Master of Divinity Concentrations
The selection of a concentration allows students to give their degree focus and depth in an area that is of particular interest to them. Although optional, students may choose their concentration in consultation with their faculty advisor at the end of their first year in the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program. Coursework for the selected concentration begins during the second year in the program. Concentrations require 12–15 credit hours.
Formation and Witness
The concentration in Formation and Witness allows students to explore in greater depth issues of Christian formation, mission, and public witness as matters of both personal and ecclesial practice.
Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation
The Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation concentration forms religious leaders who are equipped to constructively engage conflict within their congregations and communities by providing a structure for students to reflect theologically on violence, justice, and peacebuilding, to study nonviolent alternatives, and to practice skills in conflict transformation.
Leadership in Church and Community
The concentration in Leadership in Church and Community educates students in the analytic frameworks, critical perspectives, practices, skills, and practical theological patterns of reflection necessary for effective leadership in contemporary churches and community organizations.
Religion, Health, and Science
The concentration in Religion, Health, and Science provides students with greater depth of reflection on the relationship between faith communities and the sciences, especially the health sciences. In particular, it explores issues of social justice within the church as well as in the larger society.
Religion and Race
The concentration in Religion and Race provides students with greater depth of reflection on the history, construction, expression, and influence of race and ethnicity in contemporary society.
Scripture and Interpretation
The concentration in Scripture and Interpretation provides students with additional depth and proficiencies in the interpretation, teaching, proclamation, or context of the Bible.
Society and Personality
The concentration in Society and Personality explores the personal and social dynamics of religious experience, practice, and community with keen attention to their felt meaning, cultural expression, and institutional embodiment. Through psychological, sociological, and cultural inquiry, it enables students to engage and interpret faith lived out in love, work, and public witness in local churches, national denominations, and global movements, across lines of gender, race, generation, and nation.
Theology and the Arts
The Theology and the Arts concentration involves theological reflection on and critical engagement with musical, visual, and literary arts.
Theology and Ethics
The concentration in Theology and Ethics provides students an opportunity to explore the ways in which theology and ethics inform each other as complementary disciplines oriented to critical reflection on the proper shape of Christian faith and practice in the world.
Traditions of the Church
The Traditions of the Church concentration allows students to reflect on aspects of Christian tradition and history in a focused way, enabling them to develop historical and denominational interests with explicit attention given to interpretative and methodological questions.
Women and Religion
The concentration in Women and Religion explores issues regarding women and Christianity, issues emerging from women in other religious traditions, and offers introductory proficiency in one form of gender analysis.