The Th.M. program offers the student an opportunity to gain greater mastery in an area of study than is normally possible at the M.Div. level. It may be pursued in any of the School of Theology’s four major divisions: Scripture and Interpretation; Theology and Tradition; Worldview and Culture; Ministry and Proclamation.

The student will have a major focus within the area of study, such as New Testament within the Scripture and Interpretation Division or Christian Preaching within the Ministry and Proclamation Division. The program acquaints students with the resources and research methods of a major area of study and offers focused time for further reflection in preparation for ministry. The program may be completed in one year of full-time study. Only in exceptional circumstances may a student take more than five semesters to complete the program.

Curriculum

Normally no academic work done prior to matriculation will be credited toward the Th.M degree. The exception to this policy is course 81020: Graduate Research Seminar.

Th.M coursework consists of advanced masters electives and doctoral seminars. In at least two courses papers must be produced that demonstrate research ability. For the masters electives the student will contract with the professor for an additional hour of credit beyond that which is normally given for the course. At least one doctoral seminar must be taken. A maximum of two doctoral seminars may be taken, and no more than one may be taken per semester. For the doctoral seminar the student will complete exactly the same assignments as Ph.D. students.

In cases where the student has already demonstrated an ability to do academic research and writing at an advanced level, he or she may be invited to write a thesis. This invitation is made by the faculty supervisor and area faculty in consultation with the Associate Vice President for Doctoral Studies. The thesis is written under the direction of the faculty supervisor and will be read by and defended orally before a thesis committee.

Grading Policy

The minimum passing grade in any course taken for Th.M. credit is a “B-” (2.7 on a 4.0 scale). A student who earns a grade lower than a “B-” will lose credit for that course, will be placed on probation, and will forfeit the Resident Doctoral Grant for the semester. The student may also be subject to an enrollment review.

Thesis

The first stage in the thesis writing process is the submission of a thesis proposal, which is called a prospectus. Following approval of the prospectus by the student’s supervisor, the thesis committee, and the Associate Vice President for Doctoral Studies the student completes a defense draft of the thesis. When the faculty supervisor determines that the draft is defensible it will be submitted to the Office of Doctoral Studies from which it will be distributed to the thesis committee.

At the oral defense the committee will assign a grade to the written work and to the oral defense. A passing grade requires the unanimous approval of the committee. The thesis committee will also inform the student of any additional revision required for the final submission.

Program Requirements

Non-Thesis Track

Thesis Track