G-5 TALBOT
SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
Master ofDivinity Program
Talbot's program focuses on the entire person and is meant to contribute to person al spiritual formation as well as cognitive awareness and the development of ministry skills. The curriculum is structured to de velop "sustainable habits" that can be con tinued in life and ministry after graduation. The various components of the curriculum are designed to complement one another and to reinforce basic principles to which students have been exposed in other parts of their seminary program. A goal of the program is to equip students to think bibli cally and to respond appropriately to the va riety of challenges of life and ministry. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS All applicants, to be accepted, must hold the Bachelor of Arts degree, or its academic equivalent. They must have a 2.6 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average. Those not meeting this latter requirement, if accepted, will be placed on probation. Graduates from approved unaccredited colleges, if ac cepted, will be granted provisional accep tance, though exceptions may be made when the grade point average is 3.0 or high er. Graduates from approved unaccredited colleges may be required to take certain ad ditional liberal arts course work (not appli cable toward the graduate degree) , if their undergraduate program did not include these courses. Students who have not had Greek but wish to take it in seminary may take Beginning Greek at Talbot and receive elective credit applicable toward the gradua tion requirement. EMPHASIS REQUIREMENTS Emphases are offered in the following areas of professional preparation: PASTORAL AND GENERAL MINISTRIES CHRISTIAN EDUCATION MARRIAGE AND FAMILY MINISTRIES MISSIONS URBAN/MULTI-ETHNIC MINISTRIES Each student is to select an emphasis and satisfactorily complete its require ments. Students should indicate their choice of emphasis at the beginning of their program. Changes of emphasis may be au thorized under certain circumstances prior to the completion of 48 units, but are dis couraged after that point. Students without a working knowledge of Greek must take NT 501 and 502 (Beginning Greek) which are not for credit unless taken in place of elective units.
OBJECTIVES The Master of Divinity curriculum at Talbot School ofTheology is designed to fos ter the purposes for which the seminary was established - preparation for the propagation of the faith. This purpose entails an accurate knowledge of the Word of God, the source of faith, and the effective means of its communi cation. The course of study is therefore de signed around these two basic foci. Believing firmly that God in love and grace has provided an answer for the needs of the world in Jesus Christ and that this Jesus is the Christ of the Scriptures, Talbot emphasizes a knowledge of the content of the Word of God. So that the Word may be known and expounded accurately and au thoritatively, matters of biblical background, including the languages of the Old and New Testaments, are studied. Sound principles of literary interpretation are also explored as a basis for the interpretation of the Scriptures. On the basis of such interpreta tion there comes systematic study so as to organize various parts of the Word into the ological categories. Since the faith of today does not stand alone, but is rooted in past centuries during which God has preserved and instructed His people, cognizance of this heritage is taken in a study of the history of the church and its doctrine. Previous interaction be tween faith and the world provides a basis for understanding modern times. It is the seminary's aim that this knowl edge of the faith first grip the life of the stu dent, and then motivate the student to share it with the world. In accord with this latter aim instruction is given in vital areas of min istry and communication. From the prepa ration and delivery of sermons to individual involvement in counseling, the curriculum is designed to provide instruction which will facilitate propagation of the faith in the various fields of God's call. Opportunity is also given for the development of ministry skills as principles are applied in the con text of ministry in the church. With recognition that the Great Commission commands the church to go into the world to minister to all peoples, the cross-currents of modern thought are con sidered relevant to the preparation of God's minister. Throughout the course of instruc tion, interaction is provided with various perspectives for the purpose of inculcating their contributions and understanding their divergencies. All the while they are mea sured by the pattern of the Word.
Electives in the Curriculum Electives are open to the student's choice (check prerequisites) regardless of emphasis, but that choice may be governed by the following guidelines: 1) If writing a thesis, the student's advisor may require up to four units of electives in an area of study in preparation for the thesis; 2) Students who do not write a thesis are re quired to take two additional elective units for a program total of 98 units. Program Reduction Based Upon Prior Academic Study Qualified students corning from approved Bible colleges or Christian liberal arts col leges may request exemption from certain required courses. Requests for exemption may be considered from two perspectives: 1) Program reductions are possible up to a maximum of 16 units from the normal M.Div. requirement, i.e., 96-98 units may be reduced by up to 16 units. A reduction of as much as six units (included in the 16) is possible for students with collegiate studies in either Hebrew or Greek. Evaluations for reduction are considered for undergraduate courses with satisfactory parallel content, provided that the collegiate courses are ap proximately double the unit value of the corresponding seminary courses. To quali fy for such reductions the student must have earned at least a "B" grade in the spe cific course(s) and be able to demonstrate competency in the subject matter. In the event the student takes a course which had been previously waived, that previous re duction would then be nullified. 2) The substitution of electives in lieu of required courses may be arranged in certain circumstances. In some cases where one of the above criteria may preclude a program re duction, the student may nevertheless be able to demonstrate a satisfactory level of compe tency in a given subject In this event, elec tives may be substituted for the course in question. Interested students would contact the appropriate department chairman regard ing course substitutions. This alternative is also available for those who qualify for the maximum program reduction indicated above. Request for program reduction should be submitted to the Admissions and Registrar's Offices before studies begin at Talbot, because reductions for a specific course cannot be con sidered after registration for that course. The substitution ofelectives in lieu ofrequired courses may be requested anytime during the student's first year.
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