Academic Programs

Bethany offers four master’s degree programs, five graduate-level certificates, and non-degree learning options. Learn more about what Bethany has to offer!

Master’s Degree Programs

Master of Divinity (MDiv)
This ministerial degree program is designed to prepare persons for church-related ministries, including ministries requiring ordination. A key component of the MDiv degree is Bethany’s acclaimed Ministry Formation sequence (practical ministry preparation and experience).

MDiv Connections Track: The same MDiv degree earned from a distance.

Master of Arts (MA)
This program of focused study requires 42 credit hours and culminates with a thesis or portfolio. It is designed to carry students into future doctoral work and/or a professional appointment. As of fall 2019, it can be completed entirely through online/distance education courses.

Master of Arts: Theopoetics and Writing (MATW)

The only degree of its kind, the MATW is graduate education on the cutting edge. Designed to enhance students’ ability to write and think at the intersection of creativity, faith, and meaning, it trains students in various forms of written communication and other media that bring spirituality into public conversation with the whole of life.

This degree requires 36 credit hours, culminating with a thesis, portfolio, or project. It can be completed entirely through online/distance education courses.

Master of Arts in Spiritual and Social Transformation (MASST)

The Master of Arts in Spiritual and Social Transformation (MASST) program engages questions and concerns at the intersection of spirituality and society. The energy of spirituality can be intensely personal, but it can also ripple through an entire community or society. Similarly, personal transformation can elevate us and draw us out of the mundane world, but also propel us back into the world with new-found desire to be agents of social change. This program examines conflicts, challenges, and movements that involve persons and societies. It integrates social and spiritual dimensions in order to equip the whole person for work in a variety of settings: congregational, public, and private, with the ability to focus on non-profit leadership, spiritual formation, history as argument and mediation, and public theology and witness.

Bethany’s MASST program consists of 36 credit hours (twelve 3-credit courses) and may be done as a residential student or through our distance education option.

Graduate Certificates

• Graduate-level programs
• Online/distance education courses available
• All courses can be rolled into a degree program and are fully accredited and transferable

Certificate of Achievement in Theological Studies (CATS)
This is a great opportunity to test the waters of seminary education, with courses taken across the disciplinary content areas. The CATS program provides a means to deepen one’s understanding of Christian faith and ministry while providing an opportunity to explore seminary education. It is designed for persons who wish to pursue theological study without necessarily becoming a candidate for a degree.

This program requires 18 hours of coursework. A 3-credit course must be taken in each of the following areas of the curriculum: biblical studies, theological studies, historical studies, ministry studies, and peace or intercultural studies. In addition, students will take one general elective.

Certificate in Biblical Peacemaking (CBP)

The CBP provides a means to construct one’s theology of peacemaking through biblical, theological, and ethical reflection. With this foundation, students will apply their learning in a practical setting. Designed to serve the needs of students from the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), this program is open to domestic as well as international students.

This program requires 18 hours of coursework, including two required courses and a practicum. The other hours will come from selected courses in peace studies and theological studies as listed in the catalog.

Certificate in Intercontextual Biblical Interpretation (CIBI)
The Certificate in Intercontextual Biblical Interpretation provides a means to deepen one’s understanding of the Bible and methods of interpretation. The importance of rigorous and reflective engagement with scripture is stressed.

This program requires 15 hours of coursework, including both introductory courses. The other 9 hours come from various biblical studies courses as listed in the catalog.

Certificate in Just Peace and Conflict Transformation (CJPCT)
The Certificate in Just Peace and Conflict Transformation provides a means of focusing on the work of conflict transformation and creation of just Ppace in the world. Along with theoretical approaches, the skills needed for constructive work in these areas are practiced both individually and in groups.

This program requires 15 hours of coursework, including two required courses. The additional hours will come from a variety of courses in reconciliation and peace studies as listed in the catalog.

Certificate in Theopoetics and Theological Imagination (CTTI)
The Certificate in Theopoetics and Theological Imagination provides a means to deepen one’s understanding of theology, especially as it is articulated in public venues and in wider cultural contexts that bring theology into conversation with the whole of life.

This program requires 15 hours of coursework, including a required introductory course and a course in theopoetics. Additional coursework may come from a variety of theological areas, including classical and contemporary approaches, ecological theology, public theology, theology and culture, and ministry of writing courses as listed in the catalog.

Non-degree Learning Opportunities

Occasional Students
A person who applies and is admitted but not enrolled in any particular degree track is classified as an occasional student. Occasional students may choose to take any courses they desire. Most often, those who enroll as occasional students are those testing out seminary, perhaps planning to enroll in a degree program at a later time, or those who may already have a degree and are seeking the best of continuing education on the graduate level.

Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership
The Academy, a partnership of Bethany Theological Seminary and the Church of the Brethren, is the umbrella organization for nondegree ministerial training within the Church of the Brethren. The program leading to commissioned ministry in the Church of the Brethren is Education for Shared Ministry (EFSM). Programs leading to ordination in the Church of the Brethren include the following:

• Training in Ministry (TRIM)
• Academy Certified Training System (ACTS)
• Seminario Biblico Anabautista Hispano de la Iglesia de Los Hermanos (SeBAH-CoB)