Certificate

Graduate Certificates

Class Type:

Online, Hybrid, In-person

Cost:

$561 per credit hour

Program Start Terms:

August

Program Options:

Graduate Certificate

18*

Credit Hours

Years (Avg.)

*Certificates vary in credit hour requirements. See below for details for each certificate

Graduate Certificate in Christian Ministry - 18 SH

This certificate is designed with two specific learners in mind: (1) laypersons who are fulfilling ministry roles in their local churches and seek graduate-level education to support their spiritual, intellectual, and professional capacities for ministry service; and (2) ministry professionals who hold non-theological master’s degrees and seek additional graduate work to prepare and apply for the Doctor of Ministry program.*

While this program is not a degree program, the student participates in course work as a regular student. This program is designed for personal growth and professional upskilling but does not adequately prepare graduates for pastoral ministry.

Christian Ministry Curriculum

Required Core Courses - 9-15 SH
FS 503 Formation in Spiritual Practices (3 SH)

Choose 3-6 hours:
- CTT 634 Living Theology (3 SH)
- CTH 501 Christian Tradition I or CTH 512 Christian Tradition II (3 SH)
- CTE 702 Christian Ethics (3 SH)
Choose 3-6 hours:
- BIBL 511 Hebrew Bible: Text in Context (3 SH)
- BIBL 512 New Testament: Text in Context (3 SH)
Elective Courses - 3-9 SH

Choose one course designated CM (contexts of ministry)

Choose at least one course designated SMCL

*For those seeking to meet DMin application requirements, the specific courses required to complete this certificate will be determined in conversation with the seminary dean’s office.

Graduate Certificate in Faith-Based Peacebuilding - 18 SH

The Graduate Certificate in Faith-Based Peacebuilding blends skills and practices for leading communities in times of conflict with reflection on the theological commitments that are embodied in these practices. The certificate is designed for faith community leaders who want to more effectively respond to social conflicts as they arise in their community and those who seek faith-informed social engagement in the complex justice issues of their communities.

Faith-Based Peacebuilding Curriculum

Required Core Courses - 9 SH
- PAX 533: Analysis: Understanding Conflict (3SH)
- PAX 532: Formation for Peacebuilding Practice (3SH)
- CM 635 Faith-Based Social Transformation or CTT 546 Jesus, Empire, and Jubilee Community (3 SH)
Theology Electives - choose 6-7 SH
- CM 635 Faith-Based Social Transformation or CTT 546 Jesus, Empire, and Jubilee Community (3SH, whichever did not fulfill above requirement)
- BIBL 560 Jesus, Justice, and Violence (3SH)
- CM 644 Decolonizing Intercultural Studies (3 SH)
- CM 654 Race and Religion in America (3SH)
- CM 724 Racial Healing and the Blue-Eyed Soul (3SH)
- SMCL 521 Teaching for Christian Community (3SH)
- CTT 634 Living Theology (3SH)
- CTE 702 Christian Ethics (3SH)
- CTE 713 Sermon on the Mount: Peace and Justice (3 SH)
- SMCL 564 Theological Reflection on Trauma (1 SH) - must be taken with PAX 540 Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience I (2 SH) below
Peacebuilding Electives - choose 2-3 SH
- PAX 601 Mediation & Negotiation (2 or 3 SH)
- PAX 672 Circle Processes (1 or 2 SH)
- PAX 610 Facilitation (2 or 3 SH)
- PAX 665 Designing Processes for Conflict Transformation (2 or 3 SH)
- PAX 571 Restorative Justice (2 or 3 SH)
- PAX 588 Nonviolent Mobilization (2 or 3 SH)
- PAX 540 Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience I (2 SH)
- PAX 640 STAR Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience II - prerequisite
  STAR I (2 SH)
- Offerings in the Summer Peacebuilding Institute

General Theological Certificate - 24 SH

The seminary recognizes the value of its educational programs for persons who have not completed a college degree, but have completed at least 30 semester hours of undergraduate coursework and can benefit from graduate-level studies by reason of age/maturity and significant ministry experience. Maturity will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis but is generally understood as at least 35 years of age. Significant ministry experience is means five years (or its cumulative equivalent) of church-related ministry. These criteria must be fulfilled for enrollment in seminary courses. While this program is not a degree program, the student participates in course work as a regular student. Twenty-four credit hours of study are required for the general theological certificate.

A student in this certificate program who wishes to pursue a graduate seminary degree may apply for the Master of Divinity or the Master of Arts in Christian Leadership, upon successful completion of 21 hours of credit with a minimum GPA of 3.0. The student should meet with their advisor for a formative conversation, after which the advisor will prepare a degree candidacy recommendation for faculty consideration. Degree-seeking status will be conferred after faculty approval is gained. A limited number of students may be accepted in any year into seminary degree programs.