Loyola University Chicago

Program Information

Degree Offered

M.Div. - Master of Divinity

Format: Campus

Program Description:

The Master of Divinity (M.Div.), is a comprehensive degree designed to meet the educational needs of persons called to professional ministerial leadership. Those who elect to pursue this Master of Divinity degree are making a major commitment to prepare for pastoral ministry, choosing to join in the adventure of discerning their gifts and preparing themselves for a life of religious leadership in an evolving church and society.

These ministers extend the religious tradition in spiritual leadership in a variety of contexts (parishes and churchs, healthcare institutions, faith-based non-profit organizations, retreat centers, educational institutions, etc.) by preaching and teaching, by counseling, consoling, and offering pastoral care, by serving and challenging, by leading prayer and praying, by empowering and equipping, by prophetically pointing to injustice and by faithfully organizing for needed change. Born of the present needs for church ministers and decision-makers, this degree qualifies women and men for the new genre of pastoral leadership. The M.Div. cultivates a ministerial way of being through academic and formational requirements, which parallel the Church's traditional seminary setting. Loyola's Jesuit and university context provides the breadth and depth that tomorrow's Church requires.

The religious leaders who emerge from this M. Div. program are called upon to resource (both to mediate and to augment) the Christian Tradition. Thus, they require education and formation not only for the way things are, but also for the way things are going to be. They need to be generalists grounded in the faith tradition, but also specialists possessing the interpersonal and spiritual skills to empower others in particular settings. These persons will be leaders who can articulate in religious language their own profound experience, discern the presence of the divine in others' experience, and convoke and nurture community, accompanying others on the journey through life.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Financial Aid Offered: No

Classification: Doctoral/Research Universities - Extensive

Institution Sector: Private not-for-profit

Locale: Large City

Size & Settings: 10,000 - 19,999