The three-year M.Div. program provides a strong theological and practical foundation for those preparing for the priesthood or for full-time lay ecclesial ministry. Directed by John Baldovin, S.J., the program offers an integrated curriculum designed to ensure appropriate academic, ministerial, and spiritual formation. Because leadership in today’s ministry requires collaboration between women and men, religious and secular, ordained and lay, Weston Jesuit’s M.Div. program promotes collaborative learning as an appropriate means of preparing for all forms of ministry. Building upon the student’s previous theological and pastoral experience, the program fosters the desire for lifelong learning and development in and through ministry.

Shaped by Weston Jesuit’s commitment to excellence, the M.Div. program supports the student’s academic formation through disciplined theological study. Priests and lay ecclesial ministers must be able to interpret the meaning of Christian revelation and the Church’s tradition in ways that are relevant to today’s world. Students accomplish this goal by mastering basic courses in Church History, Historical-Systematic Theology, Moral Theology and Scripture.

The student’s ministerial formation is a basic goal of the curriculum, as reflected by the pastoral context and orientation of the program’s required courses. These courses deepen the student’s ability to engage in personal theological reflection and to cultivate ministerial skills through practice and regular supervision – both integral components of a comprehensive preparation for ministry. Required seminars and courses in Pastoral Studies and Word and Worship departments address specific issues of formation for ministry.

Because religious maturity is indispensable for leaders in ministry, students are expected to take advantage of the opportunities and resources for spiritual formation provided and facilitated by Weston Jesuit. Special emphasis is given to the development of meaningful habits of personal and communal prayer, regular spiritual direction, and Ignatian-directed retreats.

Candidates for ordination in the Roman Catholic Church must complete four full years of theological studies, including the successful completion of the M.Div. degree. In addition, they must show competence in a number of specific pastoral and liturgical areas as specified in the Program of Priestly Formation of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Weston Jesuit School of Theology provides several measures of such competence as may be required by the Ecclesiastical Ordinary through courses offered in its Department of Pastoral Studies. Certification of Competence in the administration of the sacraments is given through successful completion of the Rites Practicum. Competence in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is demonstrated through the examinatio ad audiendas confessiones, which is offered within the Confession Practicum or by special arrangement. Competency in preaching is demonstrated through successful completion of a course in preaching. Competence with regard to the pastoral law of the Church is attested to by successful completion of one or more courses in Canon Law.



In addition to the admission requirements for all applicants, please note the following:

• Ordinarily, one third of the applicant’s undergraduate program should have comprised courses in philosophy, theology or religious studies, literature, history, social and behavioral sciences, and foreign languages.
• Applicants should possess intellectual inquisitiveness and imagination as well as the ability to communicate effectively in speech and writing.  Consequently a bachelor's degree gained with above average grades from an accredited college is required.
• Applicants with an undergraduate major or concentration in the natural sciences, engineering, business, music, or the performing arts may have to supplement their previous work with further study in the humanities.
• Applicants are expected to have well-developed reasoning and analytical skills and be well-acquainted with the history of Western philosophy. Competence in this regard is demonstrated by at least 12 semester credits in philosophy. Students admitted to the M.Div. program with a limited background in philosophy may be required to take additional courses in the Philosophy Department at Boston College. Such courses may be taken without extra charge by full-time Weston Jesuit students, but may not be counted toward the M.Div. degree.
• Jesuits are expected to have completed 36 graduate credit hours of philosophy and 24 graduate credit hours of theology during their First Studies Program.
• Applicants should manifest the faith and religious commitment, self-reliance and resourcefulness, and integrity and personal maturity that professional ministry in the Church presupposes. To help determine whether applicants possess these qualifications for ministry to a satisfactory degree, proof of at least one year of full-time, self-supporting work after college in a ministerial setting or similar service role is required for admission to the M.Div. program.
  

Students must complete 81 semester hours of credit with a GPA of at least 3.0. The program is designed so that a full-time student can complete it in three years, taking 27 credit hours each academic year. Depending on the kind of ministry involved, some students prefer to do the Professional Ministry Practicum during the summer. Part-time students must complete the degree within six years of matriculation. Up to 24 credit hours of graduate courses taken elsewhere may be considered for transfer credit.

Eighty-one semester hours of credit must be completed in the following areas:

• Biblical Studies: 15 credit hours
• Church History: 6 credit hours
• Historical-Systematic Theology: 15 credit hours
  Required: Theological Synthesis
• Moral Theology: 6 credit hours
• Pastoral Studies: 12 credit hours
  Required: Canon Law, Pastoral Care and/or Counseling and Professional Ministry Practicum
• Word and Worship: 6 credit hours
  Required: Sacrament, liturgical skill (e.g., preaching, presiding)
  
• Electives: 18 credit hours
• M.Div. Closure Seminar: 3 credit hours
• The Professional Ministry Practicum: 6 credit hours