Page Comparison

...

Policy on Completion of First-Year Core Curriculum and Co-Curricular Requirements for Transfer and Part-Time Students

• All students who begin graduate theological study at Seattle Pacific Seminary in the autumn quarter of a given academic year will be required to take THEO 6001 Christian Formation in Discipleship, a 2-credit abbey/apostolate Core course taught about a month before the autumn term begins. This provision shall apply to transfer students and part-time students, as well as full-time students.

• All students who begin graduate theological study at SPS in the autumn quarter of a given academic year will be expected to take THEO 6002 Christian Formation in Mission, a 2-credit abbey/apostolate Core course taught several weeks before the autumn term begins. Permission to defer that course to the following year must be secured by the Dean of the School of Theology (SOT) or the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies (ADGS).

• Every SPS student is required to take nine 3-credit academic Core courses, three in Bible, three in Global Christian Heritage, and three in Theology/Ethics. As many of these courses as possible shall be taken during a student’s first year, and, with the possible exception of one-off courses, all the courses taken during a student’s first year will be academic Core courses. All nine of these courses are taught annually, according to the following schedule:

• A student who begins graduate theological study at SPS in the autumn quarter of a given academic year, but who opts to take only one or two of the academic Core courses that quarter, should take the corresponding Core courses in the winter and spring quarters. That is, he or she should take the three triads in proper sequence. (Students must take THEO 6010 before taking either THEO 6040 or 6070.)

•  Every SPS student is required to complete six credits of THEO 6930 Graduate Core Practicum. A section of THEO 6930 is offered every autumn, winter and spring, in conjunction with the three academic core courses offered that quarter, and is intended to delineate their abbey and apostolate consequences. To complete the Practicum requirement, and to fulfill its learning objectives, every student must take one section of THEO 6930 in each of the first three quarters in which he or she is enrolled in classes.

• Every SPS student is required to participate for three quarters in a Wesleyan class meeting and to meet with a mentor three times per quarter for three quarters. Although these two co-curricular requirements are not graded as such, they are organized in conjunction with THEO 6930 and are closely associated its learning objectives, such that a passing grade in the Practicum is contingent upon their successful completion.

• A student who begins graduate theological study at SPS in the winter or spring quarter of a given academic year will be required to complete all 39 of his or her required Core credits. Hence, he or she will need to take THEO 6001 and 6002 in the early autumn of the subsequent academic year, and will need to complete THEO 6930 (along with the two associated co-curricular degree requirements described in ¶6 above) in that same academic year, in conjunction with whatever academic Core courses in which he or she is enrolled.

•  A student who begins graduate theological study at SPS in the autumn quarter of a given academic year, but who takes no courses in the winter quarter and/or the spring quarter, and therefore did not complete the required yearlong participation in THEO 6930 Graduate Core Practicum (along with the two associated co-curricular requirements described in ¶6 above) will be required to do so in the next two quarters in which he or she is enrolled in academic Core classes.

•  A student who applies credits from another ATS-accredited graduate theological program to an SPS degree, and who is therefore exempt from one or more of the nine regular academic Core courses, will still need to take all three of the abbey/apostolate Core courses (THEO 6001, 6002, and 6003). Such a student will also need to complete 6 credits of THEO 6930 Graduate Core Practicum (along with the two associated co-curricular requirements described in ¶6 above). In the unlikely event that such a student does not need to take at least one academic Core course in each of the first three quarters is which s/he is enrolled at SPS, he or she will still ordinarily be required to take six credits of THEO 6930 (along with the two associated co-curricular requirements described in ¶6 above). Exemptions from this requirement will be negotiated on a case by case basis with the Dean of the School of Theology (SOT) and/or the ADGS.

• An SPS student who temporarily drops out of classes, but who wishes to continue participating in a class meeting and/or a mentoring relationship, may do so for the sake of the spiritual support and fellowship these provide during a low spot in his or her life. But doing so will not exempt him or her from completing the requirements of THEO 6930 when he or she subsequently returns to classes, unless the Dean of SOT, the ADGS, and/or the Graduate Core Practicum Coordinator deems it advisable or permissible.

• Any non-matriculated student who takes one or more academic Core classes without taking the accompanying THEO 6930 credits, but who subsequently matriculates into one of our degree programs, will be treated, mutatis mutandis, like a transfer student who comes into the program having satisfied some of the “academic” Core courses elsewhere, but not having satisfied our THEO 6930 requirement (or the two associated co-curricular requirements described in ¶6 above). Such a student will be required to complete all the “academic” Core classes and the 6-credit THEO 6930 requirement, in a manner to be negotiated with the Dean of SOT or the ADGS.

•  Any non-matriculated student who does take THEO 6930 in conjunction with one or more “academic” Core courses, will be strongly advised, but not absolutely required, to participate in the two associated co-curricular requirements described in ¶6 above. Should a non-matriculated student, who did take one or more 2-credit sections of THEO 6930, but who did not at that time participate in the associated co-curricular requirements, subsequently matriculate into one of our degree programs, s/he will be required both to complete the the required credits of THEO 6930 requirement and to participate for a full year in the class meeting and mentoring programs, in a manner to be negotiated with the Dean of SOT or the ADGS.

Core Practicum Objectives and Learning Outcomes

...

• The student will practice applying the subject matter learned in the particular classes taken toward ministerial vocation, spiritual formation and/or Christian life.
• In this application, the student will practice asking the question: How does academic content inform the practice of ministry, the formation of spirituality and the living out of faith?

Outcomes

• Through the production of a final project under the direction of the practicum coordinator, the student will demonstrate an application of academic subject matter for the practice of ministry, spiritual formation and/or Christian life.
• A project proposal will be presented to the practicum coordinator for approval, at which time the coordinator will help refine the parameters of the project.
• The project may use any medium, but it must be accompanied by written explanation that details how the subject matter from the quarter’s core classes informed the production of the project. In short, the student must show how the project applies class material to the practice of ministry, spiritual formation and/or Christian life.

...

(Adopted by the Graduate Curriculum Committee, February 8, 2011)

1.      Course Description: THEO 6980 Cross-Cultural Immersion Experience (3 cr.): Explores issues and questions pertaining to ministry across cultural boundaries. Students will have the opportunity to experience and reflect on specific historical and theological issues of culture and ministry as they pertain to a specific locale. This will include engagement with local ministries, developing paradigms of holistic ministry, biblical foundations of missions, theology of religions and community exegesis and development. Course must be approved by the Dean of the School of Theology (SOT) or the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies prior to enrolling.

2.      SOT-sponsored cross-cultural immersion programs:

a.      The School of Theology (SOT) will normally offer one cross-cultural immersion (CCI) program for its graduate students per year. This program will normally be at least two weeks long, from the time of departure from Seattle to the time of return.

b.      SOT CCI programs will comply with the policies and standards established by the SPU Office of Study Abroad Programs.

c.       Sites will vary from year to year.

...

 i.            Whenever possible, an SOT faculty member will accompany the students on the trip, and will work closely with the site director in designing a program that fulfills the learning goals that SOT has established for its courses (see below) and meets its usual academic standards.                             

...

ii.            In those years when an SOT faculty member cannot accompany the students on the trip, the Dean of SOT, the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, or some other SOT faculty member designated by the Dean or the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies (ADGS) will communicate with the director of the site to assure that the program fulfills SOT’s learning goals and meets its usual academic standards.

d.      Electronic copies of the syllabus for each section of THEO 6980 will be filed with the ADGS and the SOT Office Manager.

e.       The work load for the students enrolled in each section of THEO 6980 will be roughly equivalent to that of any other 3-credit, 6000-level course in SOT:

...

 i.            The workload of a typical course computes roughly as follows:

1.      Three hours per class per week for 10 weeks = 30 hours class time; and

2.      Three to four hours homework [reading, homework assignments, preparation for class presentations, etc.] per hour of class = 90-120 hours; and

3.      30-40 double-spaced pages of written work [research papers, examinations, etc.]

...

ii.            Site directors and SPU instructors are encouraged to use this formula as a rule of thumb when configuring the work load for THEO 6980. It is understood, however, that the amount and nature of the “class time” (or equivalent), “homework” (or equivalent) and written work in a given section of THEO 6980 will depend greatly on the availability of relevant resources and on site-specific circumstances and opportunities.

3.  Permission for SOT graduate students to participate for credit in non-SOT-sponsored cross-cultural immersion programs

a.      Normally, SOT graduate students will be expected to fulfill their CCI requirement by taking THEO 6980 in the summer after their first or second year of study. There are two major reasons for this:

...

i.                  The cost-effectiveness of SOT-sponsored programs depends upon realizing the economies of scale that come with maximal enrollment. Every SOT student who opts to fulfill their CCI requirement in a non-SOT-sponsored program thereby reduces the cost-effectiveness of the SOT program.

...

ii.                  The SOT Graduate Program is not equipped to undertake the rigorous assessment of CCI programs other than its own. Yet such assessment would be required to assure that such programs fulfill SOT’s learning goals and meet its usual academic standards.

b.      In rare cases, permission may be granted by the Dean or ADGS for a student to satisfy his or her CCI requirement in a non-SPU-sponsored program. Permission will be contingent on the following circumstances:

...

i.                  A student whose academic and/or professional obligations conflict unavoidably with the scheduling of the SPU-sponsored program for the year in which s/he needs to take it may be allowed to enroll in a non-SPU-sponsored CCI program. (Personal and/or family schedule conflicts will normally not be deemed sufficient grounds for a waiver.)

...

ii.                  The student must demonstrate: (1) that the cross-cultural immersion program in which s/he wishes to enroll, is offered or sponsored by an ATS-accredited theological seminary, divinity school or school of theology; and (2) that the number of academic credits awarded for successful completion of that program is at least equivalent to the three quarter-credits awarded for THEO 6980 at SPS.

...

iii.                  A student from abroad who has come to the USA will be expected to fulfill the CCI degree requirement, but in a manner suitable to his/her particular circumstances and approved by the Dean or ADGS.  

c.       If permission is granted for a student to fulfill his or her CCI requirement by enrolling in a program that meets the above criteria, it will be the student’s responsibility (1) to satisfy whatever admission requirements may be associated with that program and/or the seminary that offers or sponsors it, and (2) to see to it that the credits are duly transferred from that seminary to SPS.

d.      SPS students who participate in CCI programs for which no academic credits are awarded by an ATS-accredited seminary, divinity school or school of theology shall not be considered to have satisfied the CCI requirement for their SPU degree.

Policy for MA Projects, MA Theses and Research-Focused MDiv Theses at Seattle Pacific Seminary

...