MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES (MTS)

The Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree program is normally of two years duration (full-time status) and is intended for persons who wish to obtain a basic first professional degree in theological studies. Candidates for MTS must hold a Bachelor of Arts degree, or the equivalent, from an accredited college or university.

The purpose of this degree program is to prepare graduates for ordained and lay ministry in the Church who are:

Theologically Informed:

• All candidates will be rooted and conversant in the classical theological disciplines of Biblical Studies; Ecclesiastical History; Systematic Theology; and Ascetical Theology in the context of the Anglican tradition.
• Candidates will further specialize to gain focused knowledge in one of the following disciplines:
  • Biblical Studies, including hermeneutics and biblical languages
  • Theology, including a full complement of systematic, moral, and historical theology
  • Anglican Studies: Liturgics and Ascetical Theology, including their historical basis and church music
  • Church History, including historical theology, Anglican history, and the histories of liturgy and ascetical theology.
  • Pastoral ministry, including homiletics, liturgics, pastoral care, and pastoral leadership.

Personally Committed:

• To a life of prayer and study
• To a vocation of holiness, simplicity, and self-denial
• To an ever-deepening exploration of the Christian tradition
• To a ministry of witness and service
• To the formation and up building of Christ-centered communities, especially in the ministry of catechesis

Practically Skilled:

• In assisting the Church in carrying out Christ’s Great Commission
• In relating the redemptive mission of the church to society
• In fostering healthy growth in the church through evangelism and discipleship
• In guiding persons in their spiritual development
• In preparing and leading God’s people in public worship (appropriate to ecclesiastical role)
• In sound and compelling biblical exegesis

Curricular Overview and Degree Requirements

Students in this program must successfully complete a minimum of sixty credit hours of study, six of which may be earned through thesis research and preparation. All concentrations incorporate the equivalent of one year of study in the core curriculum of biblical studies, church history, and systematic theology. In the second year of the program students will focus more exclusively on a field of concentration.

Students will have the option of writing a thesis during their second year. Because a significant component of the MTS program consists of studies related to a field of concentration as well as possible thesis preparation, it is advisable that the student select a field of concentration as soon as possible, and no later than the beginning of the second term of his or her first year. When a concentration is selected, the student is to inform the Academic Dean and Registrar, who will appoint a thesis director in the area of concentration.

If a student selects the Thesis Option, six credit hours of the second year of the MTS curriculum will be registered as “Thesis Research and Preparation,” and by the end of the second year, those selecting the thesis option must submit an acceptable thesis, subject to an oral defense before designees of the Nashotah House Faculty. Approximate length expected for a thesis for this degree is 18,000 words.

Students not selecting the thesis option must fulfill the 60-credit requirement for the degree, must fulfill the specified curriculum for the focus selected, and must pass a comprehensive final examination in order to qualify for the degree.

The degree is offered in both the Residential and the Distance Learning hybrid programs, with minor curricular variations between the two programs, as described below.

Compare the Residential and Distance Program Curricula

¹A student is allowed to elect this focus only with the permission of a bishop (or similar ecclesiastical authority). The Pastoral Ministry concentration is not available via the hybrid distance model.

²At present, Nashotah House does not offer Biblical Greek or Biblical Hebrew in the Distance Learning format. Students wishing to concentrate in Scripture will be required to take at least a year in residence at Nashotah House or to find a course of language study from an accredited (Association of Theological Schools) seminary at the Masters level to transfer to their Nashotah House program.

³3-credit courses, normally taken in Petertide and Epiphany terms.