Dr. Jeffrey P. Tuttle, Director

Purpose of the Master of Divinity

The Master of Divinity degree is designed to prepare persons for professional ministry. It seeks to graduate people who have knowledge and experience of the Christian faith, who give evidence of emotional and spiritual maturity, who relate to others with integrity, who possess skills for ministry, and who meet the educational requirements. Specifically, this degree seeks to develop leaders who evidence the following:

1. Understanding of the contents of the Old and New Testaments and the ability to interpret the Scriptures
2. Knowledge of the history and theology of the Christian church and the Baptist heritage
3. Commitment to evangelism and discipleship
4. Understanding of and skill in preaching, evangelism, teaching, and counseling
5. Ability to develop, administer, and evaluate programs and ministries of the local church
6. The practice of prayer, worship, a servant's attitude, personal discipleship, and ability to function as lifelong learners.

Admissions requirements for the Master of Divinity

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the seminary (see the General Admissions section), applicants to the Master of Divinity program must possess one of the following:

1. A baccalaureate degree issued by a recognized postsecondary school in the United States of America authorized by that school's state to grant the baccalaureate degree
2. The educational equivalent of the baccalaureate degree. Degree equivalency is based on similarity to a North American degree in kind, quality, and stringency of academic work; foreign students may have completed the equivalency of a baccalaureate degree, even though the degree title may not specifically follow American nomenclature.

Degree requirements for the Master of Divinity

For graduation with a Master of Divinity degree, a student must complete 96 credit hours including biblical language requirements and all core courses within eight years. A minimum average of 2.0 must be maintained. One year (a minimum of 32 semester hours) must be completed in residence at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary.

In addition, enrollment in the mentorship program is required for each Fall or Spring semester in which a student is enrolled. The mentorship program is an integral part of the student's training and provides each M.Div. candidate with hands-on ministry experience. (See "Mentorship" in "Student Life and Ministry".) The student's record will contain reports of each semester's mentorship. The chaplain files these reports at the end of each semester; any appeal for removal of this requirement must be submitted to the dean for consideration. All students graduating from the Master of Divinity program must have completed at least two semesters of mentorship.

The seminary confers a Master of Divinity degree upon students who complete the prescribed course of study. However, graduation is not automatic when academic requirements have been met. Since the seminary aims to graduate those who qualify as Christian leaders, the faculty and administration will evaluate a student's qualifications in terms of spiritual, doctrinal, and professional standards as well as academics. All financial obligations to the seminary must be paid prior to commencement, and students must be present at the commencement exercises.

Course requirements for the Master of Divinity

Core and elective courses for the Master of Divinity program are as follows:

Old Testament

• OT501/502 Elementary Hebrew, 4 credits
• OT503 Hebrew Syntax, 2 credits
• OT504 Hebrew Exegesis, 2 credits
• OT510 Old Testament Backgrounds, 2 credits
• OT520 Old Testament Introduction, 2 credits
• OT526 Daniel, 2 credits
• Hebrew elective (Hebrew genre study), 2 credits

New Testament

• NT401/402 Elementary Greek, 4 credits
  (Required for those who have not had Greek)
• NT501 Greek Syntax, 2 credits
• NT502 Greek Exegesis, 2 credits
• NT510 New Testament Backgrounds, 2 credits
• NT520 New Testament Introduction, 2 credits
• NT527 Revelation, 2 credits
• Greek electives (Greek book studies), 6 credits

Systematic Theology

• TH500 Hermeneutics, 2 credits
• TH501 Prolegomena and Bibliology, 2 credits
• TH502 Trinitarianism, 2 credits
• TH503 Angelology and Anthropology, 2 credits
• TH504 Soteriology, 2 credits
• TH505 Ecclesiology, 2 credits
• TH506 Eschatology, 2 credits
• TH510 Dispensationalism, 2 credits
• TH520 Ethics, 2 credits

Historical Theology

• CH501 Church History I, 2 credits
• CH502 Church History II, 2 credits
• CH503 American Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism, 2 credits

Practical Theology

• PT501 Spiritual Formation, 1 credit
• PT510 Biblical Philosophy of Ministry, 2 credits
• PT511 Church Administration, 2 credits
• PT512 Pastoral Theology, 2 credits
• PT513 Church Planting, 2 credits
• PT514 Baptist Polity, 2 credits*
  
• PT521 Expository Preaching I, 2 credits
• PT522 Expository Preaching II, 2 credits
• PT523 Expository Preaching III, 2 credits

Pastoral Care and Counseling

• PC501 Counseling Principles, 2 credits
• PC505 Marriage and Family Counseling, 2 credits

Christian Education

• CE501 Research Methods, 1 credit

Electives

• Bible electives (4 OT, 4 NT), 8 credits
• General electives, 6 credits

Total: 96 credits

Suggested three-year Master of Divinity course sequence

*The course content for PT514 Baptist Polity was moved to TH505 Ecclesiology in Fall 2008, and a general elective is now offered in its place.

**Students who enter seminary having already had Elementary Greek prior to studying at Calvary take elective credits in place of NT401 Elementary Greek I and NT402 Elementary Greek II.