Biola University 2015–16 Catalog
Thesis A student, who is writing a thesis, must register in a thesis class each semester until the thesis is completed. Transfer of Credits For a student who earned a master’s degree at a previous accredited school, up to 50% of the credits of coursework with similar content may be shared and transferred toward another Master of Arts or Master of Divinity Talbot degree. All transferred coursework must be appropriate for the degree. At least 50% of the master’s degree requirements must be taken at Talbot. For a student who did not complete a master’s level degree at the previous school, all appropriate comparable course credits may be transferred; however a minimum of 24 credits of the Master of Arts or Master of Divinity degree requirement must be completed at Talbot. Transfer credit for acceptable work done in other graduate schools will be allowed for courses which are parallel to those required in the curriculum. Applications received by May 1st will be provided with transfer credit decisions at the point of acceptance. Transfer credit for late applications will be accomplished during the Fall semester. Graduate courses with grades of “C” or above (a “C-” is not transferable) at accredited institutions or those validated with grades of “B” or above (a “B-” is not transferable) from approved unaccredited schools are considered as acceptable on a transfer basis. For information on the validation procedure for unaccredited work, contact the Office of the Registrar. Multiple Degrees The programs in Talbot School of Theology are accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). ATS requires a minimum of 50% of coursework in the second Master of Arts or Master of Divinity degree program be taken in residency (i.e., 50% cannot be shared with any other completed master’s level program). Advanced Standing and Reduction Submission Reduction or Advanced Standing is available for Master’s level degree programs. Advanced standing or credit reduction must normally be processed and granted prior to the student beginning the first semester of enrollment to confirm the admissions offer, transfer credit and remaining degree requirements. Credit cannot be granted after completion of the first semester of enrolled coursework. Advanced Standing for Professional Master’s Degrees (Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Education, Master of Arts in Christian Ministry and Leadership, and Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care). Accepted/admitted applicants who have taken undergraduate courses in biblical or theological studies (or psychology for the Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care) may request review for Advanced Standing credit based on their collegiate work. Granting advanced standing credit requires faculty approval based on parallel course content. Proof of competency in the subject area or evidence of how the course content has been used since taking the course is required. An evaluation will be made by the faculty and credits processed through the Office of the Registrar. To be considered, the student must have earned at least a “B” grade in the coursework being evaluated. The maximum number of credits that may be received is: Master of Divinity: 16 credits
Reduction of Credits for Academic Master’s Degrees Eligible students coming from accredited Bible colleges or Christian liberal arts colleges may request exemption from certain required courses. Normally, reduction requires two undergraduate courses, in the same discipline, to reduce one graduate course (6 credits undergraduate work to reduce 3 credits of graduate work) for a limited amount of graduate credit. To qualify for reduction, the student must have earned a “B” grade in eligible coursework. Once the student has been accepted into the degree program, an evaluation, following guidelines established by the faculty, will be made by the Office of the Registrar. Depending on undergraduate coursework as it relates to the program concentration, the maximum number of credits that may be reduced is 30 credits for these M.A. concentrations: Bible Exposition, Old Testament, New Testament, Theology, Philosophy, Spiritual Formation, and Biblical and Theological Studies/Diversified.
Course Prefixes Course prefixes indicate: ISCL Missions and Intercultural Studies TTBE Bible Exposition
TTCE Christian Education TTDE Doctor of Education TTHE Thesis
TTHT Theology: Historical TTMN Doctor of Ministry TTNT New Testament Language and Literature TTOT Old Testament and Semitics TTPH Philosophy TTPM Theology: Philosophical and Moral TTPT Christian Ministry and Leadership TTRL Research Languages TTSF Spiritual Formation TTSS Research and Writing: Special Studies TTTH Theology: Systematic TTTS Theological Studies Digital Courses Graduation Information Graduation Check
Graduate students must make an appointment with a Graduate Graduation Counselor in the Office of the Registrar to declare their intent to graduate. This should be done one year prior to graduation. Students declaring this intention late will be charged a late graduate graduation check fee of $100. This graduation check will be considered late after the last day of Add/Drop during the semester of a student’s intended graduation. For students graduating in the Spring, after May 1st students will not be allowed to be added to the graduation lists regardless of payment of the fee. For the Fall, the date is December 1st, after which no students will be added to the graduation lists. Doctoral students must meet with their department advisor prior to contacting a Graduate Graduation Counselor. Graduation with Honors Those graduating with a grade point average of 3.50 or higher are elected to membership in Kappa Tau Epsilon, the Talbot scholastic honor society. This honor is noted on the permanent record card. For graduation honors, students completing their program with a 3.50 GPA are graduated with Honors. Students with a 3.70 GPA are graduated with High Honors. Students with a 3.90 GPA are graduated with Highest Honors. GPA standards for honors must be met with no rounding of numbers.
Master of Arts in Christian Education: 12 credits Christian Ministry and Leadership: 12 credits Spiritual Formation and Soul Care: 12 credits
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