New York Theological Seminary

The Master of Divinity (M. Div.) is the standard graduate degree for professional ministry in the United States and Canada. While not all churches require it for ordination, an increasing number are encouraging their pastors and other leaders to secure the degree. New York Theological Seminary’s program is fully accredited by the Association for Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and by the New York State Education Department.

Program description

The NYTS Master of Divinity is a 90-credit graduate degree program designed for mature men and women who are already in ministry, who are bi-vocational, or who are contemplating a shift from a secular to a religious vocation. Classes are offered in the evening and at other times that are accessible to those who work in secular employment. The curriculum is designed to be completed over a four-year period, although some students are able to complete it in three years while others elect to take longer.

Students in the program come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, professional experiences, and theological identities. Many commute a considerable distance to avail themselves of the rich educational opportunities that NYTS offers. The Seminary places a great deal of emphasis not only upon diversity but also inclusion. Students from all walks of life will find themselves welcomed into a community of learning that takes seriously their call to ministry.

All NYTS programs are oriented toward ministry in a contemporary global urban context. The Seminary takes seriously the challenge in Jeremiah 29:7 “to seek the shalom of the city.” Students will find a strong emphasis placed upon the churches and congregations of the city that are the Seminary’s partners in the educational venture, and upon the Seminary’s efforts to help churches develop their pastoral leadership as well as become active agents of transformation.

As the continuation of The Biblical Seminary in New York, NYTS affirms the centrality of Scripture throughout its curriculum, which requires a thorough acquaintance with both the First and Second Testaments (or the Hebrew Bible and New Testament), and skills in exegesis and interpretation for ministry. One finds an emphasis placed upon understanding one’s own personal story alongside familiarity with the classical disciplines of theological study and an ability to analyze and engage the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that are encountered in the world. A rigorous supervised ministry program places emphasis upon pastoral formation in diverse and multicultural contexts, while classes in the arts of ministry seek to hone student’s skills in preaching and teaching; leading worship and giving pastoral care; and administration and community organization.

The Seminary offers a modified Korean and Spanish language track as part of its M. Div. program. Courses in the arts of ministry are offered regularly in these languages, designed to enable students who minister within these contexts to do so with increased competency. Additional courses emphasize the distinct contributions of African-American, Asian, and Latino/a experience to ministry in the contemporary context. Courses dealing with issues of justice in community, with empowerment of women, and with a variety of expressions of Christian spirituality are all likewise part of the program’s curriculum, reflecting the Seminary’s commitments to diversity and inclusion.

These orientations and emphases make NYTS distinctive among theological seminaries in the United States. Without dormitories, dining facilities, or other appurtenances of residential seminary life, a unique community of spiritual learning emerges year after year among students and faculty. Regular small group work, corporate worship and prayer in classes, field trips, and two overnight retreats each year contribute to building community life in the program. In addition the seminary’s strong commitment to the life of the churches in the city and beyond allows students to utilize the resources of the churches for developing their sense of community while in seminary.

Under the guidance of an outstanding and diverse faculty of women and men, students are invited to synthesize life experience with the academic study of religion, and to gain and enhance skills relevant to the constituencies they expect to serve. Through the programs of the Ecologies of Learning, the life of the church and the life of the city are brought together for interactive learning. The Center for World Christianity helps students gain a fuller understanding and appreciation of the global dimensions of their faith and to learn to see the contributions of their own communions or denominational traditions to the larger church at work in the world. The Resource Center for Women in Ministry seeks to empower women and men to minister together more effectively at every level, attentive to the needs of women from diverse cultural settings and contexts throughout the academic program.

Admissions requirements

Application, acceptance and enrollment

NYTS has a rolling application process. Applications are received at any time during the year and reviewed as soon as possible thereafter, usually within one month. In order to be considered, the application must be complete, including a photo, the application fee, required essays, transcripts, data sheet, and recommendations. Following the receipt of a completed application, an interview is scheduled with the Academic Dean or another member of the faculty.

Upon acceptance, a student may enroll for classes beginning with the next scheduled semester or intensive period. Normally students who are accepted into either the M.Div. or M.P.S. degree programs enroll in the first-year sequence of courses that begins in the fall semester with Introduction to Theological Education. Students who begin the M. Div. or M.P.S. program in the winter, spring or summer enter as unclassified and can take elective courses until the fall semester when they matriculate and become part of the first year class.

Students from any of the theological schools with which NYTS has cross-registration agreements (Union Seminary, General Theological Seminary, and Drew Theological School) may register for any NYTS course through their own institutions, paying tuition to their home institution and being enrolled as a regular NYTS student for that particular course. Cross-registered students do not receive an NYTS student identification card and are not expected to attend NYTS student retreats or other such events.

For more information on admissions or for an application contact

Director of Vocational Discernment
New York Theological Seminary
475 Riverside Dr., Suite 500
New York, NY 10115
(212) 870-1211 (phone)
www.nyts.edu

The Curriculum

The M. Div. curriculum at NYTS is structured along both traditional and nontraditional lines, with flexible and innovative methods of teaching and administration, sensitivity to matters of cultural diversity, and a clear commitment to academic excellence. A typical course progression totaling 90 credits is shown below. Students are strongly encouraged to move through the four-year curriculum in sequence. The curricular divisions reflect the NYTS mission statement that recognizes the Seminary’s historic focus on the Bible, its strong emphasis on Christian thought and tradition, and its commitments to preparing men and women for ministry in the city and world. These in turn reflect the three areas of study that make up the NYTS curriculum: Biblical Studies; Christian Thought and Tradition (encompassing the disciplines of history, theology, ethics, and sociology); and Mission and Ministry Studies. Many courses in the curriculum are interdisciplinary in nature, reflecting the faculty's commitment to collaborative models of education that integrate theory and practice.

There are 56 required credits in the curriculum, distributed across all three fields. The remaining 34 credits are free electives. Students are strongly encouraged to take courses in a variety of areas of the Arts of Ministry areas (Preaching, Worship, Church Administration, Community Organizing, Religious Education, and Pastoral Care and Counseling).

Elective credits may be earned in each of the above areas either at NYTS or through cross registration at Union Theological Seminary, General Theological Seminary, or Drew University School of Theology. Elective credits are also included in the collaborative programs at Queens College department of Urban Affairs (M.A.) or Fordham University (M.S.W.). Additional elective credits in subject areas cognate to the NYTS curriculum but offered at other graduate institutions, including the Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute at 3 West 29th Street in Manhattan, may be applied to the M.Div. subject to the approval of the Academic Dean. Biblical language courses are available on a regular basis at NYTS, as are Hebrew and Greek exegesis classes, which require these language skills.

All candidates for the M.Div. must complete 8 credits of Supervised Ministry, which are normally earned over the course of the final four academic semesters of the program. Supervised Ministry takes place at a designated site of ministry and is based on learning goals to be determined in consultation with the student, the site supervisor, and an NYTS advisor. Procedures are described in a separate handbook available from the Director of Supervised Ministry. Students in Supervised Ministry meet in small groups once a month on Saturday mornings each semester. The purpose of these meetings is to sustain students in a peer group context where ministerial experiences can be shared and evaluated and where ongoing theological reflection can occur.

Candidates for ordination are provided with polity courses covering a number of denominational traditions, and students are strongly urged to register for these courses. Candidates for ordination in the Presbyterian Church USA are strongly urged to contact Auburn Theological Seminary, which provides additional resources for Presbyterian students at NYTS. Special arrangements will be made by the office of the Academic Dean to accommodate any student requiring polity for a denomination that is not regularly offered.

Most NYTS courses in the first professional degree program (M.Div. and M.P.S.) are offered in the evenings from 6:10 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Supervised Ministry classes are held on one Saturday a month. Occasionally courses may be offered as one-week intensives, study trips, retreats or conferences. Classes are held in the Martin Luther King, Jr. educational wing of The Riverside Church, located at 490 Riverside Drive (between 120th and 122nd Streets) in Manhattan (entrance is on Claremont Avenue). NYTS does not maintain a circulation library of its own, but provides access to the collections of Columbia University Library System, which includes full access to the Burke Library of Union Seminary on Broadway at 121st Street. Additional library resources from are available through New York Public Library.

Education at NYTS is life-centered. Research arising from practical or field-based experience and learning from the more traditional bibliographic resources are equally valued. Both provide substantive content for most of courses. The process is often inductive and student-centered. We continue to rely considerably on writing assignments (book reports, semester papers, etc.) and assigned readings of purchased texts and books, and additional readings found online, but the overarching pedagogical concern of the faculty is to connect the evening classroom experience with the daytime working experience and the church responsibilities that most students manage to carry.

As part of its overall ministry, NYTS seeks to work collaboratively where possible with other accredited seminaries in addressing the needs of theological education in the city. Because NYTS offers courses in the evening and throughout the summer, a number of students who are enrolled in other seminaries take classes at NYTS each year with the intention of transferring the credits to their regular institution. Such students must complete the regular application process for NYTS and are enrolled as unclassified. Unclassified students at NYTS may not take more than 30 credits without matriculating in the seminary or meeting with the Academic Dean for permission to continue.

Language track programs

NYTS offers opportunities for students who are bilingual in either Korean or Spanish and English to complete the M. Div. with some courses in the student’s primary language. The courses that are offered in Spanish and Korean are typically in the area of Arts of Ministry. In addition, a course in writing for ministry is offered for 4 credits every semester. Students who need further work in basic English are strongly encouraged to apply to one of the many English as a Second Language (ESL) programs that are located throughout the New York region, including the Riverside Language School which is located on the 3rd floor of the Martin Luther King Educational Building in Riverside Church (across the street from The Interchurch Center). Private tutorial assistance is available on a non-credit basis through the office of the Academic Dean.

Students entering the M. Div. bilingual track must possess a minimal ability to read and comprehend written English. The Seminary does not administer a placement test to determine English proficiency, but the Dean may request such a test of any student who is reported by a member of the faculty to be having difficulty with either written or spoken communication in English. The test will be administered by the Riverside Language School or another qualified testing agency of the Dean’s choice. The cost of any such proficiency test will be borne by the student. Students may not continue in good standing within the M. Div. program without demonstrating proficiency in English after their second year of study.

Pastoral Care Specialist

The Pastoral Care Specialist Program at NYTS is designed to offer clergy and designated pastoral care givers a basic body of knowledge necessary to address congregational pastoral care needs. The courses included in the program seek to address issues of pastoral identity and formation, a pastoral care theology, current theoretical and practical understanding of the complexity of human development and behavior, and the basic skills necessary to address particular situations as well as the importance of professional referrals. The NYTS program adheres to the guidelines and ethical standards established by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC).

The program is not intended to prepare students for long-term counseling or pastoral psychotherapy. It is designed, however, to provide the basic training for those who wish to pursue further counseling training in appropriate accredited institutions. The program provides an excellent opportunity for those who work in a supportive caring role within the life of the congregation and who may be contemplating pastoral counseling or chaplaincy as an expression of their call to ministry to begin the journey toward full licensure. Students who complete the program are eligible for membership in AAPC, and may apply to become Pastoral Care Specialist members in this organization.

The minimum requirements for Pastoral Care Specialist membership in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors are:

• educational degrees as required by applicant's religious body
• active relationship to a local religious community
• completion of 50 hours of specialized training.

The fifty (50) hours include courses and the MCU261 Small Group Consultation.

For more information on the Pastoral Care Specialist Program contact:

Director of Supervised Ministry
New York Theological Seminary
475 Riverside Drive #500
New York, NY 10115
(212) 870-1211

The M.S.W. with Fordham University and M.A. in Urban Affairs with Queens College

Through collaborative planning with Fordham University and Queens College (CUNY) it is possible for students at NYTS to pursue either a Masters of Social Work degree (M.S.W.) at Fordham or a Masters of Arts degree (M.A.) in Urban Affairs at Queens College while doing the M. Div. at NYTS. Separate applications must be made to NYTS and to Fordham or Queens College for these programs. For more information, contact the Dean’s office at NYTS.

Forms for the Master of Divinity Program

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