Program Overview
Grow in your knowledge of Scripture and the theological traditions of Christianity across the world. Learn to share those resources with others in meaningful ways that support lives of faith in your community and engage the world around you. All the while, you will undergo and appreciate your own personal formation as you learn to lead others in transformative change.
The M.Div. remains our most comprehensive program at Hazelip. Students sometimes choose this path because they are formally ordaining in their particular faith communities. Others choose it because they are simply seeking a thorough training credential that will sharpen their abilities in important and significant ways. Regardless of your vocational desire, you will gain those practical competencies for the Kingdom work you are called to lead.
We have two options for the M.Div., cohort-based or traditional as well as two location options in Nashville, Tennessee, or Austin, Texas. Regardless of which path you choose, you can expect excellent relationships with our teaching faculty, a learning community with diverse backgrounds and a continued emphasis on theological training explicitly for the purposes of ministry leadership in all its forms.
Admissions Requirements
- Application with $50 nonrefundable application fee
- Three letters of recommendation: one from a college or university administrator or professor, one from a professional supervisor/employer and one from a church leader or minister
- Official transcripts emailed to gradadmissions@lipscomb.edu or mailed to Graduate Admissions (One University Park Dr., Nashville, TN 37204)
- Bachelor's degree
- Undergraduate or graduate GPA of at least 2.75
- Completed health form
- 750-1,000-word essay discussing the applicant's religious heritage, career goals and how Hazelip School of Theology might contribute to the achievement of those pursuits
International Students
International students are required to be proficient in written and oral English before enrolling. A score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of approximately 570 on the paper-based test, or 80 on the iBT, or an IELTS exam with an overall band score of 6.5 is the minimum accepted for admittance. For more information, see International Students admissions policy.
Courses
Our part-time cohort model has a unique design focused on the integration of various theological disciplines with real contexts of ministry. Each semester the sequence of courses weaves together Scripture, theology and ministry. The program also requires you to be embedded in a ministry setting as you work through the curriculum. This integration helps you really understand the connections between formal theological training and your faith community. You’ll finish the degree with clearer professional practices that are biblically and theologically informed, skills that will adapt to the issues you will encounter in your present and future work.
With the traditional model, you’ll gain the same comprehensive learning but with greater flexibility in how you construct the experience. With 15 hours of elective space, you can customize your learning to particular interests you have, whether that’s in Scripture, theology or specialized ministry skills. With varying delivery formats for your classes, you will be able to access a quality Hazelip education even if you are not in the immediate vicinity of Lipscomb University's locations in Nashville, Tennessee, or Austin, Texas.
Tuition & Aid
Whether your program is based in Nashville or Austin, tuition is currently $540* per credit hour.
*Note: The graduate tuition rates may increase annually, effective each summer semester.
