Master of Divinity

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The faculty has formulated the goals of theological education at SFTS in a list of the Habits and Skills the Seminary expects graduates of our programs to display in their lives and practice of ministry.

The Seminary's basic program leads to award of the first professional degree in theological studies, the Master of Divinity. Although its primary purpose is to prepare students for ordained ministry, M.Div. degree also provides appropriate grounding for further graduate study or for entry into specialized ministries or chaplaincies. The program is recognized as fulfilling the education requirements of most major denominations.

At San Francisco Theological Seminary, the faculty and their disciplines are organized into three curricular areas:

Degree Requirements
The M.Div. degree program consists of six semesters (three years) of course work and an internship. The normal full-time course load is four 3-unit courses or 12 units per semester. A total of 81 semester units of credit and competence in one biblical language are required for the degree.

Students may substitute up to three courses from the Graduate Theological Union offerings (one in each SFTS academic area) for core courses. The numbers and titles of allowable substitutes, determined by SFTS faculty, may be obtained from the Registrar's Office. Other substitutions for academic area requirements may be allowed at the SFTS instructors' discretion in individual cases.

The required units of core courses and electives are to be distributed among various disciplines. For a complete listing of the courses and electives on both campuses, please check the links below:

• M.Div. 3-Year Plan
• M.Div. 4-Year Plan
• Master of Divinity Progress Checklist
• Master of Arts in Theological Studies Progress Checklist
• Academic Calendar

• 2-Year Academic Planning Calendar
• Academic Calendar

Biblical Languages
Reading knowledge of one biblical language, Greek or Hebrew, is required for the SFTS M.Div. degree. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) requires competence in both languages for ordination.

Introductory language courses involving elementary study of grammar, such as SFTS' Basic Hebrew I & II and Basic Greek I & II, do not count toward the total units required for the M.Div. degree.