Multnomah’s Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program invites you to explore the riches of Scripture, examine theology across Church history, and grow in your love for Jesus to better serve his people. Through integrated mentored ministry, practical classroom instruction, and unique experiences in spiritual formation, you will develop the character and learning habits for lifelong growth and ministry. Graduates will be able to successfully communicate the truth of God’s Word through preaching, encouragement, teaching, directing, and modeling. At Multnomah University, you will be challenged and supported as you become a culturally engaged leader deeply rooted in biblical studies.

Ways to study

Graduate | Online | On-campus

Program concentrations

Chaplaincy Track | Neighborhood Flourishing | Theological Studies

Course plan

3-year

Application Deadlines

Prepare for a Lifetime of Ministry

The program provides advanced training for leaders in a variety of ministry settings, including local church leadership, cross-cultural ministry, chaplaincy, and community development. We offer disciplines for you to craft your degree emphasis in a direction that best suits your calling, including Bible, biblical languages, intercultural studies, spiritual formation, pastoral ministry, and theology. Our expert faculty help you wrestle with theological issues, challenge you with different perspectives, and cultivate your love for God with your mind and heart.

Graduating Student Hugging Faculty

Example Courses

The courses listed below are some of our featured core classes that will be a part of your educational journey here at MU. Take a look at each course for a small preview.

An investigation of the historical, prophetic, and personally relevant aspects of the major and minor prophets, with special emphasis on the book of Isaiah.

A study of Christianity from the second century to the rise of the Enlightenment with special emphasis on the institutional history of the church as well as theological developments in the church.

This course provides an overview and practice in the basic steps of doing an independent, in-depth study of the Bible. It provides guidelines for approaching different literary categories of Scripture and features an emphasis on students’ hands-on practice of applying these various methods.

An introduction to Classical Hebrew grammar, stressing vocabulary acquisition, noun and verb morphology, proficiency in oral reading, and translation. In this course, students translate a graded reader based on the Joseph narrative in Genesis 37-50.

This course is designed to help students enter into theological and cultural conversations surrounding movies and film. Students will examine the philosophical underpinnings of movies and be given insightful questions to ask and categories to explore that will help in discerning the meaning of movies. Assignments for this course will include spending time in the dark of a movie theater in order to evaluate what “light”, if any, can be found in today’s modern art form, the movie.

Degree Requirements

Here you will find everything you need to know about what is required to successfully complete your degree.

Course Layout
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Course Layout (Chaplaincy)
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Program Concentrations

Multnomah’s M.Div. degree provides broad exposure to various aspects of vocational ministry. The program design focuses on developing skills in areas that students will experience in the Church and life. The program integrates what is learned in the academy with what is encountered in ministry – practical, relevant, and biblically grounded. In a community of like-minded learners, we walk alongside our students to love Jesus and our neighbors more deeply.

Our program provides a curriculum of professional preparation for pastoral care or institutional chaplaincy with a practical, balanced approach to ministry training. Courses for this track provide the framework of biblical knowledge, ministry skills, and professional expertise essential for success in a pastoral care setting or chaplaincy role. Within this track, one can specialize in chaplaincy for settings such as hospital and hospice, military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, assisted living and retirement care, or corporate.

In this specialized program of study, students are prepared to envision the Church as a vital participant in the community life of their neighborhood, learning to lead and disciple their congregations toward this end. Multnomah’s Masters of Divinity in Neighborhood Flourishing teaches an approach to community development representing the heart of Jesus for our neighbors and is rooted in redemptive transformation and collaborative influence leading to sustainable flourishing.

Learn More

This track places more emphasis on biblical languages and biblical and theological studies. It is a fit for those interested in deepening their knowledge and understanding of Scripture, and/or are gifted and wired to serve the Body of Christ by cultivating biblical literacy and understanding in the brethren. The program and coursework is designed to prepare students to teach or preach in the local church and/or pursue further academic studies and terminal degrees.

Career Placement

Earning your M.Div. opens the door to a variety of career options. With your Master of Divinity, you will be prepared for roles, such as:

• Senior Pastor • Associate Pastor • Chaplain
• College Pastor • Youth Pastor • Children’s Pastor
• Teacher • Instructor • Evangelist
Earn Your M.Div. On-campus or Online

FAQs

Multnomah’s M.Div. degree provides broad exposure to various aspects of vocational ministry. Students have the opportunity to develop skills in areas they may encounter in their ministry contexts such as pastoral care, preaching and teaching, discipleship, conflict transformation, counseling, and cultural engagement.

In addition to the standard track, we offer focused tracks in the areas of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care and Theological Studies. These tracks offer opportunities to emphasize development in areas that more closely align with what some students are being called into and/or have a preference for.

For people looking to focus their studies on the teaching and preaching aspects of pastoral ministry. Students in this track have course work in pastoral ministry while receiving further exposure to biblical languages, and biblical & theological studies. The program also provides students with a pathway for further academic study to pursue terminal degrees, ThM and Ph.D., respectively.

This track would suit students who plan to vocationally pursue careers in chaplaincy (such as, military, hospital, public safety, prison, elder care, and corporate) or care for others (inside and outside of a local church setting). This track works well for those who already have some biblical language knowledge and/or are less interested in biblical language study, and want to focus and cultivate their skills in counseling, administration, service, and interpersonal dynamics.

For those planning to go into vocational, institutional chaplaincy, there may be specific requirements to fulfill. Consult with the specific branches of the military about requirements for military chaplaincy. For hospital chaplaincy, determine what type of certification may be needed (such as, Clinical Pastoral Education, CPE). The MDiv program director can also assist with answering these questions.

Like other seminaries, Multnomah values the biblical languages to encourage and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the Bible. While we recognize the usefulness of the software for biblical languages, we do not offer classes on the use of these tools. We find that learning biblical languages can deepen our understanding of the biblical text and improve how we use resources that interact with Greek and Hebrew. Further, there are a number of free tutorials on the use of biblical language software so asking students to pay for this instruction is difficult to justify.

For a further understanding of how we view and approach learning biblical languages visit our pages on Greek and Hebrew. Multnomah built a respected biblical Hebrew language program. Drs. Kutz and Josberger have written Hebrew grammar and have sent students on for further academic studies.

The MDiv is a longer program (it can be completed in three years of full-time study) than the MACL (two years of full-time study). Basically, the MACL has no courses in a biblical language and fewer required courses in theology, counseling, and pastoral ministry.

In both the MDiv and MACL, electives offer students the opportunity to explore various areas of interest and there is flexibility to take courses in our graduate school – Counseling, Global Development & Justice, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

There are a number of reasons people enroll in seminary to earn a graduate-level degree – such as vocational training, which provides a foundation for further study (doctoral-level studies), personal enrichment, or requisite vocational preparation. Multnomah also offers non-degree graduate-level education for certificate programs in both the seminary and graduate school.

But why seminary, if this information can be found online for little to no cost? The advantage of a seminary education is, and not limited, to…:

· learn from experts in their field and discipline,

· ask questions and receive real-time answers which lead to further questions that are also addressed in real-time,

· receive knowledge that is “curated” and vetted by a trusted source(s),

· benefit from the work of believers who have gone before us,

· develop skills to think critically and synthesize concepts and ideas with someone who accompanies you in the learning process,

· learn from others about how to pass along the knowledge of what you are learning through mentoring and discipleship

· experience the relational dynamics that undergird learning about a relational God while cultivating a relational faith,

· participate in a mutual learning environment to benefit from the learned and lived experience of classmates and faculty,

· discover what we don’t know through educators that God has gifted and called into this particular aspect and setting of ministry, and

· to appreciate and cultivate the value of interdependence on the Body of Christ, in a setting of higher education and learning.

For various reasons, people may not be able to receive a formal seminary education. We also provide free and low-cost quality instruction through workshops, conferences, local church support, guest student status, and Multnomah Plus.

In addition to the options, standard, theological studies, and chaplaincy/pastoral care, Multnomah is worth considering because of our values and strengths. Our professors/instructors are also ministry practitioners and understand the importance of faith’s intersection with life. In addition, our faculty walk alongside our students and grow in faith, together.

We value and encourage relational, mental, and spiritual health. In a book about the prevalence of narcissism in the Church, Let Us Prey, the authors report that the number of narcissists (those who would be classified as having narcissistic personality disorder, NPD) in the general population ranges from 0.5 – 6% (pp. 23-24). In contrast, churches with pastors who are NPD are just a bit over 30% (31.2%, p. 114). We want our students to be able to identify unhealthy ministry situations while encouraging them to foster health in themselves and those around them.

“You should go to seminary because you love God and you want to draw closer to him. If you go in without passion, you're going to come out without passion. Classes at Multnomah lay a foundation on Scripture and go deep. They foster a deep love and longing to understand Scripture better.”

Micah McNeal ’17, Master of Divinity