Available Online. The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) degree program prepares students for ministerial service in a variety of contexts. Embracing four areas of development—human, spiritual, intellectual, and ministerial—the program guides students in the development of their own pastoral identity through an integrated exploration of theology and pastoral practice.
Through graduate coursework, focused contextual experiences, and an integration project, students explore and work to develop those personal qualities necessary for faithful service, spiritual practices grounded in God's Trinitarian life, theological knowledge and intellectual skills, and the pastoral abilities appropriate to their gifts and ministerial context. The MAPS degree at the Institute of Pastoral Studies offers students a systematic and broad foundation for a variety of ministries and the tools necessary to engage critically and constructively the challenges and opportunities of our contemporary context.
The MAPS concentration in Religious Education enables students to develop the practices of thinking, acting, and teaching necessary for service in today’s culturally, generationally, and theologically diverse church. Students in this concentration cultivate the practice of considering every problem and situation through theological lenses, so that the outcome or solution is infused with the principles of faith. These habits prepare students of the Religious Education concentration to engage, catechize, and educate all age groups in a variety of contexts.
In addition, for the MAPS concentration in Religious Education:
- The ability to administer religious education programs in a variety of contexts and engage, catechize, and educate groups of all types.
RELATED PROGRAMS
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 that prepare students to engage, catechize, and educate all age groups in a variety of contexts. 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 M.Div. degree, and all of these courses will count toward their M.Div. degree.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| IPS 570 | Introduction to Theology and Ministry | 3 |
| IPS 417 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| IPS 416 | Introduction to New 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 486 | Principles of Religious Education | 3 |
| IPS 485 | Religious Education, Evangelization & Cultures | 3 |
| IPS 578 | Contextual Education Preparation | 0 |
| IPS 579 | Contextual Education Introduction | 0 |
| IPS 580 | Contextual Education I | 3 |
| IPS 593 | Integration Project | 0 |
| Total Hours | 33 |
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 Religious Education, students will also demonstrate the ability to administer religious education programs in a variety of contexts and engage, catechize, and educate groups of all types.
