TALBOT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
Master ofDivinity Program
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w.nnot be considered after registration for that course. The substitution of electives in lie1i of required courses may be requested anytime dwing the sturlent '.1first year. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS A. Sa ti sfac tor ily compl ete 96-98 semester units. See (D) below. B. Take the courses prescribed in the Master of Divinity curriculum. C. Complete the requirements in one of the emphases. D. Submit an acceptable th esis (four units) chose n in consultation with the major advisor, or at the opt ion of the m,uor adviso r and in lieu of the thesis, compl ete six uni LI of electives. Students who write theses wi ll have a tota l requirement of 96 units and those who take six units of electives in lieu of a thesis will have a total requirement of 98 units. Five unbound copies of the thesis are to be submitted to the librarian. E. At least 24 un it1 must be taken in this semina1y bytransfer studen ts. Students are placed on academ ic probation if their grade point average for any semes ter fa ll s below 2.5 and remain on proba tion as long as the si n- gle semester of cumulative grade point average remains below 2.5. Swdents on probation are granted one semester in which to bring their academic work up to the required level (2.5) for con- tinuance in the seminary. A student cannot graduate while on probation. F. The standard rate of progress through th e program ( 12 units per semester) will allow the program to be completed in fo ur years. CURRICULUM Two bibli ca l languages are required: Greek and Hebrew. Either may be taken first. Greek- NT 503, NT 604 and NT 605 each required beyond beginning Greek. Aqualifying examination is available to all interested students. Those who pass the examination may enro ll directly in NT 503; others must take NT 50 1and NT 502 (two units each) as prerequisite to NT 503. Hebrew- OT 603, OT 604 and OT 705 are reqLtirecl. Aquali fyi ng exami- nation is ava ilable to interested stu- dents. Those who pass r.he examina- tion maytake OT 604, plus 3-4 units of Hebrew electi ves instead of OT 603.
502 (Beginning Greek) which are not for cred it unl ess taken in place of elec tive units. Electives in the Curriculum Electives are open to the student's choice (check prerequisites) regard- less of emph asis, but that choice may be gove rned by the fo llowing guide- lines : I) If wri ti ng a thesis, the stu- dent's advisor may require up to four units of electives in an area of study in preparation for the thesis; 2) Stuclen ts who do not write a thesis are required to take two aclcli tional elec ti ve units for a program total of98 units. Program Reduction Based Upon Prior Academic Study Qualifi ed students coming fr om accredited Bible colleges or Christian liberal arts co ll eges may request exemption from cer tain req uir ed courses. Requests for exemp tion may be considered from two perspec ti ves: I) Program reductions are possible up to a ma,x imum of 16 uniLI from the normal M.Div. requirement, i.e., 96-98 uni ts may be reduced by up to 16 uni ts. A reduct ion of as much as six units (included in the 16) is possible for stu- dents with coll egiate studies in either Hebrew or Greek. Evaluations for reduc- tion are considered for undergraduate courses with satisfactmy parallel content, provided that tJ1e coll egiate courses are approximately double the unit Vdiue of tJ1e corresponding semina,y courses. To qualify for such reductions the student must have earned at least a "B"grade in the spec ific course(s) and be able to clemonso·ate competency in the subject matter. In the event the student takes a course whi ch had been pr eviously waived, that previous reduction would then be nullified. 2) The substi tution of electives in li eu of required courses may be arranged in certain circumstances. In some cases where one of the above cri te- ria may preclude a program reduction, the student may nevertheless be able to demonsu·ate a satisfacto1y level of com- petencyin a given subject. In this event , electives may be subs tituted for the course in question. Interested sn1dents would contact the appropriate depart- ment chairman regarding course substi- tutions. This alternative is also available for tJ1ose who quali~•for the maximum program reduction indicated above. Request for Jnvgram reduction should be rn.bmilled to the Admissions and Regis- trar's Offices before st.udies begin at Talbot, beca·use redu.ctions for a s/Jecific course
OBJECTIVES
tJ1eir divergences. All tJ1e whi le they are measured bythe pattern of theWord. Talbot 's program focuses on the ent ire person an d is meant to con- tribute to personal spiritual formation as we ll as cognitive awareness and the development of ministryskills. The cur- riculum is structured to develop "sus- tainable habits" that can be continued in life and mini stry after graduation. The various components of the curricu- lum are designed to complement one another and to reinforce basic princi- ples to which students have been exposed in other parts of their semina,y program. A goal of the program is to equip students to think biblica llyand to respond appropriately to the va ri ety of challenges of life and minisuy. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS All applicants, to be accepted, must hold the Bachelor of Ans degree, or it, academic equivdlent They must have a 2.6 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average. Those not meeting this latter require- ment, if accepted, will be placed on pro- bation. Graduates from approved unac- cred ited co ll eges, if accepted, will be granted provisional acceptance, though exceptions may be made when tJ1e grade point average is 3.0 or higher. Graduates from approved unaccredited co lleges may be required to take certain addi- tional libera l ans course work (no t applicable toward ci1e graduate degree), if tJ1eir undergraduate program did not include these courses . Students who have not had Greek but 1,~sh to take it in semina, 1, may take Beginn ing Greek at Talbot and receive elective credit applica- ble toward the graduation requirement. EMPHASIS REQUIREMENTS Emphases are offered in the follow- ing areas of professional preparation: Pastoral and General Minist,ies Cluisticm Education Pastoral Care and Counseling Mrmiage and Family Ministries Evangelism and Discipleship Missions Urban//\!Iulti-Ethnic Minist11es Each stu dent is to se lect an emphas is and satisfacto rily complete its requireme nts. Students should indicate their choice of emphas is at the beg inn ing of their prog ram. Changes of emphasis may be amho- ri ze cl under ce rtain circumstances pri or to the compl et ion of 48 units, but are discouraged after that point. StudenLI without a working knowl- edge of Greek must take NT 501 and
The Master of Divinity curriculum at Talbot School of Theology is designed to foster the purposes for which the seminary was established - preparat ion for the propagation of th e faith . Thi s purpose entails an accurate knowl edge of the Word of Goel, the so ur ce of fa ith , and th e effective means of its communication. Th e co urse of stu dy is therefore designed around these two basic foci . ..!:!J 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 knowl- edge of the content of the Word of Goel. So that the Word may be known and expounded accuratelyand authori- tatively, matters of biblical background, including the languages of tJ1e Old and New Testaments, are studied. Sound principles of literary interpretation are also explored as a basis for the interpre- tation of the Scriptures. On the basis of such interpretation there comes system- atic studyso as to organize various parts of the Word into theological categories. Since the faitJ1 of today does not stand alone, but is rooted in past cen- turies during which Goel has preserved and instructed His people, cogn izance of th is heritage is taken in a study of the history of the church and its doc- trine. Previous interaction between faith and the world provides a basis for understanding modern times. It is the seminary's aim that this knowledge of the faith first grip the life of the student, and then motiva te the student to share it with the wo rld. In accord witJ1 this latter aim insu-uction is given in 1~tal areas of minisuy and com- munication. From the preparation and delive1y of sermons to indi1~clual involve- ment in counse li ng, the curriculum is designed to provide instruction which will facilitate propagation of the faitJ1 in the various fields of God's call. Oppor- tunity is also given for the development of minisuy skills as p1inciples are applied in the context of minisuy in tJ1e church. With recognition that the Great Commission commands the church to go into the world to minister to all peo- pl es, th e cross-currents of modern thought are considered relevant to the preparation of God's mini ster. Throughout the course of instruction, interaction is provided witJ1 various per- spectives for the purpose of inculcating their contributions and understanding
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