The Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) is a 78-hour, professional degree for theological schools and seminaries. It prepares students for ordained ministry and for pastoral and religious leadership in congregations and other settings. The M.Div. is structured to give students foundational tools for ministry, integrating the academic, spiritual, and practical components of theological education.
This degree is offered as both a 3-year residential program and a 4-year fully online program. 
Students can anticipate taking 13 hours each semester in the residential program and 6-7 hours each semester in the online program.
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Combined Degrees
Online Learning
The M.Div. at McAfee emphasizes academic rigor and practical ministry experience. Core areas of focus include: (1) Religious Heritage, (2) Personal, Communal and Spiritual Formation, (3) Cultural Context, (4) Ministerial and Public Leadership, and (5) Practicum/Internship.
A unique feature of the M.Div. degree is a series of ministerial formation courses across the program designed to cultivate capacities for leading. Students engage in faculty-guided peer learning and reflection in small groups, sharing out of their diverse backgrounds and vocational goals and building relationships throughout the academic year. Each year has a particular focus for student formation: the first year focuses on spiritual formation, the second year on vocational formation, and the final year on ministerial integration.
Students may choose to focus their M.Div. studies by pursuing a fully embedded certificate within their M.Div. degree program, which will be indicated in your official transcripts when you graduate. The certificates students may pursue are Christian Ethics, Congregational Ministry, Faith-Based Social Transformation, Interfaith Dialogue, Spiritual Care, and Trauma and Theology. These certificates will allow students to further pursue their ministerial and vocational goals as they focus and deepen their study in particular fields of interest.
Combined Degree Options
An advantage of being one of Mercer University’s 12 colleges and schools is that we have opportunities for highly qualified students to obtain two degrees in a shortened time through a combined degree program. Combined degrees at McAfee enhance skills and broaden professional opportunities by integrating a theological education with the resources of a professional degree. This is a great asset to the student who has a multiplicity of passions as well as the student who anticipates pursuing bi-vocational ministry opportunities.