Available Online. The Master of Divinity (MDiv), is a comprehensive degree designed to meet the educational needs of persons called to professional ministerial leadership. Those who elect to pursue this Master of Divinity degree are making a major commitment to prepare for pastoral ministry, choosing to join in the adventure of discerning their gifts and preparing themselves for a life of religious leadership in an evolving church and society.
These ministers extend the religious tradition in spiritual leadership in a variety of contexts (parishes and churches, healthcare institutions, faith-based non-profit organizations, retreat centers, educational institutions, etc.) by preaching and teaching, by counseling, consoling, and offering pastoral care, by serving and challenging, by leading prayer and praying, by empowering and equipping, by prophetically pointing to injustice and by faithfully organizing for needed change. Born of the present needs for church ministers and decision-makers, this degree qualifies women and men for the new genre of pastoral leadership. The MDiv cultivates a ministerial way of being through academic and formational requirements, which parallel the Church's traditional seminary setting. Loyola's Jesuit and university context provides the breadth and depth that tomorrow's Church requires.
The religious leaders who emerge from this MDiv program are called upon to resource (both to mediate and to augment) the Christian Tradition. Thus, they require education and formation not only for the way things are, but also for the way things are going to be. They need to be generalists grounded in the faith tradition, but also specialists possessing the interpersonal and spiritual skills to empower others in particular settings. These persons will be leaders who can articulate in religious language their own profound experience, discern the presence of the divine in others' experience, and convoke and nurture community, accompanying others on the journey through life.
While focused primarily to prepare non-ordained people for ministerial leadership, the Loyola MDiv program also welcomes members of religious communities, clergy, and participants from other communions committed to an academic and formational experience attuned to the diversity, mutuality, and collaboration that will characterize tomorrow's Church.
Students can pursue the degree on campus or as a distance program via online education. For the distance program, the course in Liturgical Leadership will require an on campus intensive, but all other courses are available entirely online. Students can take courses on either a full or part-time basis. Full-time students take three-four years to complete the program; part-time students typically complete their degree within five-six years. The typical course load is three or four courses per semester for full-time students, with additional classes taken over two summers. The MDiv degree cannot be completed on a summers-only basis.
The MDiv of the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago truly assists persons in achieving a degree of difference for tomorrow's Church as it prepares people to lead extraordinary lives.
The Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago (IPS), is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools. The Board of Commissioners of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) granted full accreditation to IPS on June 10, 2019.
The Association of Theological Schools
10 Summit Park Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15275-1110
Telephone: 412-788-6505
The following IPS degree programs are approved by the Commission on Accrediting: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Spirituality (Professional MA), Master of Arts in Counseling for Ministry (Professional MA), Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling (Professional MA), and the Master of Arts in Social Justice (Professional MA) were also approved, as were our comprehensive online (distance education) programs.
Curriculum
The MDiv curriculum recognizes that professional ministerial leadership emerges from faith-filled ministerial practice and seeks reflective critical understanding to prepare graduates to know, serve and love practically.
This gives rise to three aspects of the MDiv program: faith formation, reflective critical understanding and ministerial practice.
These areas of the curriculum prepare students for work in various areas:
- The church's institutional placements, which include parish leadership, diocesan administration, hospital chaplaincy and campus ministry, and parallel religious organizations, which include ministry options in organizations dealing with religious communications.
- Peace and justice advocacy, parochial school administration, as well as spirituality centers.
- Public-service positions such as legal advocacy, industrial chaplaincy, business ethics, social work, nursing and counseling that invite a pastoral or spiritual perspective, along with standard knowledge of the field.
The MDiv degree is a 72-credit-hour (24-course) degree program, composed of three interconnected components: academic coursework, pastoral formation and ministerial skills. The IPS MDiv curriculum recognizes ministerial leadership as emerging from faith-filled ministerial practice, seeking reflective critical understanding, so as to serve, know, and love practically. These three movements are reflected in each aspect of the MDiv Program: Faith Formation, Reflective Critical Understanding and Ministerial Practice.
The MDiv curriculum builds on top of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) degree program. Course descriptions for several of the core courses below are described in the MAPS degree's section of this website.
Critical Understanding
15 courses, 45 credit hours
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| IPS 555 | Human Person and Psychological Development | 3 |
| IPS 532 | Social Context of Ministry | 3 |
| |
| IPS 417 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| IPS 416 | Introduction to New Testament | 3 |
| 3 |
| IPS 531 | Christian Doctrine | 3 |
| IPS 402 | Church and Mission | 1-3 |
| IPS 570 | Introduction to Theology and Ministry | 3 |
| 3 |
| IPS 553 | Moral Theology and Christian Ethics | 3 |
| 3 |
| IPS 541 | Liturgy and Christian Sacraments | 3 |
| IPS 545 | The Foundations of Christian Spirituality | 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| Total Hours | 43-45 |
Ministerial Practice
7 courses, 21 credit hours
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Hours |
| IPS 560 | Liturgical Leadership | 3 |
| IPS 565 | Pastoral Leadership | 3 |
| IPS 564 | Foundations of Pastoral Care | 3 |
| 3 |
Ministry Focus
3 courses, 9 credit hours
Ministry Focus names the process by which the MDiv student reviews the work of the first half of his/her curriculum, declares an intended focus or particular character, and projects the remainder of this curriculum for assessment, feedback, and approval by the IPS faculty. While these two tasks are distinct they intertwine in many ways and are enacted in one procedure.
Ministry Focus Elective, 3 hours
Contextual Education
2 courses, 6 credit hours
As a "pastoral" institute, IPS operates from a "praxis paradigm*" in relation to theological and ministerial education. This means that in Contextual Education students acquire knowledge for the sake of religious transformation as they experience God's action in persons' lives and link this action with tradition. Thus, images of Contextual Education limited to giving students work experience. while they are studying, or that understand Field Education to be the context in which to "learn skills," are marginal to and outmoded for the praxis paradigm for pastoral studies. On the contrary, Contextual Education is an essential locus for exercising and gaining the knowledge essential for pastoral studies. It is a theological exercise, including four movements:
- Describing the community's practice
- Analyzing this practice historically
- Systematically relating life themes in the practice to the religious traditions
- Establishing the norms and strategies of ministerial response to the practice
Contextual Education plays a major role in the very orchestration of theological education, an activity through which students generate data for theological construction and reconstruction. It also provides a setting for the student to exercise ministerial skills of caring for creation (cosmic, social, personal, and individual welfare), proclaiming the faith, and enacting the community.
Contextual Education then stands at the portal between the community and the university. In one direction the Contextual Education students join the community engaging the religious experiences of life. In the other, at the Institute, they join teachers and colleagues reflecting on the community's practice in light of the religious traditions. During this exchange MDiv Students learn to generatively practice reflection and reflectively practice. They learn to become "ministers," ambassadors to the community.
MDiv students normally engage in Contextual Education during the second year of the program (or after 8–12 courses have been completed). This allows students to do one year of classroom work and to prepare to engage a Contextual Education placement. It provides another year of classroom endeavor after the experience to concentrate on one's ministry objectives, refined in Contextual Education.
Clinical Pastoral Education
0 hours
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is a an interfaith method of theological education through which a student learns pastoral skills within a context of ministerial relationships to people and under the direct supervision of a certified pastoral supervisor. It provides a learning situation for a ministerial student in which they may develop awareness of the theological and psycho-social concerns of persons in crisis.
The CPE component is typically completed before application to candidacy to address one key candidacy concern, namely, personal growth matters of self awareness and self reflection. The student uses material from the CPE report to support his or her candidacy.
Candidacy is the process by which the IPS faculty exercises its responsibility to the church and other concerned publics by determining that the student has both the potential to satisfactorily complete this degree and a readiness to begin ministry.
MDiv Midpoint Review
When students reach the half-way point in their coursework, they being preparing for contextual education. As part of this preparation process, students will also do a Midpoint Review. The student will write a brief statement (3-4 pages) on his or her “Vocational Identity, Vision, and Practice." This statement will first be approved by the Faculty Coordinator for Contextual Education. It will be submitted to the student's advisor, and the student and advisor will meet to discuss the statement, as well as the student's progress toward the completion of the M.Div. program. The advisor will note the successful completion of the Midpoint Review in the student’s eportfolio on TaskStream. Alternatively, if the advisor has concerns about the student’s progress, further work may be requested to successfully complete this review (e.g., further units of CPE, spiritual direction or pastoral counseling, re-taking courses in which one did not receive a passing grade, etc.). Failure to successfully complete this review and/or any additional steps requested in this process may be grounds for dismissal from the program.
In addition, the statement will serve as a draft for this same section of the student’s final integration project, and the comparison of the two drafts will ideally demonstrate the progress and growth the student has achieved through completing the final half of the MDiv program. For guidelines on drafting this statement, see the relevant section of the M.Div. Integration Project Guidelines Integration Project.
Faith Formation
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is the process of deepening one's relationship with God through a reflection and discernment process shared with a mentor trained to facilitate listening and responding to God's continuing revelation in the whole of one's life. It is recognized that many MDiv students have a spiritual director and the availability of this service is not intended to replace that long-standing relationship. However IPS does provide the opportunity of experienced spiritual directors for all IPS students. Individual sessions will be held for one hour every other week. A registration form available on the IPS website must be filled out and returned to the IPS Office 2 weeks prior to the beginning of each semester, and registration must be made through LOCUS. This is a 0 credit hour course.
Pastoral Counseling
Pastoral counseling is a process of developing a deeper understanding of self and self-in-relationship to others, to society and to the environment. Particular attention is given to theological and psychological dimensions of personal growth and integration. Individual sessions will be one hour each week. A registration form available on the IPS website must be filled out and returned to the IPS Office 2 weeks prior to the beginning of each semester, and registration must be made through LOCUS. This is a 0 credit hour course.
Click here for further information on the Institute's program of Personal Growth and Spiritual Development.
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
MDiv (Master of Divinity)
By completing the Master of Divinity, students will be able to demonstrate:
- The ability to interpret pastoral circumstances in relation to scripture, tradition, and human sciences; (Theology/Religious Heritage).
- The ability to engage, transform, and/or critique social, economic, political, and ecclesial realities of our day in order to address the changing landscape of ministry. (Cultural Context)
- The ability to engage the relevant dimensions of Christian faith, discipleship and ministry with interpersonal, spiritual, and ecclesial maturity. (Maturity/Personal Formation)
- The ability to be present to the person and community’s condition and environments by developing skills to discern and describe the ministry required; (Skills/Ministerial Leadership)
- The ability to construct ministerial vision and formulate ministerial strategies to effect personal and community transformation.
