The Master of Arts in Ecclesial Ministry degree program (MAEM) is a professional degree open to candidates for the permanent diaconate and lay students. It is a three-year program whose curriculum includes three major areas: systematic theology, sacred Scripture, and pastoral studies.
Learning Outcomes:
1.Students will appropriate the doctrinal heritage of the Roman Catholic Church and acquire the capacity to communicate this heritage through academic courses in systematic theology, Sacred Scripture, and pastoral studies.
2. Students will develop pastoral and leadership skills required by the diverse contexts and cultural dimensions of Roman Catholic parish ministry by acquiring the academic and professional competency needed to begin ecclesial ministry.
3. Students will demonstrate the capacity to integrate their theological training with the pastoral field work appropriate to their future ministry goals.
4. Candidates for the permanent diaconate will acquire the competency requisite to preach homilies which are biblically grounded, doctrinally sound, pastorally focused and rhetorically effective.
5. Students will develop a commitment to lifelong learning, rooted in the Word of God and integrated with their spiritual lives
The effectiveness of this program is evaluated by measuring student success in academic courses and, for candidates for the permanent diaconate, progress in and completion of their diocese’s formation program.
The Master of Arts in Ecclesial Ministry program is open to candidates for the permanent diaconate and to lay students seeking to do diocesan or parish level ministry in the Church. This is a three-year program. The curriculum consists of three major areas of study: Systematic Theology, Sacred Scripture, and Pastoral Studies
Admission Requirements:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college, with indication of aptitude for advanced study (though provisional admission of M.A. candidates without a bachelor’s degree may be possible)
- A minimum of 18 credits in Judeo-Christian theology. For permanent diaconate candidates without these credits, admission into the program may be contingent upon completion of the IMF Catechetics certificate program mentioned above.
- For permanent diaconate candidates, a diocesan letter of sponsorship
- A personal interview with the Academic Dean, if requested
Degree Requirements
Core curriculum
Systematic Theology: 21 credits
Sacred Scripture: 9 credits
From either of the following tracks: 18 credits
Diaconal Ministry
Sacraments and Liturgy: 3 credits
Field work: 4 credits
Deacon Preparation Laboratory: 2 credits
Integration seminar 3 credits
Homiletics: 6 credits
Lay Ministry
Sacraments and Liturgy :3 credits
Field work: 6 credits
Integration seminar: 3 credits
Electives: 6 credits
Total Credits: 48
- A grade point average of 3.0
- Successful completion of a Comprehensive Capstone Assessment Project
A normal load for students is between five and seven credits per semester for three years and six credits per summer in the first two years. There are no courses in the summer of the third year of studies. With approval from the Academic Dean, a maximum of twelve credits may be transferred from other graduate schools. A candidate must complete all degree requirements within 10 years after acceptance into the program.
Due to the formative nature of this degree, new students must enter the program with a cohort at the beginning of each new cycle.
Year One:
Fall:
EM 700: Fundamental Theology: 3 credits
EM 705: Creation and the Christian God: 3 credits
Spring:
EM 710: Christology & Christian Anthropology: 3 credits
EM 715: Catholic Sexual and Healthcare Ethics: 3 credits
Summer:
EM 720: Catholic Social Doctrine: 3 credits
EM 725: Sacramental Theology & Liturgy: 3 credits
Total Credits: 18
Year Two:
Fall:
EM 730: The Synoptic Gospels: 3 credits
EM 735: Christian Marriage & Sexuality: 3 credits
Spring:
EM 740: Johannine Literature: 3 credits
EM 745: The Epistles: 3 credits
Summer:
EM 750: Ecclesiology, Ecumenism & Mariology: 3 credits
EM 755: Field Work I: 2 credits
Total Credits: 17 Credits
Year Three:
Fall:
EM 760: Field Work II: 2 credits
PA 740: Deacon Preparation Lab: 2 credits
PA 722: Homiletics or an elective: 3 credits
Spring:
EM 765: Integration Seminar: 3 credits
PA 723: Homiletics or an elective: 3 credits
Total Credits: 13
Total Credits: 48
In lieu of Homiletics, lay students not pursuing ordination in the permanent diaconate will take two electives from the Seminary’s regular course schedule, including elective offerings from the other MA areas of concentration. Students are free to take these electives any time after the first two semesters of study.
Field Work: For permanent diaconate candidates, oversight for the field work placements will be the responsibility of an assigned diocesan official with the objective of fostering “a general integration in the formational process, forging a close link between the human, spiritual, and intellectual dimensions in formation” (NDFMLPD2, §135). Field work is also to include content on ecumenism and interreligious dialogue along with principles, norms, and dimensions in pastoral ministry (NDFMLPD2, §133j).
For lay students, field work placements will be the responsibility of Saint Vincent Seminary’s Director of Pastoral Formation. Students doing field work in secondary education will need to do this during a normal academic year and not during the summer.
Integration Seminar: To complete this degree, students will meet to discuss and evaluate their field work experience. This course will ask each student to produce a 5,000-word paper (circa 20 pages) that addresses how their field work experience fostered general integration in the formational process and displays the student’s command of Catholic pastoral theology and its application to the pastoral need identified in the field assignment and the solution or program prepared and implemented in EM 760 Field Work II. This work should reflect an understanding of the theological principles guiding the Catholic faith tradition and how they are experienced in the practical order of a person’s and a community’s life of faith. Students are expected to articulate their role as ordained deacons or lay ministers in this description. A bibliography of theological and pastoral sources with appropriate citations in the text is expected to support the presentation.
Thesis Option: For Lay Students Only: Lay students who are not taking this degree for any future active pastoral ministry may opt to write a thesis (EM 770) instead of taking Field Work I and II (EM 755 and 760). Those who choose this option must also take one additional elective course from the Seminary’s regular course schedule, including elective offerings from the other M.A. areas of concentration to replace EM 765: Integration Seminar (students are free to take this elective any time after their first two semesters of study).