Available Online. The MA in Pastoral Studies is a 36 hour degree that includes eight core courses, three electives (offered by the Quinlan School of Business), a three credit hour Contextual Education course, and a Final Integration Project. The Church Management concentration can be completed online.

This concentration emerges from reflection on the gap in skill sets among the leaders of many churches today, Catholic and Protestant. Members of church staff, comprised increasingly of laypersons with degrees in pastoral ministry, education, counseling, and theology, find themselves engaging in activities related to budgeting, project management, human resources, organizational development and change, and more. There is a need for parish leaders and pastoral ministers to have the education, training, and skills associated with these areas.

The MBA curriculum at the Quinlan School of Business includes a set of core and non-core courses. The core graduate courses at Quinlan are designed for those with no business experience. Students who already have a business degree, however, or who have taken business courses in the past (within the last 5-10 years) and possess significant business experience should be advised to skip the core courses and go directly to more specific and specialized courses in consultation with their academic advisor and the Associate Dean for Programs at the QSB.

The background and initial plan of each student should be summarized and sent to Quinlan's associate dean for programs for discussion and approval prior to registering for classes.

Related Programs

To learn more about the online church management program, please visit our request for information form, attend an upcoming information session, or schedule an appointment.

Curriculum

• Eight IPS core courses of the MAPS - Church Management concentration (24 credit hours)
• Three graduate selectives from the Quinlan School of Business (9 credit hours)
• Contextual Education courses (3 credit hours)
• Final Integration Project

Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations

Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supercede school policies.

Learning Outcomes

MA in Pastoral Studies

By completing the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies, students will be able to demonstrate:

• A fluency with the theological, ministerial, and interpersonal resources that make successful service to the church and world feasible in positions of formation, scholarship, or ecclesial leadership.
• The capacity to understand and critique the social and cultural contexts in which the graduate will be called to serve, always with an eye toward the marginalized, excluded, and systems of oppression.
• The ability to articulate with rhetorical skill and persuasion convincing command of relevant theological and ministerial themes and applications to various potential audiences, both orally and in writing.
• Personal engagement with, and an ability to draw upon, spiritual and psychological insights and scholarship that will nourish them as they make successful ministerial or academic contributions to their particular settings and contexts.