The Master of Divinity degree program at Meadville Lombard provides the academic and experiential grounding you need to minister effectively in our multicultural, multiracial, and interfaith world.
A liberal religious minister is required to be many things: a public speaker with a strong heart and a sharp mind, a community leader, a compassionate presence, an effective navigator and administrator of institutional system and structures, and a wise teacher. Meadville Lombard’s rigorous academic courses and integrated internships are designed to help you cultivate all of these attributes and fully bring out your gifts in ministry.
Our MDiv degree program prepares students for ordained ministry in a variety of contexts, including fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), in roles ranging from parish ministry and chaplaincy to nonprofit leadership. Students seeking credentialing within the UUA are guided step-by-step to ordination. The program is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and satisfies the requirements of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the UUA.
The MDiv degree requires 90 completed credits. The program can be completed in three years by full-time students but is flexible to accommodate students who plan to study part-time.
Below is an outline of the three-year, full-time MDiv pathway. Our Contextual Learning model of theological education allows you to learn and gain experience in your own community and/or congregation, and travel to Chicago only for the Intensive classwork portion of the courses for about one week during each Fall and Spring term.
You’ll complete and discuss coursework every semester with peers and faculty via Meadville Lombard’s low-residency education platform, and you’ll get hands-on experience through a two-year internship at a congregation, which is integrated into the curriculum, as well as a basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. Our Senior Director of Contextual Ministry will work with you to find the best internship site and supervisor for your personal formation.
Below is the program summary and timeline for full-time students.
Focus on theological literacy, intercultural learning, social analysis, and spiritual formation
Complete seven academic courses
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE): Over the summer, complete a basic 10-week unit in a program certified by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education that focuses on pastoral encounters with persons in need or in crisis
Focus on the formation of ministerial identity and on the work of ministry in diverse communal and congregational settings
Complete six academic courses
Meet weekly with your internship supervisor
Internship: Serve part-time in a congregation or organization
Focus on public theology, the nature of leadership, and inspiring change
Complete six academic courses
Meet weekly with your internship supervisor
Internship: Serve part-time in a congregation or organization
At Meadville Lombard, leadership formation in the MDiv and MA(R) degree programs is anchored by our groundbreaking Signature Courses: multidisciplinary classes that help students move from discernment to leadership. These courses are designed to give you an opportunity to integrate your academic learning with the real-world experience of service and leadership in community and congregational settings.
The Signature Courses incorporate academic learning, service through internships, and the support of a cohort of peers. The classes gather in person for a one- or two-day meeting in Chicago each term, and also meet by videoconference throughout the semester. Cohorts meet via videoconference periodically to check in with each other and deepen their learning. The cohort is also divided into smaller groups that meet weekly via video chat or by phone to work on projects and reflections.
Academic classes taken each term align with your degree program, the Signature Course being taken, and your individual learning goals. Many semester-long academic classes include a one-day Intensive on-campus portion. The on-campus days for academic classes and for Signature classes combine for about one week of on-campus time each Fall and Spring term. Some other classes are fully online, requiring no on-campus time.
In 2009, Meadville Lombard significantly changed the way we organized and delivered our curriculum. We moved from a residential format to a low-residency, integrated education model rooted in contextual learning—learning by doing.
This approach is followed and informed by many different philosophical, religious, and cultural traditions the world over, including feminist theory, engaged Buddhism, and many Indigenous cultures, which teach that transformational learning is not grounded in thought, but in action.
It is also informed by research from the Alban Institute and Auburn Seminary, whose studies on the effectiveness of theological education have shown that ministers often feel well prepared in theology, scripture, and ethics, but not in hands-on aspects of congregational life such as creating worship and church administration, because these skills can’t be fully learned in a classroom.
So our curriculum integrates theory with practice, providing opportunities to study theology while leading worship, learn best practices in pastoral care while tending to souls, and deepen understandings of human diversity while actively engaging with others across lines of difference. Our students benefit from academically rigorous coursework, immersion learning, and the support of a student cohort, faculty, and teaching pastors and mentors.
All students pursuing a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree spend their first year taking foundational coursework, including the Fall Grounding course which offers theological grounding and supports students’ ability to read and appreciate communities of difference—key skills for religious and spiritual leaders.
Students in the MDiv program also complete a basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, and then serve an internship at a congregation or community organization for two years for a total of 1,000 hours, learning the bedrock of ministry from being immersed in it and doing hands-on work. In addition to the Signature Courses and Contextual Learning experiences, MDiv students also complete a total of eleven required and eight elective courses, for an additional six courses per year, and learn from and with fellow students in a student cohort.
Meadville Lombard’s MDiv program provides a web of practical experience and personal support that gives our students unparalleled opportunities to deepen spiritually, grow academically, and mature vocationally.
In their first year of study, as part of our Signature Courses, students in our Master of Divinity program develop theological grounding and the ability to read and appreciate communities of difference—key skills for religious and spiritual leaders which equip them for their internships and Clinical Pastoral Education units. MDiv students then go on to serve as interns in a faith-based community (most often a congregation) over a period of two years.
We uniquely knit these experiences into the fabric of our curriculum. Our students learn through practicing religious and community leadership in everyday, hands-on ways. These practical experiences are brought into the classroom in the way that assigned readings are used in other, more traditional, schools. They provide a basis for theological and spiritual reflection as students “act ourselves into new ways of thinking and being.”
Students proceed through our programs with the guidance of internship supervisors (see below for more information). These are congregational and community leaders who supervise, mentor, provide spiritual guidance, coach, and act as role models for students during the programs’ practical site work.
Meadville Lombard understands that the best religious and spiritual leaders are formed by many voices and many perspectives. They are shaped by teachers who excel in academics, seasoned practitioners, organizers and activists, and mentors who possess pastoral and spiritual wisdom. A Meadville Lombard education lends all these voices and perspectives to each and every student.
MDiv students at Meadville Lombard are given a unique experience to learn about ministry and spiritual leadership through the lens of real interactions with actual congregations and nonprofit organizations, and are supported along the way by internship supervisors.
Students in our MDiv degree program are matched with a congregation or community organization for a two-year, part-time internship. During the internship, students become involved in the organization and “learn by doing,” exploring how to enter into the life of a congregation or organization, how to understand its people and values, and, ultimately, how to minister to its spiritual and advocacy needs.
Current internship supervisors are entitled to audit one Meadville Lombard class tuition-free each year (registration fees apply). For more information, please contact the Senior Director of Contextual Ministry.
Internship supervisors for an MDiv student’s two-year internship at a congregation are asked to meet with the student for at least an hour every week.
Students are expected to complete at least 1,000 hours at their internship over the course of two years, approximately 500 hours each year.
Internship supervisors use this time to help students integrate what they are experiencing in their community or congregational internship and what they are learning in the class with their vocational interests. The weekly topics in the syllabus can be used as a guide for conversation, and there is a list of possible discussion topics in the back of the Internship Supervisor Handbook, which is given to all new supervisors.
We strongly encourage that students be paid for their internship. If that is not possible, internship supervisors must be in contact with the Senior Director of Contextual Ministry to explore other options.
We do not have a standard expectation for how often times a student should preach. Students need and want as much experience as they can get. If opportunities to preach in a particular congregation are few, we encourage the internship supervisor to try to find opportunities for the student to preach elsewhere in the area.
All internship supervisors are eligible to audit one Meadville Lombard class tuition-free each year by registering as a student-at-large with the Registrar who will provide instructions to access the course registration. Administrative fees still apply.
We look forward to welcoming you into Meadville Lombard’s Master of Divinity degree program. In order to apply, prospective students must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.*
For applicants residing outside the United States, before an application can be submitted for review, a conversation with our Sr. Director of Contextual Ministry is required to discuss if and how degree requirements could be met in your location.
An on-campus interview is not required; however, a member of the admissions committee may request one.
Meadville Lombard utilizes a rolling admissions model. All applications are reviewed in chronological order according to the date they were completed, and applicants are notified of their acceptance status via email as soon as possible.
*Note: Accredited institutions are those recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or holding membership in the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada. Prospective students may alternately hold a documented, educational equivalent of a bachelor’s degree from courses taken at an accredited institution. Exceptions to this policy may be allowed, depending on circumstances. Contact the Admissions Office with questions or to discuss your situation.
