Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies

Earn Your Master's Degree in Pastoral Studies

The Institute’s Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) degree program is designed to prepare students for active ministry in the Church. The coursework and accompanying project work prepare students for specialized ministries such as parish administration, pastoral leadership, and other pastoral ministries.

Degree Requirements

The MAPS degree requires 36 total credit hours at the master’s level offered by the JDI or accepted as equivalent by the Academic Dean. Within these 36 credit hours, each master’s degree student must earn:

  • 8 credit hours in Scripture (BI course codes); at least 2 credits in Old Testament and at least 4 credits in New Testament
  • 10 credit hours in Theology; Required courses: Philosophy for Understanding Theology, Fundamental Theology, Ecclesiology, Christology, and Sacramental Theology
  • 2 credit hours: Foundations of Catholic Moral Theology
  • 8 credit hours in Pastoral Theology (PA course codes); Required: Canon Law and Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling; Two other PA electives
  • 4 elective credit hours at master's level
  • 4 credit hours for Pastoral Project and Practicum: Practicum I (research and proposal) and Practicum II (implementation and summative paper)

Pastoral Project

The pastoral practicum is a capstone for the degree. Candidates will demonstrate integration and application of the coursework in a real-world setting. The practicum is designed to take place over two or more semesters.

In the first semester (Practicum I), the student performs research on a specific need or problem within the Church and proposes a project that they will implement related to the topic.

In the second semester (Practicum II) the student will implement the project under the guidance of a local project supervisor and a JDI-assigned instructor. As part of Practicum II, students are expected to write a summative paper to describe the project, assess the degree to which it conformed to the expectations, and reflect on how the project affected the student’s growth in the four dimensions of formation: human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual.

Deacon Formation and Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies

Although most MAPS students are enrolled in a curriculum for Diaconate Formation, the requirements in each class are more advanced for MAPS students to reflect graduate-level work. Therefore, students who intend to pursue a MAPS degree are encouraged to apply for consideration early in their formation so that their coursework meets graduate-level requirements. Students who defer their decision until later in their studies may need to take additional courses at the master’s level to fulfill MAPS requirements.

Application for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies

Students must follow the application process before being admitted to the MAPS program.

Application Process

Master of Pastoral Studies Program Objectives

The MAPS degree program improves diaconal leadership through teaching and learning, ministerial professionalism through applied expertise, and ecclesial collegiality with priests and bishops.

Students will:

  • Explain God’s Words and Deeds witnessing to an economy of salvation that unites the Biblical narrative.
  • Interpret the Bible mindful of living tradition, content and unity of Scripture and the analogy of faith.
  • Explain the life and ministry of the Church as the culmination of the Biblical story.

Students will:

  • Describe the sacramental economy and especially the Pascal mystery as connected to fulfilling God’s plan, animating the Church as Bride of Christ, illustrating sacraments as holy, necessary and efficacious.
  • Explain the Church as the mystical Body of Christ animated by the Holy Spirit.
  • Explain God in his Triune nature with an eternal Son who by the hypostatic union is true God and true man.
  • Relate the nature of Christ to other areas of sacramental theology such as Biblical interpretation, ecclesiology and sacramental theology.

Students will:

  • Describe the foundation and connection of the moral law rooted in God’s relation to the created order as the good to be done and evil to be avoided with its implications for humankind’s relation to God, to himself and to creation.
  • Compare and contrast the nature and relationship of the natural law, the old and new covenantal laws, and positive (human) law.
  • Elaborate the Christian moral life as sacramental life in Christ.

Students will:

  • Design a pastoral response to local conditions and circumstances, applying theological and Magisterial principles to ground, interpret, and guide the response.
  • Exemplify the principles, processes, and models for the development of a justice consciousness in the community served.
  • Explain the complexities and considerations for pastoral actions in addressing the various cultural and spiritual needs of particular communities (eg: cultural/racial/ethnic/interfaith).
  • Explain the need for appropriate self-care for those who are involved in pastoral care.

Accreditation

The MAPS degree program complies with the accreditation requirements of the Association of Theological Schools and the Higher Learning Commission.

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For more information about the master’s of pastoral studies from the JDI or to apply, contact the Institute today.

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