Master of Arts in Ministry & Culture Degree (MAMC)

While the more extensive MDiv remains the degree required for ordination in most denominations, the MAMC degree, like the MDiv, requires Supervised Ministry and is designed to affirm and respond to the educational needs of persons interested. For example:

• congregational leadership in denominations that do not require in all cases the Master of Divinity degree for ordination, including a Disciples Ministries program for ordination candidates on the Apprentice Track of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ);
• forms of diaconal ministry, licensed professional ministry, commissioned, bi-vocational, or lay ministry (e.g., in Christian education, youth work, hospice care, and counseling and mediation).

Additional specialized coursework beyond that required for the MAMC degree may be necessary to meet all of the educational expectations for authorized forms of ministry within certain communions. Students should include relevant denominational history and policy courses in their programs of study. Denominational formation directors are provided by the seminary for graduate professional students from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church (USA), Unitarian Universalist Church, and Baptist traditions. Additional formation directors may be provided as needed.

Members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who are pursuing recognition as commissioned ministers or seeking ordination on the Apprentice Track may satisfy some or all of their educational requirements through a specially configured track of the MAMC degree program outlined below. Interested candidates should consult Dr. Lisa Davison, the Denominational Formation Director for Disciples students, about their vocational aims and seek counsel about their educational options from their Regional Ministry Commissions.

Students in the MAMC program will develop their abilities to:

• act as responsible biblical interpreters critically informed by current historical, literary and theological scholarship in the field of biblical studies at a basic level for the practice of ministry;
• articulate a theology that takes into account a liberative hermeneutic and is responsive to key themes in Christian theology, ethics, biblical exegesis, Christian history, and each student’s own denominational heritage and polity;
• demonstrate the skills and practices associated with ministry in conversation with the student’s denominational heritage, Christian traditions, theological formulations, and cultural contexts;
• develop an understanding of the student’s own personal and spiritual formation appropriate to the practice of ministry.

Qualified applicants for the Master of Arts in Ministry and Culture program must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, a 2.7 GPA in undergraduate work, and a completed application including the following items:

• Application form and $60 application fee (fee is waived if application is submitted by November 1)
• Essay, described on the application form
• 1 Denominational reference form completed by the pastor of your church
• 3 references from the following individuals:
  • Professor
  • Professional associate
  • Lay leader in your church
• Official transcripts from any undergraduate school where you received a degree and from any graduate school where you have completed work for credit. Official transcripts are ones that have the official institution seal and are mailed directly from the institution, not by the applicant. For full admission, the undergraduate transcript must show the degree and date received.
• Authorization for criminal background check
• FAFSA for anyone interested in taking out a student loan
• TOEFL Applicants for whom English is a second language must submit an official TOEFL score of at least 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) or 80 (internet-based)