The Master of Arts in Ecclesial Ministry degree program (MAEM) is a professional degree open to candidates for the permanent diaconate and lay students. This is a three-year program. The curriculum consists of three major areas: Systematic Theology, Sacred Scripture, and Pastoral Studies.
The MAEM Goals are:
- To help students appropriate and communicate the heritage of the Roman Catholic Church through academic courses in Systematic Theology, Sacred Scripture, and Pastoral Studies.
- To provide students, through our homiletics program and field education experiences, with the professional competency needed to begin ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.
- To assist students in their understanding of the cultural and ecclesial context in which they will minister.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of this program is done by means of measuring the success of the students in their academic courses, the evaluation of student portfolios, and by their progress and completion of the formation program in their diocese.
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
Learning Outcomes for the M.A. in Ecclesial Ministry (MAEM)
- 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;
- 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;
- Students will demonstrate the capacity to integrate their theological training with the pastoral field work appropriate to their future ministry goals;
- Candidates for the permanent diaconate will acquire the competency requisite to preach homilies which are biblically grounded, doctrinally sound, pastorally focused and rhetorically effective;
- Students will develop a commitment to life-long learning, rooted in the Word of God and integrated with their spiritual lives.
Admission Requirements - A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college with indication of aptitude for advanced study;
- A minimum of 18 credits in Judeo-Christian theology. For permanent diaconate candidates without these credits, admission into the program may be contingent upon a score of 85% or above on an entrance exam that tests the applicant’s basic knowledge of Catholic doctrine.
- 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
Sacred Scripture: 9
From either of the following tracks: 18
Diaconal Ministry
Sacraments and Liturgy 3
Field work 6
Integration seminar 3
Homiletics 6
Lay Ministry
Sacraments and Liturgy 3
Field work 6
Integration seminar 3
Electives 6
Degree Total: 48 Credits
A grade point average of 3.0Successful completion of a Comprehensive Capstone Assessment Project
A normal load for students is six credits per semester for three years and six credits per summer in the first two years. There will be 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. Ordinarily, classes each semester will meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Due to the formative nature of this degree, a new cycle will usually begin only every two years. New students must enter the program with a cohort at the beginning of each new cycle.
Year One:
Fall:
EM 700: Fundamental Theology 3
EM 705: Creation and the Christian God 3
Spring:
EM 710: Christology & Christian Anthropology 3
EM 715: Fundamental Moral Theology 3
Summer:
EM 720: Catholic Social Doctrine 3
EM 725: Sacramental Theology & Liturgy 3
Total: 18 Credits
Year Two:
Fall:
EM 730: The Synoptic Gospels 3
EM 735: Christian Marriage & Sexuality 3
Spring:
EM 740: Johannine Literature 3
EM 745: The Epistles 3
Summer:
EM 750: Ecclesiology & Mariology 3
EM 755: Field Work I 3
Total: 18 Credits
Year Three:
Fall:
EM 760: Field Work II 3
PA 722: Homiletics or an elective 3
Spring:
EM 765: Integration Seminar 3
PA 723: Homiletics or an elective 3
Total: 12 Credits
Total Credits: 48 Credits
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 M.A. 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.
For lay students, field work placements will be the responsibility of Saint Vincent Seminary’s Director of Pastoral Formation. Students doing field work in the area of secondary education will need to do this during the course of a normal academic year and not during the summer.
Integration Seminar: To complete this degree students will meet together to discuss and evaluate their field work experience. This course will ask each student to produce a 5000 word paper (circa 20 pages) displaying the students command of Catholic pastoral theology and its application to the pastoral need he has identified in his field assignment and the solution or program he has 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 these are experienced in the practical order of a person’s and a community’s life of faith. The student is expected to articulate his role as an ordained deacon or lay minister 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 & II (EM 755 and 760). Those who choose this option will also have to 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).