Available Online. The MA in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) with a concentration in Church Management 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.
In addition, for the MAPS concentration in Church Management:
- The ability to engage in general business operations related to budgeting, project management, human resources, marketing, and organizational development and change.
The background and initial plan of each student should be summarized and sent to Quinlan's associate dean for graduate programs for discussion and approval prior to registering for classes.
RELATED PROGRAMS
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CURRICULUM
This traditional curriculum, designed to provide a solid first-degree experience in education for ministry includes courses in scripture, pastoral theology, and ministerial skills along with a selection of courses offered by the Quinlan School of Business. In additional to traditional courses, students complete Contextual Education and a capstone writing project: the Integration Paper. Students have the option at any point during their degree program or upon completion of their degree program to apply for the MDiv degree, and all of these courses will count toward their MDiv degree.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| IPS 570 | Introduction to Theology and Ministry | 3 |
| IPS 416 | Introduction to New Testament | 3 |
| IPS 417 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| IPS 531 | Christian Doctrine | 3 |
| IPS 402 | Church and Mission | 3 |
| IPS 541 | Liturgy and Christian Sacraments | 3 |
| IPS 553 | Moral Theology and Christian Ethics | 3 |
| IPS 555 | Human Person and Psychological Development | 3 |
| IPS 578 | Contextual Education Preparation | 0 |
| IPS 579 | Contextual Education Introduction | 0 |
| IPS 580 | Contextual Education I | 3 |
| IPS 593 | Integration Project | 0 |
| ACCT 400 | Financial Accounting for Business Decisions | 3 |
| 3 |
| Managing and Motivating in the Workplace | |
| Leading Change in Organizations | |
| Marketing Management | |
| 3 |
| Total Hours | 36 |
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 supersede 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.
- With the Concentration in Church Management, students also will demonstrate the ability to engage in general business operations related to budgeting, project management, human resources, marketing, and organizational development and change in non-profit or faith-based settings.
