Students at Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS) will now be able to earn their MDiv or the MACM degrees online. The newly approved options for online degrees will offer the flexibility students need while also retaining opportunities for interactions with faculty and other students. Most of the classes will be offered in an online synchronous format in which students will have set days and times for class each week to meet online. Some classes will be asynchronous online which will allow students to access class materials and engage in learning with no set day or time. For all students, there will be a short four-day residency to introduce students to theological education online, and two additional residencies that include an interfaith/intercultural immersion and a final integrating seminar.
President Jody Hill says, “The plan to transition to online degree offerings is a direct result of our strategic planning process over the last several years. I applaud the leadership of Academic Dean Peter Gathje and our faculty who have engaged in deep discussions and research about how to best balance our desire of flexibility for our students while maintaining academic excellence.”
Memphis Theological Seminary began offering online courses before the pandemic. MTS faculty have participated in a variety of workshops and programs covering online pedagogy. Over the past three years, MTS expanded online offerings and also experimented with various formats for online courses. In offering the opportunity to earn a MDiv or MACM degree online, MTS builds upon that experience and expertise.
The offering of online degree programs is consistent with the MTS commitment to offer accessible theological education in preparation for ministry. Earning a degree online allows students to pursue a degree while remaining in their ministry or work context. The short-term residencies will provide students focused retreat times within their seminary studies to deepen their learning with faculty and other students, and to gather for worship and shared meals.
“I see this as a needed next step in our work of theological education at MTS,” states Academic Dean Dr. Peter Gathje, “with these online degree programs students will have the flexibility that they need due to work and family commitments. At the same time, we can offer our students an excellent education that reflects our commitments to rigorous scholarship, formation in faith and ministry, and service to the church and community.”
Along with the online degree program options, MTS will also continue to offer the opportunity for students to earn the MDiv and MACM degrees through a monthly hybrid format. This hybrid approach serves those students who desire more regular in-person contact with other students and professors. In the monthly hybrid format, about half of the course work is online, but the other half comes in the form of monthly class meetings over a two-day period. Students on campus for the hybrid classes will also have times for worship and shared meals creating a retreat type atmosphere.
Together, the online and monthly hybrid options at MTS for earning the MDiv and MACM degrees provide an array of learning options for students, all of which reflect the seminary’s emphasis upon education organized around devotion to scholarship, piety, and justice, within a diverse community of learning.