2008-2009 Graduate Catalog - Bob Jones University

Seminary and Graduate School of ReligionDoctor of Philosophy degree candidates will take CMn 610 Ministry Practicum and completetheir teaching internship during the fall or spring semesters in their final year of course work as arequirement in their program.Students in the Master of Ministry, Specialist in Ministry, Doctor of Pastoral Theology, andDoctor of Ministry programs are required to have served a minimum of two years in full-timepastoral responsibilities and be presently involved in an ongoing ministry and are, therefore, notrequired to take Ministry Practicum and Pastoral Ministry Internship.seminary Partnership ProgramThe seminary and Graduate School of Religion provides unique scheduling opportunities for thoseinvolved in full-time Christian ministry or other full-time employment that prevents them fromtaking a normal, semester schedule. Students may complete their work during the regular June orJuly summer sessions, during one- or two-week modules in January or July, or during the regularsemesters through regular or special block scheduling. The seminary Partnership Program isdesigned for students in regular programs who are carrying six or fewer resident hours a semester.Applicants for the seminary Partnership Program must complete an application available throughthe seminary Office. Students approved for this program must also be registered for CMn 707or 708 Preacher and His Ministry. Students who qualify for the seminary Partnership Programwill not be required to fulfill other student requirements, such as attendance at chapel, openingservices, Bible Conference, etc. Students taking daytime classes who have never attended BJU willbe required to attend chapel one day per week but will be exempt from other student attendancerequirements.Master’s Candidacy and Residence RequirementsA graduate student in the seminary and Graduate School of Religion, although meeting theentrance requirements fully upon admission, is required to complete at least one semester ofacceptable study before being recognized as a candidate for the advanced degree. Furthermore, thestudent may not consider himself a candidate for an advanced degree until all of his undergraduatedeficiencies have been removed.For the Master of Arts degree, a minimum of two semesters of residence is required. A ministerialstudent may carry a load of 16 hours for each of the two semesters. If one wishes to register for amusic lesson course in addition to his regular course load, he may do so. Normally, a maximumof six hours of graduate credit may be transferred into a master of arts program. In the finalsemester of the master of arts candidate’s residency, he will be required to complete the Masterof Arts Comprehensive Examination. This written examination is fully described in the Guideto seminary Master’s Degree Programs, which is available as a textbook through the UniversityCampus Store, beginning in September 2007.The Master of Ministry and Specialist in Ministry residence requirements may be satisfied byenrollment in the special one- and two-week courses.The Master of Divinity degree normally requires a minimum of three years of in-residence classwork plus the practical summer work. Up to 45 semester hours of appropriate graduate creditmay be transferred, thereby reducing the residence requirement to one or two years. In the finalsemester of his residence work, the Master of Divinity candidate is required to submit a Masterof Divinity Candidate Portfolio to his academic advisor for evaluation by the dean and seminaryfaculty. A full description of the required contents of the Portfolio may be found in the Guide toseminary Master’s Degree Programs.Any master’s (except MDiv) or specialist degree student who interrupts his enrollment for morethan twelve months, having completed twenty of the required hours for his degree, must completethe remaining hours within three years of his last residence, or he will be required to completenine hours of study in addition to the degree requirements before the degree can be conferred.If the work is not completed within five years, the student will not be eligible for the advanceddegree.43