Master of Divinity

The Master of Divinity degree is the first professional degree and is designed to provide a solid foundation in the various theological disciplines and in the development of ministerial skills in order to prepare candidates for ordained ministry and qualified laity for effective ministry in the Church. The degree prepares persons for pastoral ministry through academic study and supervised practice.

Preparation of candidates for presbyteral or other full-time professional ministry through academic study and supervised practice.

Upon completion the student will be able:

1. To interpret in an ecclesially and critically responsible way the Hebrew/Christian Scriptures and theological tradition of the Christian community.
2. To preach effectively within the Christian community.
3. To lead liturgical worship in the Church.
4. To provide pastoral care in various ministerial settings.
5. To participate in the development of ministry in a collaborative style among men and women in a multicultural and religiously plural society, recognizing diverse gifts.
6. To accept responsibility as a public representative of the Church working for the common good in society.
7. To integrate theology, life experience, and pastoral practice.

Admissions Requirements

1. See the catalog section on General Admission Requirements for Graduate Studies at Master’s Level.
2. Master of Divinity applicants who are also candidates for presbyteral ordination in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States must have 30 credit hours in undergraduate philosophy and 12 credit hours in undergraduate theology/religious studies as required by the U.S. Bishops’ Program of Priestly Formation.
3. In addition to the specified undergraduate requirements of History and Method of Christian Thought and Reading the Bible or their equivalents, applicants must have demonstrated skill and knowledge levels in the area of public speaking. If unable to demonstrate this competency, an additional undergraduate course, Rhetoric and Proclamation, is taken.

Degree Requirements

1. As a Roman Catholic school of theology, OST makes special reference to the requirements of the Program of Priestly Formation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in designing the M.Div. degree.
2. The candidate for the M.Div. degree must complete 80 credit hours of graduate course work, normally 74 required hours and 6 hours of electives. Candidates for the Roman Catholic priesthood will complete the 80-credit M.Div. plus 26 credits for the Certificate in Advanced Studies for Presbyteral Ministry for a total of 106 hours. Eight of those 106 hours are electives.
3. Transfer credits. Normally, graduate credits earned more than ten years prior to admission will not be transferred. The student’s program director reviews the documentation and makes the necessary decision regarding credit and course equivalencies. The School stipulates the maximum hours acceptable in transfer according to ATS Standards. The student is normally responsible for submitting catalogs, syllabi, and course descriptions related to documentation for equivalencies and transfer of credit. Normally, grades of “C” or better are accepted for undergraduate credit. Grades of “B” or better are normally accepted for graduate credit. Transferred grades do not count toward the OST GPA. Students with appropriate undergraduate course work may challenge 6000-level core courses.
4. No more than four elective hours will be accepted in transfer. Students entering OST for the first year of the M.Div. program may not transfer in elective hours. Students entering OST for the second year of the M.Div. program may transfer in two elective hours. Elective hours taken elsewhere after a student has enrolled at OST are at the discretion of the student’s academic advisor. This also applies to courses credited through OST but taught elsewhere. Students must obtain prior written permission from their academic advisor by completing the Request to Take Courses from Another Institution to Be Transferred to OST form before attending the course(s). No more than two hours will be accepted in transfer from the Creighton Summer Institute for Priestly Formation.
5. Students must complete at least two years of full-time study at OST. The degree program must be completed within seven years after matriculation.
6. All students for the M.Div. degree must maintain, and have at the completion of the requirements for the conferral of the degree, a minimum grade point average of 2.5 for graduate work. Low grades, indifference, or neglect of work during any semester may place a student on academic probation.
7. In the area of spiritual formation and ministerial leadership, a candidate must show evidence of characteristics that befit a professional minister of the Church.
8. Students apply for candidacy after successfully completing 27 semester hours of core graduate courses and fulfilling the language requirements at OST

This optional certificate is for students who demonstrate at least an intermediate ability to converse, celebrate the liturgy, and preach in both Spanish- and English-speaking contexts. The program is intended for those who are already bilingual and those who are seeking to become so.

Interested students are encouraged to enroll at the beginning of their M.Div. studies, and no later than the beginning of their second year. Upon enrollment they participate in an initial oral assessment of their language ability. If they are lacking intermediate oral fluency in either idiom, they and/or their sponsoring organization arrange for the needed study through tutors, language institutes, or courses at OST if warranted by sufficient student interest. A qualifying evaluation of intermediate oral fluency is given at the end of the Fall semester of the third year of theology. OST coursework and supervised ministry provide opportunities to employ these languages in ministry studies and contexts. Integration is achieved through special requirements in certain specified ministry courses  – especially in the liturgical and preaching areas – and in Field Ministry placements, and demonstrated in the final M.Div. qualifying project in the Integration of Theological Studies seminar (see Final Qualifying Project below).

Historical and Cultural Studies (3 credit hours)

CH 6311               Church History II: Holy Roman Empire to the Present

Scriptural Studies (14 credit hours)

SS 6200                Scriptural Hermeneutics
SS 7311                The Torah
SS 7331                Synoptic Gospels

Two of the following:

SS 7312                Prophetic and Historical Literature of the Old Testament
SS 7333                Johannine Literature
SS 7336                Pauline Literature

Theological Studies (36/37 credit hours)

Systematic

TS 6301                Theology of Revelation and Faith (Revelación y fe)
TS 6305                Introduction to Missiology: Culture and Religion
TS 7313                 Christian Anthropology: Humanity Transformed in Christ
TS 7311                Christology: Jesus Christ and Human Redemption
TS 7314                God in the Christian Tradition
TS 7315                Theology of Church and Ministry

Sacramental

TS 7333                Liturgy & Theology of Eucharist

Two of the following:

TS 7331                Liturgy & Theology of Christian Initiation
TS 7335                Christian Marriage: Theological & Canonical Aspects
TS 7232                Liturgy & Theology of Sacraments of Healing

Moral and Spiritual

TS 6260                Introduction to Christian Spirituality
TS 6350                Foundations of Moral Theology
TS 7350                Catholic Social Thought

Interdisciplinary Studies

TS 8196/8197    Integration of Theological Studies

Pastoral Studies  (20 credit hours)

PS 6192/6193     Orientation to Supervised Ministry (1 cr. hr. total)
PS 6350               Basic Pastoral Care
PS 7340                Evangelization and Faith Formation
PS 7320                Church Law
PS 7334                Introductory Preaching
PS 7351                Pastoral Counseling
PS 9195/9295     Theological Field Education (3 cr. hrs.)
PS 6177-7180      Pastoral Formation Seminar I-IV (1 cr. hr. total).  Replaced by another year of TFE for presbyteral candidates.

Total Required Courses:  74/73 credit hours                        Electives:  6/7 credit hours

Sponsored by over forty graduate theological schools, including OST, this ecumenical program held for two weeks in June every summer at rotating institutions provides elective courses with a Hispanic/Latina awareness in the various fields of theology. The courses are taught by Latine theologians for Latine students and a limited number of non-Latines preparing for Hispanic ministry. It is an excellent (and very inexpensive) opportunity for developing sensitivity in Latine ecumenical relations. Applications are made directly to the Hispanic Summer Program administrators in the early Fall preceding the program the following summer.

Candidates who successfully complete all the requirements for the Master of Divinity degree and the Certificate in Advanced Studies for Priestly Ministry with a GPA of 3.0 are eligible for the S.T.B. degree, through an affiliation with St. Paul University in Ottawa. They may apply for the degree after their second year of graduate theology. They prepare for a comprehensive written and oral examination at the end of their M.Div./CASPM program by studying a list of themes made available to them when they apply for the degree.