Master of Divinity
The 75-hour Master of Divinity (M.Div.) at Indiana Wesleyan University is perhaps the most innovative degree of its kind, built around local church ministry in action.
It has at its core six six-hour "praxis" courses (praxis is the joining of theory with practice) having to do with mission, leadership, worship, proclamation, congregational spiritual formation, and congregational relationships. In these courses, the primary assignment each week involves action research in and feedback from a local church. Accordingly, all students have to be connected at least 10 hours a week with a local church or ministry in some way (although that connection can also flow principally through a chaplaincy of some kind-hospital, prison, military, etc.).
A one-hour spiritual formation course accompanies your progress through the six praxis courses. These courses are meant to lead you through an actual process of personal and spiritual change, starting with an awareness of how change takes place in general, to a course on self-awareness and appraisal, then goal setting and accountability, mentoring and spiritual guidance, personal and corporate spiritual disciplines, and finally recovery and deliverance.
The entire seminary comes together at the beginning of each August for a yearly convocation in which we worship and fellowship together at our regional learning center in Marion, IN. Two intensive courses take place the week before and after this event. The first intensive course of the degree - Pastor, Church and World - is an orientation not only to the seminary and our unique M.Div. degree, but to the personal dimensions of ministry itself. This course can be taken on campus in August, January, or June, the three times each year when you can begin your M.Div. in a new seminary cohort. Four other "foundational" courses are also offered in the intensive, one-week format. These courses have to do with the contextual, biblical, theological, and church historical basics that integrate with ministry.
However, beyond these four foundational courses, Bible, theology and church history are woven throughout the praxis courses in a tapestry unlike any other seminary school graduate program. These courses have been team designed and are team taught, giving you at least two different experts as a part of each praxis course. Thus, about a third of the core program has to do with biblical, theological, and church historical foundations, integrated within the courses rather than as isolated, self-standing courses you might never apply to your actual ministry.
Finally, you have 15 hours of elective credit, with which you can complete a specialization, do Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), or take a collection of courses of interest to you (Greek, Hebrew, etc.). At least once a year, seminary courses are offered offsite in various locations such as a John Wesley specific tour of England, leadership courses taught at the John Maxwell Center at 12Stone in Atlanta, GA, etc.
This flexible program can be completed onsite in Marion, IN, our Indianapolis (North) Education Center or online. Those who have completed graduate credit at other institutions are able to transfer 27 hours of graduate work into the M.Div.
