The goal of the Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree is to provide the academic grounding and pastoral skills necessary to minister as a Roman Catholic priest in a multicultural Church.
The Seminary and School of Theology confers the MDiv degree on students who successfully complete the three-and-a-half-year academic program. The curriculum incorporates classroom study and integrated field placements.
The student entering the program will spend seven semesters in approved course work. He will also participate in four August spiritual formation weeks, three January interterm sessions, one summer in a Clinical Pastoral Education program, and one summer pastoral internship.
Upon completion of the MDiv degree, the graduate should reach the following benchmarks in the four dimensions of priestly formation identified in the Program of Priestly Formation (6th edition):
1. Demonstrates healthy habits of self-care, presents as a mature, well-integrated public person representing the Church, and observes appropriate boundaries (para. 199, PPF6);
2. Demonstrates the ability to take direction from those in authority and to exercise authority in a healthy manner (para. 198);
3. Communicates a well-rounded understanding of God’s Word and the spiritual Tradition of the Church (para. 239);
4. Manifests a developing and balanced life of prayer rooted in lectio divina, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the celebration of the Eucharist (para. 240);
5. Shares God’s grace and his friendship with Christ through a joyful commitment to celibate chastity and priestly ministry (paras. 241-42);
6. Understands and communicates the biblical, historical, and doctrinal dimensions of Catholic belief and practice (para. 292);
7. Demonstrates the ability to integrate intellectual formation with the spiritual and pastoral dimensions of formation (para. 292);
8. Competently leads and collaborates with the faithful in the celebration of liturgical rites according to the norms of the Church (para. 376);
9. Preaches homilies that are grounded in Scripture and Church teaching and reflect theologically on pastoral needs (para. 378);
10. Demonstrates sensitivity and openness to people of all ages and backgrounds, collaborates well with men and women, and provides effective pastoral care and counseling (para. 377).
Spirituality Week
45:501 Foundations of Priestly Spirituality I (1 credit hour)
Fall Semester (15 credit hours)
10:550 Fundamental Theology (3 credit hours)
12:515 Liturgical Theology (3 credit hours)
22:530 Pentateuch and Historical Books (3 credit hours)
30:520 Early Church History (3 credit hours)
40:511 History and Culture of the Church in the Americas (2 credit hours)
54:500 Theological Reflection Seminar (1 credit hour)
January Interterm
44:501 Evangelization and Catechesis (2 credit hours)
Spring Semester (15 credit hours)
10:525 Theological Anthropology (3 credit hours)
12:525 Sacramental Theology and Sacraments of Initiation (3 credit hours)
24:520 Paul in Early Christianity (3 credit hours)
30:525 Medieval Church History (3 credit hours)
54:500 Theological Reflection Seminar (1 credit hour)
Elective (2 credit hours)
Summer
54:527 Clinical Pastoral Education must be taken during the summer following Configuration Stage I or II.
The alternate summer is free for the optional summer Spanish Immersion Program.
Spirituality Week
45:502 Foundations of Priestly Spirituality II (1 credit hour)
Fall Semester (15 credit hours)
10:536 Christology and Mariology (3 credit hours)
15:530 Fundamental Moral Theology (3 credit hours)
24:500 Synoptic Gospels and Acts (3 credit hours)
30:530 Modern Church History (3 credit hours)
54:500 Theological Reflection Seminar (1 credit hour)
Elective (2 credit hours)
January Interterm
Human and Pastoral Formation-Mexican American Catholic College
Spring Semester (15 credit hours)
10:500 Ecclesiology and Ecumenism (3 credit hours)
42:535 Foundations in Homiletics (3 credit hour)
43:525 Pastoral Care and Counseling (3 credit hours)
46:545 Canon Law I (3 credit hours)
54:500 Theological Reflection Seminar (1 credit hour)
Elective (2 credit hours)
Summer
54:527 Clinical Pastoral Education must be taken during the summer following Configuration Stage I or II.
The alternate summer is free for the optional summer Spanish Immersion Program.
Spirituality Week
45:503 Varieties of Spirituality (1 credit hour)
Fall Semester (16 credit hours)
20:540 Johannine Literature and Thought (3 credit hours)
12:550 Eucharist (3 credit hours)
42:540 Advanced Homiletics (3 credit hours)
46:550 Canon Law II (3 credit hours)
54:540 Advanced Homiletics Practicum (1 credit hour)
54:500 Theological Reflection Seminar (1 credit hour)
Elective (2 credit hours)
January Interterm
30:500 Patristics (2 credit hours)
Spring Semester (16 credit hours)
10:540 Trinity (3 credit hours)
15:545 Catholic Social Ethics (3 credit hours)
12:535 Sacrament of Marriage (3 credit hours)
22:546 Prophets and Poetry (3 credit hours)
54:500 Theological Reflection Seminar (1 credit hour)
54:550 Practicum in Homiletics/Liturgics I (1 credit hour)
Elective (2 credit hours)
Summer
54:650 Summer Pastoral Internship (2 credits)
Spirituality Week
45:504 Spiritual Leadership (1 credit hour)
Fall Semester (14 credit hours)
12:560 Sacrament of Reconciliation (2 credit hours)
15:551 Sexual and Medical Ethics (3 credit hours)
43:550 Ministry to Families (3 credit hours)
45:540 Sacrament of Holy Orders (3 credit hours)
54:555 Practicum in Homiletics/Liturgics II (1 credit hour)
Elective (2 credit hours)
Total: 116 credit hours