Graduate studies at Missional University are extremely unique. Highly specialized and interdisciplinary, graduate students combine studies from at least 4 of the 8 colleges and schools in every master's level degree program. This enables graduates to integrate their area of study with theological reflection and cultural, missional, experiential courses as well as vocational studies in the two-year degree programs. The purpose of this intensive integration is to provide holistic insights into issues, questions, or problems in the field in which the student is interested. The culmination of this study is an internship coupled with a thesis or research project. In addition, all of our graduate programs allow the student to tailor components of their degree program in order to meet their own career objectives.
The uniqueness of graduate studies at Missional Unversity may be seen in several different areas including unique types of graduate programs, unique topics of interest, unique interdisciplinary integration, and unique focus on practical, experiential learning. There are seven types of graduate programs: graduate certificates, tagged master's degree programs, internationally focused master's degrees, master's degrees in global cultures, dual degree MDiv options, advanced master's programs, and professional doctoral degrees. All of the degree program emphases focus on professional areas commonly found in 21st century faith-based organizations including mission entities, nonprofits and NGOs, schools, churches, and church groups.
The online graduate certificate programs offered at Missional University are designed to enable students to combine the skills and expertise needed to succeed in today's world with training to serve in the mission to which God has called them. Students learn their purpose, expand their passion, and become equipped to join in the mission of God in this world.
Our global, international, faculty practitioners have not the only background of education and experience in their fields, but also continually update their academic instruction to reflect the best online instruction practices today. Together with our worldwide missional partners, fresh real-world experience is brought to the online classrooms.
Our eight-week online course format has been proved to be the most effective in delivering distance education. Students have the flexibility to work on their assignments anytime 24/7 while interacting with their faculty person and other students from across the world.
Students receive guidance from a student success specialist who helps plan an individualized pathway of required and elective courses that lead to graduation in a timely manner.
Many American universities offer programs of study which tag degree programs with a particular specialty, as is common in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. A tagged degree incorporates the name of the major into the degree title and generally requires more specialized coursework than a degree with an untagged major. These specialized degrees are generally associated with a professional education curriculum. A common example is an MBA (Master of Business Administration).
Missional University offers several tagged master's degree programs including:
Master of Intercultural Studies (M.I.S.)
Master of Religion (M.Rel.)
Master of Missional Practice (M.M.P.)
Master of Community Ministry (M.C.M.)
Master of Communication (M.Com.)
Master of Ecological Mission (M.E.M.)
Master of Global Health (M.G.H.)
Master of Justice Studies (M.J.S.)
Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.)
Many faith-based organizations are transnational and focus on work in various international contexts. At Missional we prepare students to serve in an international setting where they must integrate their missional calling with vocational tasks. Four specific degree programs push the envelope by addressing the international vocational nuances that are needed:
Master of International Business Mission (M.I.B.M)
Master of International Development (M.I.D.)
Master of International Marketplace Leadership (M.I.M.L.)
Master of International Sports Management (M.I.S.M.)
Master of International Justice (M.I.J.)
Often faith-based organizations serve interculturally across the globe. Staff members must learn to integrate their specific roles with the socio-religious and socio-cultural context. At Missional we have developed several programs that are "in Global Cultures" as part of our tagged degree programs. This enables students to combine a vocational focus with a culturally or geographically contextual one. By incorporating cultural studies, religious studies, cultural anthropology, anthropology of art and music, cultural geography, ethnomusicology, folk studies, and international visual communications, students learn not only the “what, why and how” of their academic discipline, but they also learn about the “with whom” and “where” in which their missional practice is implemented.
All of the tagged, international, and "in Global Cultures" master's degree programs have been designed to seamlessly transfer into our Master of Divinity degree program. By taking one additional year of coursework, students with a master's degree from Missional University will be awarded a Master of Divinity. The courses in this additional year extend the previous master's coursework into traditional MDiv curriculum areas.
This is not your pastor's seminary degree. The Master of Divinity degree program at Missional University has been reimagined for the 21st century. The biblical studies and theology curriculum was redesigned to focus on the missional aspects - seeing God at work through the pages of scripture and ways in which people were sent by God to join in his mission in the world - in order to prepare the present-day people of God for their own personal callings.
We have chosen not to relitigate the theological controversies of five hundred years ago again (there are plenty of seminaries that still do that). We are all committed to the Lausanne Covenant (our faith statement) and fully embrace the tenets of evangelical perspectives of classical, orthodox Christianity. However, we have supplanted the old "systematic/dogmatic" emphasis of theology with a fresh biblical theology approach to tracing salvation history through biblical time periods. Theological courses focus on the major issues of the 21st century and provide students with the expertise, resources, and theological constructs to do biblical theology addressing contextual, cultural, environmental, justice, medical, moral, public, resilience, and socio-theological issues.
Practical theology was revamped placing theology of mission at the core and changing the focus from "caretaking of the local church" to leading Christian believers out of church buildings into service in the mission of God in the world through their careers and avocations. Thus "preaching" was reimagined to be focused on a variety of forms and formats of proclamation in the world. Pastoral ministry was re-envisioned in terms of spiritual caregiving in missional (outside church walls) settings, among vulnerable people in the community, and combining theory, theology, and skills in pastoral care in non-Christian environments. Church leadership was re-conceptualized in terms of leadership in missional congregations where non-clergy leaders (and clergy ones too) lead the people of God to join the mission of God in the world of their neighborhoods and communities.
Designed for a new century, the Master of Divinity program at Missional University equips graduates to be biblical, missional, and contextual in their approaches to leading Christian believers into service in the mission of God in the world.
Advanced master's degrees are offered to graduates of theological schools of recognized standing who have received a B.D. or M.Div. degree. These advanced master's degrees may be considered as the fourth year of preparation for specific Christian missional practice. It may be used for advanced training in a specialized form of Christian service with additional biblical & theological reflection, or it may also be used as a year of specialized academic work in one of the discipline areas within the university as preparation for doctoral studies. These advanced master's degrees include the following:
In these customizable programs, each candidate is required to submit an integrated program degree plan consisting of 30 credit hours designed to serve one of the purposes stated above, including a minimum of 75% of the program (including experiential learning) related to the chosen specialization field of study. Those candidates who desire to use the program as career preparation (and not for doctoral preparation) may request a waiver of the normal specialization and experiential learning requirements.
In ever-increasing ways, perceptive leaders understand that a posture of life-long learning is essential for them to achieve their personal and organizational goals. They fully realize a professional doctoral degree is an essential pathway to acquiring the advanced research skills and knowledge in their focused field of discipline to lead in a more and more complex world.
The professional doctoral degrees at Missional University allow practitioners to remain immersed in their field while accruing the necessary tools needed to excel with the utmost in accessibility and achievability, i.e., access, cost, and program length. Whether it’s a Doctor of Intercultural Studies (DIS) degree from The Missional College, a Doctor of Missional Practice (DMP) from the School of Missional Practice, the Doctor of Community Ministry (DCM) from our School of Community Ministry, the Doctor of Communication (DCOM) from the School of Creative Expression, the Doctor of Ecological Mission (DEM) or Doctor of Global Health (DGH) from the School of Ecological Mission, or the Doctor of Theology (ThD) from our School of Theological Studies life-long learners are finding advanced education is critical to their effectiveness as leaders. They are immersed in contemporary research that is applied, practical, or project-oriented and is focused on the application of knowledge to their profession.
The professional doctorate at Missional University prepares professional practitioners of exceptional ability and promise to serve as leaders in specialized degree areas in study around the globe. It emphasizes the attainment of expertise in the degree area, quality research, the development of critical experiential learning and application skills in the student’s field. Through a high degree of originality, independence, analytical research, judgment, and skill in applying findings, the program provides instruction in principles of research and practical application to the field of discipline.
