Administrative and Degree-Specific Courses
Doctor of Theology
ATA497. ThD Exams Process
Credit, none. (Registrar)
Students who have finished their coursework must enroll in this course during the semesters in which they are preparing for and taking their qualifying examinations.
ATA499. ThD Dissertation Research
Credit, none. (Registrar)
Students who have successfully completed qualifying examinations and are working on the dissertation must enroll in this course during each fall and spring semester in order to maintain continuous enrollment. Summer registration is not required or allowed unless summer is the graduation term.
MASTER OF DIVINITY
MDIV500. Candler ADVANCE
Credit, none. (McGee)
This course offers academic support to participants within a small group setting. The group meets once a week for hourlong seminars on subjects related to seminary life: managing one’s schedule, persevering through adversity, maturing as a critical thinker, developing habits of study, preparing for essay tests, and other relevant topics. ADVANCE is not a remedial program; rather, it provides students with a supplemental form of academic support. ADVANCE seeks to cultivate confidence by helping students structure their own learning, by stimulating critical discussion and by promoting mutual support and accountability. Using material drawn directly from course assignments, ADVANCE instructors companion students as they develop strategies necessary for successful navigation of coursework. In this collaborative setting, students will challenge, encourage, and support one another through the first semester.
MDIV505. Master of Divinity First Year Advising Group
Credit, one hour. (Faculty)
First-year students are required to enroll in the First Year Advising Group. Advising groups will be composed of ten to 12 first-year students, along with a faculty adviser and third-year MDiv student peer advisers. These groups will assist first-year students with orientation to the Candler community, Emory, and the first year of graduate studies. Used as the capstone for the concentration.
MDIV650. Master of Divinity Thesis
Credit, three hours maximum. (Faculty)
Students prepare thesis proposals that must be approved before permission is given to proceed with the thesis writing.
MDIV999R. Master of Divinity Administrative Fee
Credit, none. (Registrar)
MASTER OF RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE
MRPL999R. Master of Religion and Public Life Administrative Fee
Credit, none. (Registrar)
MASTER OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP
MRL999R. Master of Religious Leadership Administrative Fee
Credit, none. (Registrar)
MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
MTS505. Master of Theological Studies Advising Group
Credit, none. (Faculty)
First-year MTS students are required to enroll in the First Year Advising Group (MTS505). This course assists entering students with library research skills, academic writing, and professional development in support of their scholarly formation.
MTS520G. Research Methods Seminar (Global Religions)
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course will focus on research in the various fields of religious and theological studies by considering both theoretical and functional approaches to critical research and writing in fields associated with the focus in Global Religions.
MTS520M. Research Methods Seminar (Modern Religious Thought and Experience)
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course will focus on research in the various fields of religious and theological studies by considering both theoretical and functional approaches to critical research and writing in fields associated with the focus in Modern Religious Thought and Experience.
MTS520T. Research Methods Seminar (History, Scripture, and Tradition)
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course will focus on research in the various fields of religious and theological studies by considering both theoretical and functional approaches to critical research and writing in fields associated with the focus in History, Scripture, and Tradition.
MTS600G. Capstone Seminar (Global Religions)
Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: MTS520G. (Faculty)
Students concentrating in Global Religions are required to complete this capstone course during their final or graduating semester. A component of the capstone course is the completion of an integrative essay or the MTS thesis (which may be taken for additional credit by enrolling in MTS650).
MTS600M. Capstone Seminar (Modern Religious Thought and Experience)
Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: MTS520M. (Faculty)
Students concentrating in Modern Religious Thought and Experience are required to complete this capstone course during their final or graduating semester. A component of the capstone course is the completion of an integrative essay or the MTS thesis (which may be taken for additional credit by enrolling in MTS650).
MTS600T. Capstone Seminar (History, Scripture, and Tradition)
Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: MTS520T. (Faculty)
Students concentrating in History, Scripture, and Tradition are required to complete this capstone course during their final or graduating semester. A component of the capstone course is the completion of an integrative essay or the MTS thesis (which may be taken for additional credit by enrolling in MTS650).
MTS650. Master of Theological Studies Thesis
Credit, three hours maximum. (Faculty)
Students prepare thesis proposals that must be approved before permission is given to proceed with the thesis writing.
MTS999R. Master of Theological Studies Administrative Fee
Credit, none. (Registrar)
MASTER OF THEOLOGY
THM501. Master of Theology Project Seminar
Credit, one hour. (Jones)
Required in the first semester of ThM student, the project seminar meets weekly, and over the course of the semester research and writing skills are shaped and sharpened. By the end of the semester the student will have developed a five to seven page ThM project précis that would include: • Project thesis statement • Overview of the project • Annotated working bibliography • Outline of the project This serves as the platform for the completion of the project during the spring semester. Students receive a grade of “IP” for the seminar until the successful completion of the summative project in the spring.
THM600. Post-MDiv Elective
Credit, one hour. (Faculty)
When applied for by the student, one credit of THM600 is associated with a three credit hour course to complete the four-hour post- MDiv elective requirement.
THM650. Master of Theology Project
Credit, two hours. (Faculty)
In the spring semester following completion of ThM501, ThM students sign up for two hours of ThM project with the faculty adviser who will direct the ThM final writing project. The grade for this course and the project seminar (three credits total) are assigned upon completion of the final writing project.
THM999R. Master of Theology Administrative Fee
Credit, none. (Registrar)
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
DM500. Strategies and Resources for Online Learning
Fall. Credit, one hour. (Russell)
This course will introduce students to learning in an online environment or advance their skills for learning online in order to bolster their success in earning a Doctor of Ministry while still serving their communities. The course is designed to build the comfort level of students with Emory’s online learning management system (LMS) and the structure, tools, expectations and modes of communication of Candler’s program by actively engaging them in online learning activities, group collaboration projects and assessments.
DM700. Becoming a Reflective Practitioner
Fall. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course orients students to the action-reflection model of the reflective practitioner, applying it specifically to the practice of ministry and practical theology. The research methods and dispositional habits that are learned in this foundational course will be practiced throughout the curriculum, especially in the final project. As the general introductory course, DM700 is taken by first-year students in both tracks, though students are enrolled by cohort. It has two major objectives: (1) to equip students with reflective and analytical capacities for understanding themselves as leaders, the congregations and organizations in which they serve, and their social contexts; and (2) the formation of a community of scholar-pastors and practical theologians. The course is made up of four major movements: engagement with contemporary scholarly discussions about what constitutes practical theology; theories and practices for understanding the self as a leader in the context of a community; models of congregational study and description; and methods of social analysis. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to diverse methods of theological reflection in relationship to the self, the faith community, and the social context.
DM701. First Year Colloquy I
Fall. Credit, one hour. (Faculty)
The First Year Colloquy I is a weekly synchronous gathering, held Monday afternoons at 3:00 p.m., in which students explore with each other and with faculty of the course taught during that semester their coursework in relation to (1) their context of ministry and (2) their research trajectory.
DM702. First Year Colloquy II
Spring. Credit, two hours. (Faculty)
The First Year Colloquy II is virtually identical to DM701: it too is a weekly synchronous gathering, held Monday afternoons at 3:00 p.m., in which students explore with each other and with faculty of the course taught during that semester their coursework in relation to (1) their context of ministry and (2) their research trajectory. DM702 includes additional work on the Statement of the Problem document, in which students offer their first articulation of the issue(s) they will address in their final project and how they will go about doing so. The latter is assessed by the director of the DMin program.
DM703. Second Year Colloquy
Fall, Spring. Credit, two hours. (Faculty)
The Second Year Colloquy is a weekly synchronous gathering, held Monday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. in which students explore with each other and with the faculty of the course taught during that semester their coursework in relation to (1) their context of ministry and (2) their research trajectory. Students enroll for two hours of credit in the fall semester. They receive an “IP” (in progress) at the end of the fall semester and will earn an “S” upon successful completion of the academic year at the end of the spring semester.
DM704. Final Project Colloquy
Credit, two hours. Fall, Spring.
Credit, two hours. (Faculty)
The Third Year Colloquy is a weekly synchronous gathering, held Monday afternoons, in which students continue their work on their final projects. In fall the colloquy is hosted by the faculty of DM715 and DM725 for tracks 1 and 2, respectively; in spring the colloquy is devoted to completion of the final project and initial presentations of the same prior to the Festival of Learning. Students enroll for two hours of credit in the fall semester. They receive an “IP” (in progress) at the end of the fall semester and will earn an “S” upon successful completion of the academic year at the end of the spring semester.
DM711. Understanding Community
Spring. Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: DM700. (Faculty)
This course builds on knowledge, methods, and skills acquired in DM700 to analyze more extensively broader community contexts. Students will continue to map the histories and transitions, assets and generative themes of those communities, while examining leadership skills required of public theologians. The final project for this course is the comprehensive congregational and community analysis that integrates learning across the first year.
DM712. Ecclesiologies in Action
Fall. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course is the second in the Church Leadership and Community track of the Candler DMin program and the second course unique to that track. In relation to the broader goals of the program, this course focuses specifically on helping participants achieve advanced integration of theology and practice; analyze a ministry setting, using appropriate research methods and exhibiting contextual sensitivity; and, articulate a coherent ecclesiology that serves as the ongoing basis for ministerial practice in the parish setting. The goal of the course is to prompt participants to reflect systematically on the nature and task of the church, both in relationship to God’s Reign, on the one hand, and to the present world, on the other. This course builds off of the tools of congregational and social analysis introduced in both DM700 and DM711, and is designed to prepare students for more focused work in liturgical and church leadership in the second and third years of the program.
DM713. Leadership as Practice
January. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
In this intensive course—the only course module for Track 1 held on the Candler campus—students will develop strategies for identifying and articulating leadership and witness and exploring ministry as a theological vocation of organizational leadership. It draws on resources of organizational studies and theology to develop a practical theology of leadership with a particular focus on the local church congregation and churchrelated nonprofit organizations.
DM714. Leadership and Witness 1: Cultivating Church
Spring. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course enables students to explore tools for analyzing and promoting community formation to mobilize members in partnership with God’s work. Students will develop a model of imaginative pastoral leadership— leading a congregation toward deeper awareness of its strengths and assets in order to use its cultural resources more effectively for ministry and mission. Resources for engaging cultural, racial/ethnic, and other particularities will be stressed to enhance the dynamic interplay of diverse peoples within faith communities.
DM715. Leadership and Witness 2: Engaging the World
Fall. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course explores some of the problems and possibilities entailed in “engaging the world.” During the fall of 2016, we will examine and practice four tasks: taking faith public, drawing from multiple disciplines of knowledge, remaining accountable to those we impact, and feeling the world. Students will anchor these large questions to their DMin project in order to explore them in a more concrete way.
DM721. Scripture, Theology, Practice
Spring. Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: DM700. (Faculty)
This course is the second in the Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation track of the Candler DMin program and the first course unique to that track. Its focus is the theology of Scripture, understood not as an examina196 tion of the theologies found in Scripture but rather as the study of the effects different ways of thinking about Scripture have on Christian faith and practice. It will introduce students to debates within the church concerning both the authority of Scripture and its role in shaping Christian teaching, with the goal of helping participants to reflect systematically on the challenges of speaking both meaningfully and truly about God and God’s work from a Christian point of view. Coursework is designed both to build on the tools of congregational and social analysis introduced in the first semester of the DMin program and to prepare students for more focused work in biblical exegesis and congregational teaching and preaching that follow in the program’s second and third years.
DM722. Issues in Old Testament Interpretation
Fall. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course is the third in the Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation track of the Candler DMin program and the second course unique to that track. Having reflected systematically on the issue of the authority of Scripture in DM721, participants in this course will have the opportunity to practice the art of theological interpretation of Old Testament texts. In relation to the broader goals of the Candler DMin program, this course focuses specifically on helping participants: explore the content and context of the Old Testament; identify how the content and context of the Old Testament might correspond with the needs/concerns of the contemporary parish context; and practice the interpretation of the Old Testament within the framework of a coherent theology of Scripture.
DM723. Teaching as Practice
January. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
In this intensive course—the only course module for track 2 held on the Candler campus— the focus will be on the role of the pastor as teacher, not only in explicitly didactic contexts (e.g., Sunday School, Confirmation, etc.), but also more broadly in terms of the pastor’s role as a congregation’s “resident theologian.” Students in the course will consider how learning and formation takes place in myriad contexts, including practices of mission and service, social witness, and worship, and how religious leaders can accompany and facilitate this process.
DM724. Issues in New Testament Interpretation
Spring. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course does for the New Testament what the preceding does for the Old. In addition to covering the latest research in Gospels, Jesus, Paul, the Catholic Letters, and Revelation, with particular attention to its implications for congregational teaching and witness. It will include discussion of the key moments in the history of interpretation, hermeneutics and exegesis, and the pertinent research methods.
DM725. Preaching the Bible
Fall. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
The course begins with a recognition that Christian preaching in the United States is in a season of great change. Some established modes of preaching seem to be losing their power even as an increasing plurality of modes is emerging. These changes and contestations are especially acute around ways that preachers engage Scripture. This course aims to help students develop theological wisdom and practical know-how for navigating these changes.
DM750. Doctor of Ministry Final Project
Spring. Credit, six hours. (Faculty)
In DM750, students bring their final project to completion by engaging in a process of evaluation and interaction with their project consultants, the DMin Director, and their cohort of peers. The project culminates in the final on-campus experience, the Festival of Learning, in which students make formal, public presentations of their projects.
ATA CROSS REGISTRATION
CO999R. Columbia Coursework
Variable credit.
Used to designate coursework taken through cross-registration at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.
ER999R. Erskine Coursework
Variable credit.
Used to designate coursework taken through cross-registration at Erskine Seminary in Due West, South Carolina.
IT999R. Interdenominational Theological Center Coursework
Variable credit.
Used to designate coursework taken through cross-registration at Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.
LTC999R. Lutheran Theological Center Coursework
Variable credit.
Used to designate coursework taken through cross-registration at the Lutheran Theological Center in Columbia, South Carolina.
MC999R. McAfee Coursework
Variable credit.
Used to designate coursework taken through cross-registration at McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, in Atlanta.
ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES
TESL300. Theology-English as a Second Language: Academic Writing for Graduate Theology Students
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
Students will become familiar with the grammar, diction, organization, and stylistic conventions that characterize written English for academic purposes. Students will engage in close analysis of academic writing in English, will engage in a series of writing exercises, and will produce coherent essays of varying length and topical focus. Active participation in class discussions and peer feedback is required.
TESL301. Theology-English as a Second Language: Academic Listening/Speaking for Graduate Theology Students
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
Students will learn advanced skills in English pronunciation to enhance intelligibility and communication effectiveness. In addition, students will become more comfortable and competent in making oral academic presentations and in engaging in classroom discussion in English. Students will practice principles of English pronunciation including word stress, emphasis, and sentence intonation. Students will prepare and deliver several oral presentations of varying length and topical focus. Active participation in class discussions and peer feedback is required.
