seminary’s regularcourse offerings mean students mayfulfill academic requirements duringthe regular terms. Students in thisconcentration will also have opportunitiesto study with outstanding visitingscholars in philosophy of religion duringintensives scheduled in June andSeptember.All M.Div. students participate ininternships with the department ofsupervised ministry. Those who sense acall to outreach or discipleship ministryusing the concentration in ChristianThought may develop their internshipswith those ministries in view.The department of supervised ministryhandles the details of this process.The Master of Divinitywith a Concentration inMarriage and FamilyStudiesDesigned to prepare persons who wishto provide pastoral leadership, this programenables students to understandfamily systems, to teach, to preach, andto administer programs in ways that aresensitive to family issues and to understandsystemic dynamics of congregationallife.The M.Div. portion of the program (includingthe Marriage and Family concentrationcourses) takes three academicyears.Marriage and Family courses meet duringthe day on Mondays and Tuesdays.Biblical, theological, historical, and appliedministry courses are taken as partof the present seminary offerings in thedaytime or evening. This schedule allowsboth predictability and flexibility.The Post-Graduate Certificate in Marriageand Family Therapy is designedfor Master of Divinity graduates withconcentrations in Marriage and FamilyStudies. Certificate requirementsinclude four additional MF courses anda nine-month practicum. A separateapplication process is required for admissionto the certificate sequence. Seepage 36 for additional information.Students completing the Post-GraduateCertificate in Marriage and FamilyTherapy sequence meet the academicrequirements for licensure as a marriageand family therapist in most states, butadditional supervised clinical practiceand the taking of a licensing examinationwould typically be needed toobtain actual licensure.The InMinistry Masterof Divinity ProgramThe InMinistry Master of Divinityprogram makes the Master of Divinitydegree available to nonresidentstudents currently serving in ministrypositions. The ministry setting providesa laboratory for application of coursematerial, as well as questions posed inthe courses.Students attend courses on campustwice a year, involving two one-weekintensives during each session. Advanceassignments are completed usinga variety of modalities during the preandpost-campus periods. This allowsstudents to complete four on-campuscourses a year.Students also take two distance coursesa year in their ministry settings. Thesecourses will be mediated by the instructorthrough a variety of other appropriatetechnologies such as the internetand audio and videotapes. Studentscomplete one ministry practicum eachyear. The on-campus and distancecourses combined allow a student totake seven courses a year and to completethe Master of Divinity in approximatelyfive years.Entering students and continuingstudents will be together in the sameclasses, their ministry experienceproviding the common foundation. Theministry experience component of theInMinistry program takes the place ofthe supervised ministry component ofthe on-campus Master of Divinity program.Contact the Office of Admissionsfor information on financial aid.Bethel Seminary, at its sole discretion,reserves the right to revise, replace, oreliminate curricula, delivery systems,or programs at any time as necessary tostreamline, improve, or expand learningopportunities.ConcentrationsMen and women in vocational Christianservice must be prepared to servein a broad range of ministries. Theservant of God, properly trained, willknow how to teach, preach, evangelize,counsel, administrate, and relate helpfullyto people. Because of the growingdemand for specialization in Christianministry, however, most students willselect defined concentrations in specificvocational interests. While thecore courses in the curriculum lay thefoundation for a multifaceted ministry,the advanced courses include the students’concentrations. Students choosethese courses in consultation with theiradvisors. In addition, students will alsoengage in required supervised internshipexperiences where they have theopportunity to develop and apply theirgrowing ministry skills.The post‐core courses are selected fromamong all three centers. Concentrationsin the Center for Biblical andTheological Foundations include thedisciplines of historical studies, biblicalstudies (both Old Testament and NewTestament), and theological studies (includingphilosophy of religion). TransformationalLeadership concentrationsinclude those focusing on discipleshipin community, global evangelizationand contextual ministry, ministryleadership, and preaching and communication.The Center for Spiritual andPersonal Formation offers concentrationsin pastoral care and marriage andfamily studies. For all concentrations,the advanced courses consist of a balanceof courses from all areas.A concentration is defined as a clusterof advanced courses beyond the core,designed intentionally for vocationalspecialization either in one disciplineexclusively or in two or more disciplinesfrom the same area. Studentsanticipating diversified ministriesrequiring competence in several disciplinesmay choose the generalist distribution.This requires a minimum ofone advanced course in each disciplinewithin the area chosen. The concentrationwill be noted on the students’transcripts.34