The two-year Master of Arts in Religion is designed specifically for the student who seeks ministry in the Church but does not necessarily seek Holy Orders, though the program may satisfy the Holy Orders requirements of some denominations.

Requirements

The M.A.R. is a two-year degree program requiring 67 credit hours, inclusive of 12 hours of elective coursework. The required courses are listed in the column at right, and their descriptions are found at the links provided for each department. Worship and spiritual formation is also required for those pursuing the M.A.R. whether to be ordained as a perpetual deacon, to be set apart as a deaconess, or for those who intend to pursue the M.Div.

Third-Year Option

Qualifying students who, due to the lack of a prior undergraduate degree, were initially accepted into the two-year M.A.R. program rather than the three-year M.Div. may apply for the M.Div. program at the conclusion of their second full year of study. Acceptance is dependent upon, but not limited to, the student’s achievement of a GPA of at least 3.0 or “B” (according to a 4.0 point grading system) at the conclusion of the second year.