Total Credits - 78

Additional Requirements

MDiv students must meet the following requirements in addition to those required of all graduate students:

• Complete the MDiv curriculum of at least 78 credits. Students lacking adequate undergraduate preparation will be required to complete additional prerequisite credits. The actual number of credits required is based on individual academic evaluation.
• Attend selected brief colloquia from among those offered on a variety of ministry topics each semester for MDiv students. On campus students will be required to attend at least 4 of these 0 credit colloquia sessions during their MDiv experience.
• Maintain a GPA of 2.75 or above.
• Meet the qualitative standards of the MDiv program.
• No U grade or any grade below C- will count towards the MDiv degree, but will be counted in the student’s cumulative GPA.

Academic Probation

MDiv students whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.75 will be placed on academic probation and will have their course load reduced to no more than 10 semester credits. MDiv students whose cumulative GPA remains below 2.75 for a second consecutive semester will be required meet with the MDiv program director and will enter into a probation contract, have regular meetings with their academic advisor, and fulfill other requirements as needed. Following that, should their GPA not improve, they may be asked to withdraw from the program. 

When an incomplete or Deferred Grade has not been cleared by the end of the following semester, the student’s course load must be reduced as follows:

• One Incomplete/DGs—no reduction
• Two Incompletes/DGs—may register for no more than 10 credits
• Three Incompletes/DGs—may register for no more than 9 credits

With more than three I/DGs, the student must cease taking classes until the Incompletes/DGs are cleared. 

Evaluation of Students

Since the MDiv program prepares individuals for professional and pastoral leadership, periodic assessments are made of the students by the faculty in areas other than academic standing. Areas reviewed are students’ spiritual growth, lifestyle reflective of the beliefs and practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, social/family relations, and developing potential for ministry. As a result of these assessments, students are affirmed in the MDiv program, advised of needed adjustments, or discontinued from the program.

Maintaining Active Status

Residency Requirements: Students must maintain active status by enrolling for at least two semesters within one academic year. When this fails to happen, the student must follow the bulletin in force at the time active status is reestablished.

Following an absence of two years or more, a student’s previous admission status will have lapsed and the student will need to reapply to the program.

Graduation

The Seminary follows the University graduation procedures and requirements for the conferral of degrees. A dedication ceremony for graduating seminary students is held on the Sabbath afternoon of graduation weekend, or as announced.

Admission Requirements

All MDiv applicants must meet the Graduate Programs Admission Requirements applicable to all graduate students and the general seminary requirements.

• Hold a baccalaureate degree: A four-year degree from an accredited United States institution, or its equivalent from an institution outside the U.S.
• Minimum of 2.5 Undergraduate GPA.
• Normally hold membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church given that the MDiv program is specifically designed for Adventist ministers and is sponsored and financed by the Adventist church.
• Represent high moral integrity with a character, lifestyle, and spiritual commitment reflective of the beliefs and practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and show promise of usefulness for Adventist ministry through personal maturity and adequate experience in the Church. (Persons of other faiths who are willing to live in harmony with these standards are welcome to apply.)
• Submit an autobiographical history and a 350+ word statement of purpose reflecting the applicant’s family and spiritual development, sense of calling to ministry, experience in church work, and future goals in relationship to the MDiv program. A guideline is provided in the admissions package.
• If married, the spouse of the applicant is also asked to complete a statement in regard to his or her feelings and relationship to the partner’s aspirations for future ministry.
• Background Check. Applicants to all Seminary programs are required to undergo a criminal background check as specified in the online application process. The criminal background check must be completed within six months of beginning coursework and be redone every three years while in attendance at the seminary. The base cost of the background check is paid as part of the application process. Applicants are responsible for any additional fees charged by municipalities in which they have resided, and for the costs of subsequent background checks.
• An interview with a representative of the MDiv program may be required, either by personal contact, telephone, or video.
• Applicants to all Seminary programs are required to complete and submit to the Seminary the “Pre-Admission Conduct Disclosure Statement.”
• Recommendations:
  • Church board where the applicant is a member
  • Church administrator, pastor, or elder
  • General Recommendation from: College teacher or advisor, recent employer, or some other non-family member

Additional Information

Hybrid Course Delivery Options

MDiv students may take up to one-half of their degree credits off-campus. The Hybrid delivery method utilizes various delivery methods to assist students in completing their MDiv degree. These options include:

• Interactive online classes through the Seminary Online Learning Center (SOLC) (see School of Distance Education  definitions).
• One week intensives at seminary extension sites in Unions throughout the United States and Canada (offered by the MA Pastoral Ministry English track). Certain classes in the MAPM program cannot be used by MDiv students. Advising is necessary prior to registration.
• Summer Session intensive courses on the main Andrews University campus
• Full semester, on-campus courses

For financial information regarding hybrid studies, please click here .

Students interested in the Hybrid delivery method must obtain approval and instructions on specific class options, costs and how to sign up for this option from the MDiv program office before beginning off-campus studies.

Transferred and Earned Credit Term Limits

All course credits applied towards degree requirements should be earned within 10 years of the awarding of the degree.

Advanced Standing

In accordance with ATS Standard 3.13, the Seminary has approved incoming MDiv students from outside North America to receive advanced standing. Advanced standing is credit given for advanced/upper division courses taken at the undergraduate level. In order to qualify for advanced standing, students must:

• Hold a 4-year Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution.
• Have graduated from an AAA-accredited institution outside of North America.

Criteria for Validation of Courses

Up to 18 credits of advanced standing may be granted. Each course to be considered for application toward advanced standing must:

• Have been taken within 10 years of the projected graduation date;
• Be an upper-division/advanced level course that:
  • Contribute to the MDiv program learning outcomes;
  • Have an earned grade equivalent of “B” or higher; and
• Be approved by the department teaching the MDiv core or elective course for which advanced standing credit is to be granted. Approval is determined based on whether the BTh course(s) have taught  the essential course learning outcomes (at least 80% of the overall course learning outcomes) of the MDiv course it is seeking to replace.

MDiv Core Course Replacement Policy

MDiv core courses provide graduate level understanding considered by the seminary and the church to be essential for the pastor. Occasionally, an MDiv student may have already taken as part of their undergraduate degree, in addition to the required prerequisites for the MDiv program, an advanced college course in which they mastered the learning outcomes for the course at a graduate level. In such cases, a proposal to take an alternate course within the same discipline (department), at an equivalent or higher level, may be considered. To request the validation of a course, the student must submit to the MDiv office, within their first semester, a portfolio containing the following items:

• The Seminary Prior Learning Validation Form, initiated and signed by the student.
  • The course syllabus from the advanced-level undergraduate course evidencing that all the Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) of the MDiv core course have been taught appropriately at a level of rigor equivalent to the MDiv graduate course;
• A transcript demonstrating that the student earned a B grade or higher in the undergraduate advanced-level course;
• An essay, normally to be followed by an interview by the department chair/faculty member responsible for the course, describing how each of the CLOs were taught, learned, and subsequently put into use at a graduate level of learning.

Transferring Credits to the MDiv Program

Provided the content of the courses are assessed as comparable to the curriculum of the Andrews University Master of Divinity program, students intending to transfer credits into the Master of Divinity Program should be aware of the following policies:

• A transfer of credits must be made by petition.
• Transfer credits are granted only for courses in which the grade is B or higher.
• A student may transfer a maximum of 39 credits (graduate level) may be transferred from an uncompleted graduate-level program.
• Up to 24 credits (graduate level) may be transferred to the Master of Divinity program from a completed master’s-level degree.
• At least 39 credits must be taken in-residence.

Summer Course Load

The 12 week summer semester is divided into two 4-week sessions and two 2-week sessions. The total amount of course work during the summer session may not exceed 12 credits. Students taking a biblical language during a summer session may not take other courses during that session.

Workshop Credit Limit and Grading Pattern

Master of Divinity students may apply up to 4 workshop credits appropriate to degree requirements. If workshops are taken during the semester breaks, the credits are counted as part of the class load for either the previous or the following semester.

Workshops are graded S/U. Any deviation from this pattern must be approved by the dean prior to the conclusion of the workshop. Students must register at the Academic Records Office for all workshops for which academic credit is desired.

Independent Study Restrictions

Students in the MDiv program are allowed to register for Independent Study only for a compelling reason such as a schedule conflict or the need to take a subject that is not offered in any given semester (for a maximum of 8 credits during their MDiv program). Independent study is only available to students on the main campus. Normally, Independent Study cannot be used to meet a core requirement. Students must first seek approval from the MDiv office before arranging with a teacher to do Independent Study.

Fees

For a detailed list of charges, please click here .

MDiv students taking a graduate course in the College of Arts & Sciences in fulfillment of an elective course requirement may request a 50% tuition reduction (up to 9 credits cumulative), provided the class is not full and there are a sufficient number of students paying full tuition to warrant the teaching of the course. Directed study, laboratory courses, and study tours are not eligible for reduced tuition. Neither is this discount available for dual enrollment students who have been accepted in a graduate degree program in the College of Arts & Sciences. (Application form is available in the MDiv office.)

Student Learning Outcomes

A graduate from this program:

• Models spiritual humility, maturity and integrity grounded in a living experience with God in joyful assurance of His salvation, nurtured by the sanctifying presence and power of the Holy Spirit. (Character)
• Manifests the practices of a Biblical scholar-theologian engaging the Bible, Christian/Adventist heritage and professional resources with theological maturity for personal growth and for facilitating the theological competence of others. (Scholarship)
• Demonstrates personal commitment, passion and essential skills for discipleship and evangelism, while equipping members to carry out ministry within the scope of the local and global mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church. (Discipleship & Evangelism)
• Exercises creative and visionary leadership as a minister and servant of Christ, discerning the needs, spiritual gifts and potential of others, in order to equip and engage in their God-given ministries. (Leadership)
• Facilitates enriching corporate worship that brings diverse peoples into the transforming presence of God. (Worship)
• Engages the abilities of self and others to strategically steward personal and corporate resources including time, health, finances, property and service in areas of spiritual giftedness. (Administration/Management)
• Models effective relationships with people of diverse cultures, backgrounds, character, and persuasions, reflecting the wisdom, compassion, and discernment of Jesus through the work of the Spirit. (Relationships)

Total Credits - 33

• COMM 500 - Graduate Colloquium Credits: 0
• COMM 510 - Communication Theory Credits: 3
• COMM 520 - Communication Research I Credits: 3
• COMM 525 - Christian Communication Worldview & Ethics Credits: 3 *
• COMM 650 - Communication Research II Credits: 3

•  

  *or equivalent 3-credit ethics course if taking MDiv/MA Dual Degree

Maintaining Academic Standing

All graduate students need to understand that

• The GRE must be completed in order to register for the second semester courses.
• Must enroll in COMM 500 - Graduate Colloquium   Credits: 0 every Fall and Spring semester.
• A student on regular status must, in consultation with the graduate advisor, identify members to serve on a supervisory committee, prior to application to Candidacy. It determines individual requirements for completion with reference to a student’s Plan of Study.
• A 3.00 GPA per semester must be maintained.
• The Advancement to Candidacy deadline is the semester prior to the student applying for graduation.
• Students are responsible for completing all the required forms.

All required forms are submitted to the coordinator of the Department Graduate Program. On approval, recommendations are made to the Records Office and to the Dean of Graduate Studies. See General Academic Policies for further details on graduation procedures and degree conferral.

Departmental Admission Requirements

This is a summary of the procedures that a student planning to enroll in the MA should note:

• At the time of application for admission, students must:
  • have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
  • present a resume of current experience.
  • submit a Statement of Purpose which explains how the relevant disciplines will be integrated to meet his/her career and academic goals.
• Upon acceptance and registration, the student in conjunction with the graduate advisor will develop a Plan of Study which is based on the student’s Statement of Purpose.

• Must have minimum GPA for entrance into Andrews University School of Graduate Studies.

• No GRE is required if your undergraduate GPA is above 3.0.

• In addition to the admission requirements of the School of Graduate Studies & Research, the student applying to the Department of Visual Art, Communication & Design must meed the following requirements:

  • Language Requirements

    English Proficiency Requirements. All students whose first language is not English must demonstrate adequate proficiency in English to succeed in the academic setting.

    Language proficiency must be met before enrolling full-time in regular course work.

    Test	Score
    TOEFL Paper-based	565
    TOEFL iBT Internet-based	85-Minimum 20 in each section (reading, listening, speaking, writing).
    MELAB	81
    IELTS Academic Version	6.5
    PTE Academic Version	58

Resources

For information about requirements for admission, progression through the program, and completion, please see Department’s Graduate Student Manual at www.andrews.edu/communication and under the “Graduate” tab.

Student Learning Outcomes

1: Specialized Knowledge: Skills and Competencies

Students learn specialized skills and competencies necessary to develop a visual vocabulary across core curriculum in preparation for the student’s area of emphasis.

• Develop a strong foundation in communication that spans across disciplines.
• Define a personal language that allows for how those views fit in relation to others and the world around them.
• Convey ideas with clarity and confidence in their speech and writing.
• Convey ideas with clarity and confidence in their work.

2: Critical Thinking and Creative Process

Students gain a vocabulary of creative strategies including research, conceptualization, and problem solving strategies which can be applied to any visual or communicative problem.

• Evaluate and synthesize different points of view and determine solutions to serve specific outcomes.
• Apply a flexible and analytical approach to finding creative, practical, and actionable solutions to a variety of visual communication problems.
• Incorporate an adaptable approach to a rapidly changing media landscape.

3: Cultural Literacy and Contextual Adaptability

Students take advantage of the unique learning environment of Andrews University by developing a curiosity, respect, and recognition of diversity in cultural, economic and social entities.

• Gain an understanding of current social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues and how these issues can inform and shape their creative production and its reception.
• Demonstrate knowledge of historical, current, and innovative events across disciplines.
• Develop familiarity of discipline ideologies across a range of media and various applications.

4: Intentional Exploration with Interdisciplinary Connections

Students pursue the various creative processes with intentionality to explore interdisciplinary connections and their potential.

• Gain knowledge and appreciation for the potential in interdisciplinary pursuits and collaborations.
• Students use specialized knowledge to navigate between academic disciplines to create cross-disciplinary content.
• Network across disciplines to pursue opportunities for collaborative projects and community-based initiatives.

5: Quality of Execution + Professional Practices

Students develop a highly resolved and excellent portfolio in conjunction with professional development.

• Students develop insight into business practices and principles that are specific to their chosen field.
• Reflect on process to understand its usefulness in establishing individual perspective, intentionality of craft, and personal methodologies.
• Students learn effective research and conceptualization approaches to assignments and presentations.
• Students pursue information in support of their research, progressing to a level of evaluating, sourcing, and conducting self-directed research and assuming autonomy of their direction.

6: Development and Integration of Faith and Ethics

The integration of faith and ethics within the context of professional creative careers is explored in terms of affecting personal, community, and environmental self-awareness and integrity. Placed within the diverse setting of Andrews University, students explore ways in which their faith informs their creative practices.

• Students contemplate the role of a scholar-citizen, who navigates potential ethical challenges in creative practice and cultural production with self and social awareness.
• Students learn the ethical, legal and socio-economic considerations surrounding the production and applications of content.