The program of study for the Master of Arts
requires 59 semester hours of course work and a summative evaluation exercise.
Course Work for the M.A.
Program
The 59 semester hours of course work include an exposure to the context
of the broader theological disciplines as well as survey, interdisciplinary,
or focused-study elective work.
Forty-five hours constitute the context of the broader theological disciplines.
Of these 45 hours, 30 represent credit shared with the basic courses of
the Ordination-M.Div. programs. The remaining 15 hours, from the advanced
courses of the Ordination Program, are required M.A. courses.
Ten hours of elective courses constitute the survey, interdisciplinary,
or focused study chosen by the candidate. A focus may be chosen in Scripture,
Church History, Dogmatic Theology, Liturgy and Sacraments, Moral Theology,
or Pastoral Studies. Cumulatively, considering the hours in focused study
from the context of the broader theological disciplines, a focused study
may represent as much as 20 hours of work.
Two hours constitute an area requirement in religious education or education
in general.
Two hours credit are given for the preparation and defense of the thesis.
For those in the comprehensives summative evaluation, an additional two
hours of M.A. elective course work are required.
At the discretion of the Academic Dean, up to one half of the course
work for this program may be transferred from other accredited institutions.
Within the M.A. elective requirement, however, no more than four hours
from other institutions may be applied.
In all course work, a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.00 must be maintained. Failure
to do so for two consecutive semesters constitutes grounds for dismissal
from the program.
The study of languages shall be required if a level of competence in
a language is integral to the specific focused study. This matter is determined
by the candidate and his research or examination advisor, subject to the
confirmation of the Academic Dean.
Summative Evaluation for
the M.A. Program
Kenrick School of Theology offers two options for the summative evaluation,
a thesis track and a comprehensives track. In the thesis track, the candidate
prepares and defends a thesis. In the comprehensives track, the candidate
completes a written and oral comprehensive examination. Both options are
described below.
Thesis Track
The Thesis Paper
A candidate in the thesis track develops a thesis paper in his focused
discipline under the direction of a research advisor who must be a faculty
member of Kenrick School of Theology.
The purpose of this thesis paper is to demonstrate the candidate's competence
for independent research in the field of focused study. The thesis paper
can be an original contribution or a presentation of research.
The thesis paper is to be no less than 50 pages and no more than 80 pages
in length. The Kenrick School of Theology Stylesheet for the M.A. Thesis
Paper is to be followed. It is available from the Academic Office.
The research advisor guides the candidate's research from beginning to
end. In the event that a candidate's research advisor leaves Kenrick School
of Theology, the candidate ordinarily can keep the research advisor if
the candidate is moving towards defense within a year; if not, then the
candidate must find a new advisor. If it is financially reasonable to
bring back the research advisor for a defense during that year, Kenrick
School of Theology will cover the expenses; otherwise, a proxy will be
appointed by the Academic Dean.
Candidates must declare their focus discipline and research advisor by
the end of their second semester in the Master of Arts program.
Completion of the thesis paper counts two semester hours towards the completion
of the curriculum requirements. The grade for the thesis paper is given
by the examination board at the conclusion of the defense. The candidate
should prepare three copies of the thesis paper: one each for the research
advisor, the other examiner, and the Academic Dean. The copy presented
to the Academic Dean becomes the property of the library.
By December 15th of the final year of campus residency, the candidate
must submit to his advisor a reasonably complete first draft of the thesis.
Failure to meet this requirement will entail the candidate’s discontinuance
from the thesis track and his enrollment in the comprehensives track.
Note that, since the comprehensives track requires one additional M.A.
elective course, this additional requirement will be applicable to the
candidate at that time. If he does not already have a sufficient number
of courses to meet this additional requirement, he will be required to
enroll in the additional M.A. course in the immediately coming semester.
Defense before the Examination Board
When the candidate has completed the thesis paper, it must be approved
by the research advisor for oral presentation to the examination board.
This board is composed of the research advisor and another full-time faculty
member selected by the research advisor with the approval of the Academic
Dean. At the request of the candidate, and with the approval of the Academic
Dean, this second examiner may be an adjunct faculty member or a faculty
member from another theology school with which Kenrick School of Theology
has cross registration. Examiners are to hold at least the S.T.L. or equivalent.
The order of events leading to the defense is as follows.
Week One:
- the candidate and research advisor agree the paper is ready for presentation;
- the candidate formally requests a defense date from the Coordinator
of Summative Evaluation;
- the research advisor selects the other examiner as described above;
Week Two:
- within one week of their selection, both examiners receive the penultimate
text;
Weeks Three and Four:
examiners have two weeks to return their comments to the candidate; they
may recommend changes, but only the research advisor may require changes;
Weeks Five and Six:
- the candidate has two weeks to produce a final text and distribute
it to the examiners;
Week Seven:
- the examiners have one week to review the final text.
The defense date (set earlier) may be set for any date beginning with
week eight, except for dates that fall within the week of final examinations.
The defense is closed to the public and is chaired by the research advisor.
In the defense, the candidate has 15 minutes to present, followed by 15
minutes for each of the examiners; these times are approximate, but the
total length is not to exceed 60 minutes. In his presentation, the candidate
is not delivering a formal lecture which represents his thesis paper but
rather a summary in which he explains why he chose the topic, what he
expected to find, what insights or surprises he in fact found, what areas
remain for further study, etc. The examiners examine the candidate on
the thesis paper. In the course of the defense, examiners may recommend
but may not require further changes in the thesis paper.
Each examiner submits a single letter grade for the thesis paper and
the defense considered together, with the research advisor computing and
announcing the grade at the conclusion of the defense. The grade is to
be computed according to the current scale for grade points, and the two
grades are to be weighted according to this formula: the research advisor's
grade is counted for 60% of the total; the other examiner’s grade
is counted for 40%. Note that the final grade for the defense is also
the final grade for the thesis paper and is included in the candidate's
grade point average for the Master of Arts program.
Comprehensives Track
A candidate in the comprehensives track, in addition to taking two additional
hours of M.A. elective work, completes a written and oral comprehensive
examination. The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to demonstrate
the candidate's competence in the survey, interdisciplinary, or focused
study he has chosen.
Candidates in the comprehensives track are required to choose a research
advisor only if they are doing a focused study. Other candidates may choose
such an advisor, but are not required to do so. In either case, the research
advisor chosen will serve as the examination advisor for the comprehensive
examination. In all other cases, an examination advisor will be assigned
at random by the Academic Dean, in consultation with the Coordinator of
Summative Evaluation.
The order of events leading to the comprehensive examination is as follows:
- Examination dates are set on the annual calendar, generally late in
the second semester. By November 15th of the first semester of that
academic year, the Coordinator of Summative Evaluation assigns candidates
to dates and confirms research advisors as examination advisors. The
Academic Dean assigns examination advisors to candidates without research
advisors, using a random process. The second examiner is assigned to
all candidates by the Academic Dean, also by a random process. (The
purpose of such random assignment is assure that the workload of the
examination process is balanced fairly among the members of the faculty.)
The candidate may exercise a right of first refusal on the appointment
of either examiner by the Academic Dean.
- In consultation with the examination advisor and the second examiner,
the candidate develops six questions suitable for a written and oral
examination, plus supporting bibliography. Two questions are drawn from
the area specialty of the examination advisor, two from the area of
the second examiner, and two questions are integrative in nature. This
exercise is to be completed no later than four weeks before the oral
examination.
Three weeks prior to the oral examination, the examiners agree on three
questions from the six submitted by the candidate.
Written Examination
At least two weeks prior to the oral examination, on the date and at the
time assigned by the Coordinator of Summative Evaluation, the candidate
is given the three questions for the written examination. After receiving
the examination questions from the examination advisor, the candidate
proceeds to the assigned examination room where he is to answer the questions.
The candidate has three hours to complete the examination.
The examination is to be written or at least printed on a computer, approved
beforehand by the advisor. Once the candidate has completed the examination
or the allotted time has expired, the candidate takes the final printed
version of the examination directly to the Coordinator of Summative Evaluation.
The Coordinator files the final version for use in the Seminary's assessment
program. Copies of the final version are given to the examiners and candidate.
Examiners may confer about the written examination prior to the oral session,
but the written examination is not graded until after the oral examination.
Oral Examination
Within two weeks, the oral examination takes place. This session is closed
to the public. In the oral examination, the candidate has 15 minutes to
present, followed by 15 minutes for each of the examiners, for a total
of no more than 60 minutes.
- In his presentation, the candidate is not delivering a formal lecture
but rather a summary in which he explains why he chose the focus study
(if applicable); how he developed the original six examination questions;
what difference reading and preparing the questions has made in his
understanding, especially the three questions eventually selected; any
insights/surprises he found in study; and areas for further study.
- The examiners are free to arrange their questions as they see fit;
each might ask about a different question, or each might ask about all
three questions. They may ask the candidate to support the answer with
background information. They might ask about what is written as well
as the deeper presuppositions and wider context for what is written.
- Each examiner submits a single letter grade for the written and the
oral examination considered together, with the examination advisor computing
and announcing the grade at the conclusion of the defense. The grade
is to be computed according to the current scale for grade points, and
the two grades are to be weighted according to this formula: the examination
advisor's grade is counted for 60% of the total; the second examiner’s
grade is counted for 40%.
- If a candidate fails the examination, the examination advisor will
present the candidate with the specific concerns of the examiners, with
examiners' specific recommendations for additional research, and with
a focused bibliography. The candidate will have three weeks to do the
additional work, after which time the examination advisor will re-convene
the examiners and candidate for a 30 minute follow-up oral examination.
The procedure for evaluating this follow-up oral examination is the
same as for the initial oral examination.
The oral examination and any retake sessions are videotaped for the purpose
of program assessment.
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