Academic Degrees through SFTS/GTU
For those students who wish to prepare for careers in theological teaching
or research, SFTS, in conjunction with the Graduate Theological Union
in Berkeley, offers three academic graduate degree programs.
Master of Arts
The Master of Arts program offers the opportunity to pursue graduate
level theological studies apart from preparation for a career in ordained
ministry. Students may choose to earn an M.A. as a preliminary to pursuing
a doctoral degree, as a terminal degree for teaching at the elementary,
secondary, or junior college level, as theological preparation for counseling
or community service, or to cultivate a personal interest in religious
studies.
Areas of Concentration
The M.A. program requires both a distribution of courses among
various fields of theological study and a special emphasis on a single
field, culminating in a thesis. The school of affiliation provides the
academic advisor and the primary thesis advisor from among its faculty.
SFTS faculty have approved the following areas of specialization for
the SFTS/GTU M.A.: Bible; Biblical Languages; Historical Studies; Systematic
and Philosophical Theology; Religion and Society (Ethics); Religion and
Personality Sciences, and Worship/Proclamation. Through other schools
and centers of the GTU, an M.A. may also be pursued in Religion/Theology
and the Arts; Comparative Religions; Christian Spirituality; Jewish Studies;
and Buddhist Studies.
Joint M.A./M.Div.
Both the academic M.A. and the professional M.Div. may be pursued
concurrently at SFTS. M.Div. students who wish to receive the two degrees
simultaneously at the end of four or five years of study should apply
for admission to the GTU M.A. program in their Junior or Middler year.
Candidates for the joint degree must satisfy the distribution requirements
for each program and spend a minimum of four years in full-time study,
in addition to completing an internship. They pay two years of M.Div.
tuition and two years of M.A. tuition and are eligible for four years
of financial aid and housing. (The needs of joint degree candidates who
do a full year internship in addition to four years of course work are
considered individually.)
Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Theology
These two academic degrees are awarded in fields where the combined
resources of the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California
at Berkeley make it possible to offer advanced studies of the highest
quality. The Ph.D. programs focus on theological studies in the context
of university disciplines. The Th.D. programs emphasize theological studies
in the context of the entire theological spectrum at the GTU.
Doctoral students are encouraged, but not required, to affiliate with
a member school of the GTU in order to enjoy the benefits of the school's
community life. SFTS affiliates are eligible for SFTS housing in accordance
with published priorities and are invited to join in worship, classes,
and other campus activities. Affiliation is automatic upon declaration
of intent to do so in a letter addressed to the Dean.
The GTU's Doctoral Council supervises all doctoral programs, coordinating
student programs, proposing academic policy, and approving all proposals
for dissertations. Doctoral degrees are awarded by the Graduate Theological
Union, with recommendation from the school of affiliation.
For full information about study at the GTU, please consult the Catalog
of the Graduate Theological Union, available from:
Admissions Officer
Graduate Theological Union
2400 Ridge Road
Berkeley, CA 94709
Tel. 510-649-2400 or 800-826-4488
or the GTU web site.
Fees & Financial Aid
Go to: http://www.gtu.edu/
