Master of Arts in Religion

Designed to accommodate the busy schedules of working pastors, the Master of Arts in Religion program will develop your skills in research, writing, and independent thinking. A hybrid of short summer intensives, online courses, and writing a thesis, will put you on the academic track for applying for a doctoral program.

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School of Religion Live Q&A: September 09, 2024

How the Master of Arts in Religion Works

The MA in Religion program is designed to accommodate the schedule of a full-time pastor and involves a combination of both online classes and summer intensives.

• Online classes are primarily offered during the fall and winter semesters. The summer intensives are offered over one to two-weeks on campus during the summer, with prior reading, followed by a significant writing assignment.
• Online classes are offered during the regular fall and winter semesters. The recommended load is two to three courses per year for those in full-time ministry and up to six classes every year for those in part-time work. Degrees can be completed in two to six years, depending on the course load. The MA degree requires either a thesis or a project as well as comprehensive exams.

Tuition Assistance

Southern Union pastors: Pastors may receive a tuition waiver by submitting a signed Conference Authorization Form each academic year (Summer, Fall, Winter) that they are enrolled for classes.

North American Division pastors: Pastors in Division Conferences outside of the Southern Union may receive tuition assistance by submitting a signed Tuition Assistance Form each academic year (Summer, Fall, Winter) that they are enrolled for classes.

Applying to Southern’s Master of Arts in Religion

Master of Arts in Religion Eligibility and Prerequisites

• Bachelor’s Degree: A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
• Religion courses: A minimum of 12 semester hours in religion (waivers may be requested for some or all of this requirement, based on the applicant's full-time ministry experience).
• GPA requirement: A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.25 OR for an undergraduate GPA of 2.75 to 3.24, applicants may request to be admitted on a provisional basis. A formal academic paper to demonstrate academic competency may be required of the candidate.
• Emphasis in Old Testament Studies or New Testament Studies: Applicants to either of these emphases must have six semester hours of credit in a biblical language with a minimum grade of C. Applicants to Old Testament Studies must have six semester hours of biblical Hebrew, and applicants to New Testament Studies must have six hours of biblical Greek. This may be counted as part of the required 12 hours in religion.

Application Deadlines

Applications can be accepted year-round. Due to the reading requirements for summer intensives, which must be completed in advance, students need to apply at least six weeks before the start of the summer semester to apply for a summer intensive. Online courses follow the university application deadlines. With School of Religion approval, students may take up to 12 hours of coursework on non-degree or provisional status.

Term

U.S. Residents

How to Apply

Submit an application (with non-refundable fee of $40.)

Submit official college and university transcripts. Many institutions subscribe to the convenient transcript-request service at National Student Clearinghouse, or you may also contact your institution directly. Have your transcripts sent to the Graduate and Professional Studies office (gradtranscripts@southern.edu). If you earned your prerequisite degree at Southern, you do not need to complete this step.

Submit two recommendation forms (completed by work supervisors or professors). One of these recommendations is to be from your employing conference, if employed by the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination. This should be done as part of the online application process. If you are employed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, one recommendation must be from a superior in the organization.

Submit a denominational service record (usually available from your SDA employer), if applicable, OR the Record of Service form. Download form

Candidates are to submit a written "Statement of Purpose through the Application Status Page following the guidelines provided by the School of Religion. Download PDF

The MA in Religion and MMin degrees don't offer enough year-round, in-person classes to qualify international students for an F1 student visa.

All non-U.S. transcripts must be submitted through one of the following approved credential evaluation agencies:

• SpanTran: use this link to send to Southern
• Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc (ECE): www.ece.org
• World Education Services: www.wes.org

Evaluations are to be sent directly to Southern Graduate Studies, by the service. All evaluation reports are considered to be advisory. Southern reserves the right to make final equivalency decisions.