MASTER OF DIVINITY
Traditional/Ecumenical Ministry MDiv Track
The first track for completing the ETS MDiv is the Traditional Ecumenical Ministry Track. Working in conjunction with traditional denominational MDiv requirements and in compliance with ATS standards, this track allows you to meet the educational standards required by mainstream denominations for congregational ministry with very few exceptions. After completing the core course requirements, you will take a specific number of elective courses. These electives may be representative of a wide range of course offerings with no particular ministry specialization in mind. In this case you might be considered more of a generalist of pastoral ministry prepared to serve a local congregation.
On the other hand, in order to fulfill the number of electives required for the program, as an MDiv student you may pursue specific training for more specialized ministries through our Masters Certificate classes. For instance, if you wish to specialize in chaplaincy ministry, as part of your MDiv training you may pursue a Certificate in Pre-Chaplaincy Studies, which prepares you for post-seminary CPE training for chaplaincy. If you are interested in specializing in pastoral care, this would be realized by completing the Certificate in Pastoral Care, etc., etc.
Masters Certificate classes will allow you, after completing the MDiv, to apply to a calling congregation that seeks to fill a position with a more specialized ministry, and you would be able to provide concrete evidence of graduate level training for this specialized ministry by presenting to the interviewing or calling congregation the certificate you have earned while working on your Masters degree. (See the list of available specialized ministry certificates in this academic catalog.)
* Indicates a course that must be completed before enrolling for Field Education.
** Indicates a course that may be completed during or after the Field Education experience.
CORE REQUIRED COURSES
Theological Writing & Research* | 4 credit hours
Formation for Ministry* | 4 credit hours
Biblical Hermeneutics * | 4 credit hours
Intro to HB (OT)* | 4 credit hours
Intro to NT* | 4 credit hours
​
Theology I** | 4 credit hours
or Theology II** | 4 credit hours
Church History I* | 4 credit hours
or Church History II** | 4 credit hours
Worship & Community** | 4 credit hours
Christian Education* | 4 credit hours
Prophetic Preaching* | 4 credit hours
Pastoral Care ** | 4 credit hours
Church Leadership** | 4 credit hours
​
Ethics: Church & Society* | 4 credit hours
Morality & Social Ethics** | 4 credit hours
Interfaith Dialogue** | 4 credit hours
​
Field Education I | 4 credit hours
Field Education II | 4 credit hours
Field Education III | 4 credit hours
ELECTIVES
Free Electives (Or Masters Certificate 1) | 16 credit hours (4 classes)
Free Electives (Or Masters Certificate 2) | 16 credit hours (4 classes)
112 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS = 28 total classes
Three 10-hr Workshops (onsite or online) are required.
CPE Units and Field Education Requirements
CPE Units may be used to fulfill part of the Field Education requirement with the Field Education Supervisor’s permission. This permission must be secured before enrolling for Field Education. The student using CPE credit hours for Field Education must register for and attend the regular meetings of the Field Education seminar.
Recommended 3-Year Sequence
MDiv Year 3
​
Fall Quarter
ETH 6100 - Morality & Social Ethics (4)
Elective (4)
​
Winter Quarter
HIS 6100 - Church History I (4)
TPM 7003 Church Leadership (4)
Elective (4)
​
Spring Quarter
HIS 6200 - Church History II (4)
Elective (4)
​
Summer Term
Elective (4)
​
MDiv Year 2
​
Fall Quarter
FE 7001 - Field Education I (4)
SYS 6000 - Theology I (4)
Elective (4)
​
Winter Quarter
FE 7002 - Field Education II (4)
SYS 6100 - Theology II (4)
TPM 6001 - Worship and
Community (4)
Elective (4)
​
Spring Quarter
FE 7003 - Field Education III (4)
TPM 6004 - Pastoral Care (4)
Elective (4)
​
Summer Term
Elective (4)
MDiv Year 1
​
Fall Quarter
GEN 5000 - Orientation to Seminary (0)
GEN 5001 - Theological Writing and Research (4)
PM 5000 - Formation for Ministry (4)
BS 5000 - Biblical Hermeneutics (4)
​
Winter Quarter
BS 5100 - Intro to the Hebrew
Bible (OT) (4)
ETH 6000 - Ethics: Church and
Society (4)
TPM 6002 Prophetic Preaching (4)
​
Spring Quarter
BS 5200 - Intro to the New
Testament (4)
TPM 6003 - Christian Education (4)
​
Summer Term
GEN 5001 - Theological Writing and
Research (4) (if not taken during
Fall Quarter)
TPM 7004 - Interfaith Dialogue (4)
Urban Transformation and Renewal MDiv Track
Detroit and other cities throughout the United States are currently undergoing a period of economic expansion and renewal. Some places more than others—but especially in Detroit—hospitals, universities, schools, businesses, restaurants, sports and entertainment venues are experiencing capital investments and renewed economic growth. The much-needed repair of infrastructure, investment in and repair of historic buildings for new business venues, mass transit, and the arts suggest a strong vision for a transformed and renewed Detroit. On the surface this transformation and renewal can be lauded as a great triumph after a decades-long downward spiral of economic and social decline.
​
However, looking beneath the surface reveals a number of serious moral concerns—Gentrification. Water weaponization. Systemic racism. Political corruption. Unequal legal representation. Food injustice. Education injustice. Unequal access to educational opportunities. Massive educational debt. Unfair and illegal application of tax laws. Unaffordable housing. Pensions raided by big banks—Who reaps the benefits of the renewal and who is being left behind? Alongside the good that is happening with the urban transformation and renewal in some of our cities, how is the church to respond to the many problematic issues and injustices roiling beneath the surface? Ecumenical Theological Seminary in the city of Detroit is uniquely positioned to engage these concerns with the voice of faith, addressing the difficult issues with the depth of understanding and the critical awareness needed to equip and empower the prophetic voice for our time.
The second track for completing the ETS MDiv is the Urban Transformation and Renewal MDiv Track. This track allows students whose denominational organization allows for more flexibility in education for pastoral ministry. This flexibility gives you the choice to concentrate your attention and your efforts on a course of study via specialized certificates like the Certificate in Social Justice, or the Certificate in African American Religions, or the Certificate in Race, Racism, and Diversity.
This track would prepare you, after completing the MDiv, to pursue specialized ministry that is designed specifically for the church’s engagement in urban transformation and renewal. There is no generalist approach to completing the elective requirements for this track. Students on the Urban Transformation and Renewal MDiv Track are imagined to have a vision for (and maybe already experience at) urban transformation and renewal from a variety of perspectives. (See the list of available specialized ministry certificates in this academic catalog.)
* Indicates a course that must be completed before enrolling for Field Education.
** Indicates a course that may be completed during or after the Field Education experience.
CORE REQUIRED COURSES
Theological Writing & Research* | 4 credit hours
Formation for Ministry* | 4 credit hours
Biblical Hermeneutics * | 4 credit hours
Intro to HB (OT)* | 4 credit hours
Intro to NT* | 4 credit hours
​
Theology I** | 4 credit hours
or Theology II**
Church History I* | 4 credit hours
or Church History II**
Choose 4 from 6 TPM CORE classes** | 16 credit hours | 4 classes
Worship & Community** | 4 credit hours
Christian Education* | 4 credit hours
Prophetic Preaching* | 4 credit hours
Pastoral Care ** | 4 credit hours
Church Leadership** | 4 credit hours
Ministry in Global Context | 4 credit hours
​
Ethics: Church & Society* | 4 credit hours
Morality & Social Ethics** | 4 credit hours
Interfaith Dialogue** | 4 credit hours
​
Field Education I | 4 credit hours
Field Education II | 4 credit hours
Field Education III | 4 credit hours
ELECTIVES
Masters Certificate 1 | 16 credit hours | 4 classes
Masters Certificate 2 | 16 credit hours | 4 classes
Masters Certificate 3 (or Free Electives) | 16 credit hours | 4 classes
112 TOTAL CREDIT HOURS = 28 total classes
Three 10-hr Workshops (onsite or online) are required.
Recommended 3-Year Sequence
MDiv Year 1
​
Fall Quarter
GEN 5000 - Orientation to
Seminary (0)
GEN 5001 - Theological Writing
and Research (4)
BS 5000 - Biblical Hermeneutics (4)
Elective (4)
​
Winter Quarter
BS 5100 - Intro to the Hebrew
Bible (OT) (4)
ETH 6000 - Church and Society (4)
Elective (4)
​
Spring Quarter
BS 5200 - Intro to the New
Testament (4)
TPM CORE (4)
Elective - (4)
​
Summer Term
GEN 5001 - Intro to Theological Writing and Research (4) (if not taken during Fall Quarter)
Elective (4)
MDiv Year 2
​
Fall Quarter
FE 7001 - Field Education I (4)
PM 5000 - Formation for Ministry (4)
Elective (4)
​
Winter Quarter
FE 7002 - Field Education II (4)
TPM CORE (4)
Elective (4)
​
Spring Quarter
FE 7003 - Field Education III (4)
TPM CORE (4)
Elective (4)
​
Summer Term
TPM 7004 - Interfaith Dialogue (4)
Elective 4
MDiv Year 3
​
Fall Quarter
SYS 6000 - Theology (4)
Elective (4)
​
Winter Quarter
HIS 6000 - Church History I (4)
TPM CORE (4)
Elective (4)
​
Spring Quarter
Elective (4)
​
Summer Term
Elective (4)
Field Education for the MDiv Program
FE 7001, 7002, 7003 Field Education. Field Education (FE) is a supervised ministry experience during the middle part of your seminary studies (after 8-12 courses). It takes place in a congregational or other professional setting and provides experience in preaching, worship leadership, pastoral care, teaching, administration, and community outreach. Supervision is provided on site by a member of the pastoral staff and by a lay team, and at ETS through participation in the Field Education seminar which meets on designated weeks throughout the school year. 12 quarter hrs.
All M.Div students must contact the Field Education director, Rev. Dr. Tony Curtis Henderson at (thenderson@etseminary.edu) by March 15 of the year you plan to begin Field Education in the Fall so that he can work with you in locating an acceptable field placement. A suitable church (or other ministry site), supervisor, and lay team must be found and trained, and preliminary planning meeting held – all of which may take months to prepare before your FE experience can begin.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) or an Internship in Spiritual Direction are ways of fulfilling part of the Field Education requirement. These experiences still require your participation in the Field Education seminars. Please contact the Field Education Supervisor or your Academic Advisor for approval.