Back

Master of Divinity (MDiv)

HomeMDiv

A. Program Objectives

Reformed and Presbyterian University and Seminary offers the professional graduate degree of Master of Divinity (MDiv). The degree is designed primarily to prepare individuals for ordained ministry, pastoral leadership, chaplaincy, or advanced theological study. It is the most common degree required for pastoral roles.

The divinity degree equips students with the Reformed worldview, trains students to correctly interpret God’s Word, nurtures students to grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, help students to be skillful at applying the Word of God in every area of ministry, and to become “all to all” in the context of the life and the culture of the congregation. The program requires three years of full-time study and is designed to provide a basic professional foundation for the entry-level pastoral position within the Christian ministry.

B. Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the divinity degree, graduates will demonstrate the following:

 

  1. Biblical Studies
    1. Interpret Scripture using a Reformed hermeneutic, recognizing the unity of the Bible through the lens of covenant theology and the centrality of Christ in all of Scripture
    2. Show knowledge of basic biblical languages: Hebrew and Greek
  2. Church History
    1. Survey church history from early Christianity to the present
    2. Evaluate the significance of the Reformation’s foundational contributions during the 16th and 17th centuries
    3. Elucidate Reformed confessions, creeds, and theological developments
  3. Systematic and Historical Theology
    1. Articulate and defend Reformed, systematic and redemptive-historical theology
    2. Illuminate and exercise Christian ethics and doctrine
    3. Explicate Sacramentology, ecclesiology, and eschatology from a Reformed perspective

 

 

 

  1. Pastoral Ministry & Formation
    1. Practice pastoral care through a biblical perspective
    2. Develop a strong spiritual formation shaped by Reformed piety
    3. Train under Presbyterian leadership and polity
    4. Grasp a basic understanding of Christian education
  2. Mission and Evangelism
    1. Understand biblical principles and methods for global and local mission
    2. Navigate and contribute to cultural engagement and outreach strategies
    3. Expound on Reformed apologetics and worldview
  3. Preaching and Worship
    1. Practice expository preaching
    2. Understand the principles of worship
    3. Elucidate Reformed liturgy

C. Curriculum Design

The curriculum is divided into three areas of studies: (1) Christian Thoughts and Experience, (2) Biblical Studies, and (3) Spiritual and Ministerial.

 

  1. Christian Thoughts and Experience (Systematic Theology & Church History)

 

Theological education consists of introduction to the main topics of systematic theology. They form the backbone of the Reformed worldview which shapes every aspect of a pastor’s ministry.  Students will not only learn how various biblical data informs each of the topics under systematic theology and how theology has developed throughout the centuries, but they will learn to think “theologically” in all of their life and ministry—that is, to develop a critical and analytical skill of bringing all the relevant biblical, historical, and contextual data to bear on a particular issue at hand.

  1. Biblical Studies (Old Testament & New Testament)

 

Biblical training consists of learning the skills of “providing the building material” for a biblical worldview, skills which include biblical knowledge, biblical languages skills, exegetical skills, and other hermeneutical skills. In a world which is increasingly becoming information-friendly and the temptation to rely on information trends looms largely, it is especially important for pastors and other servants of the Lord to ground all of their life and ministry in the Word of God itself by diligently and faithfully “handling the Word of God” and closely learning and watching their doctrine.

 

 

 

  1. Spiritual and Ministerial Training (Practical Theology)

 

Spiritual training needs to go hand-in- hand with knowledge training, for knowledge by itself makes a man “puff up.” Spiritual training includes mandatory chapels, prayer groups, revivals, spiritual mentor program, counseling, courses on spiritual formation and fellowships. 

 

Every semester, students are encouraged to apply what they are learning in the context of the ministry through a ministry-related course. As they try to apply their learning from theology and biblical courses to their ministry class, they can also take real-life ministry situations back to their theology and biblical courses to keep a healthy circulation or dialogue going between doctrine and practice.

 

Furthermore, the cross-cultural element of the curriculum adds an additional emphasis on the application of the gospel to various cultural contexts, which often in the case of Los Angeles/Orange County coexist. The concept of a unique culture here is not limited to different ethnic groups. The students learn to 1) appreciate the ways in which God’s truth is revealed differently in other cultures, 2) discern the ways in which cultural elements have become idols, and finally 3) learn ways to wisely bring the gospel to transform those cultures.

D. Graduation Requirements

The candidate must meet the following requirements:

  1. To receive an MDiv degree, a student must complete a total of 96 units with a C (2.0) average on all courses taken.
  2. The student must complete all the required courses within the time frame allowed (seven years from the time of first enrollment). The student must meet the residence requirement of earning no fewer than 32 semester units.
  3. The student must complete the field education requirements with a satisfactory grade.
  4. The conduct and attitude of the student must be satisfactory according to the norms of Scripture and the Westminster Standards.
  5. The student must pass the Bible Knowledge Test.
  6. The student must pass the test on The Westminster Confession of Faith.
  7. The student must clear all financial obligations, including the graduation fee of $300, to the university. The student must submit a formal request for graduation before the designated deadline, normally in the beginning of the last academic year. Ordinarily, degrees will be awarded at the conclusion of the spring semester but may be granted in December.
  8. The student must take at least one English class.

E. Pastoral Internship

A pastoral internship is a structured, supervised ministry experience designed to help individuals prepare for pastoral leadership and gain hands-on training in a local church or ministry context. It serves as a bridge between theological education and full-time pastoral ministry. Prior to or concurrent with the beginning of the field experience, students are required to take Orientation to Ministry. At the start of their field work, students should register with the Director of Field Education, at which time a file of field work will be established to document the internship. Work not properly registered with the Director of Field Education cannot be counted toward the pastoral internship requirement. The MDiv degree requires 700 hours of pastoral internship experience. Upon completion of this requirement, an evaluation report is submitted to the Director of Field Education by a field supervisor (usually a pastor, elder, or evaluation committee).

 

The pastoral internship credit may be earned as a summer student assistant to a pastor, a student supply in a vacant pulpit, a pastoral internship of nine to fifteen months, a missionary internship, a campus ministry internship, work with a para-church organization, ministry in a national park, youth ministry, evangelistic ministry in a local church, nursing home chaplaincy, hospital chaplaincy, jail ministry, teaching home Bible classes, or other similar ministries. 

F. Course Requirements

  1. Overview of Degree Requirement

Languages

6 units

Biblical Studies

30 units

Christian Thoughts and Experience

24 units

Spiritual and Ministerial Training

27 units

Electives

9 units

Pastoral Internship: 700 hours

No Credit

Total Credit Requirement

96      units

 

  1. Required Courses
    • Biblical Languages (6 units)

LA 511 Hebrew

LA 521 Greek

 

  • Biblical Studies (30 units)

                Old Testament (15 units)

                                  OT 501 Old Testament Introduction

                                  OT 502 Pentateuch

                                  OT 503 Historical Books

                                  OT 601 Prophetical Books

                                  OT 602 Poetry & Wisdom

                                    New Testament (15 units)

                                                    NT 501 New Testament Introduction

                                                    NT 502 Synoptic Gospels

                                                    NT 505 Hermeneutics

                                                    NT 602 Pauline Epistles

                                                    NT 603 General Epistles and Revelation

  • Christian Thoughts and Experience (24 units)

                Systematic Theology (15 units)

                                  ST 501 Apologetics

                                  ST 502 Prolegomena & Theology Proper

                                  ST 601 Anthropology & Christology

                                  ST 602 Pneumatology & Soteriology

                                  ST 603 Ecclesiology & Eschatology

 

                Church History (9 units)

                                  CH 501 Early Church History

                                  CH 601 Medieval Church and Reformation History

                                  CH 602 Modern Church History

 

  • Spiritual and Ministerial Training (27 units)

Practical Theology (27 units)

PT 511 Sermon Preparation

PT 611 Sermon Delivery (Preaching)

PT 531 Foundation of Christian Education

PT 541 World Mission

PT 524 Pastoral Ministry

PT 652 Pastoral Counseling

PT 521 Spiritual Formation

PT 624 Church Administration

PT 641 Cultural Anthropology

 

  • Pastoral Internship (700 hours)

 

PT 523 Pastoral Internship

Registration for Pastoral Internship, or Field Education, is required by the Spring Semester of the first year of study in the M. Div program.

 

  • *Ordination in the KAPC: Those planning to take ordination tests in the KAPC are very strongly advised to take the following courses before graduation per denominational policy

CH 621 American Presbyterian Church History

PT 670 Church Polity and Constitution

 

  1. Elective Courses (9 units)

 

Any graduate level course taken which is not counted as one of the required courses listed above will be considered as an elective.