Master of Divinity Program
Purpose: The Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) is the most versatile, all-purpose degree. It is the primary degree leading to ordination for professional ministry. It also may prepare students for church administration, chaplaincy, youth work, teaching in colleges or theological schools, missions and evangelism, social work and more.
Eligibility: generally, applicants to the Master of Divinity program requires a completed bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of 2.75/4.0.
Curriculum: The Master of Divinity degree requires the completion of 26 three-unit courses for a total of 78 credits. Eighteen (18) courses are required and eight (8) are electives. Electives may be used to take denominational requirements or to complete the Anglican Certificate.
Denominational Requirements: Polity courses for American Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Methodist, and Unitarian Universalist students are offered during the normal tenure of a Master of Divinity student.
United Methodist Students: CRCDS is approved by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church for the preparation of candidates for ordination in The United Methodist Church. The School’s rich course offerings can also prepare for ordination in a variety of other denominations.
Episcopal/Anglican Students: CRCDS in collaboration with Bexley Hall Seabury Western Federation and The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester offers Episcopal students preparing for ordination the opportunity to earn a Master of Divinity degree from CRCDS concurrently with an Anglican Studies Certificate from Bexley Seabury. Details for that program may be found at this link.
Supervised Ministry: Master of Divinity students are required to do a full year of supervised ministry (2 three-credit courses), which includes 12 hours of on-site work at their field placement site. Students may select an approved site from a variety of congregational and non-congregational contexts throughout New York State. More information on the requirements for Supervised Ministry may be found at this link:
Conferences and Lectureships: In addition to the coursework, M.Div. students are required to attend five conferences or lectureships during the program. These requirements may be easily fulfilled during the fall and spring Lecture Weeks which introduce students rich resources outside of the classroom and expose them to national figures. M.Div. students are required to attend the following:
- One Stuber Lectureship
- One Helen Barrett Montgomery Conference
- One African American Legacy Lecture
- One LGBTi Lecture
- One of the following conferences:
- J.C. Wynn Conference on Family Ministries
- Gene Bartlett Preaching Conference
Please refer HERE for admissions deadlines.
The current CRCDS Academic Catalogue may be viewed at this link.