Goals of the Master of Arts Degree Program

By its mission to prepare men for the Roman Catholic priesthood, Kenrick School of Theology seeks to instill in its students an abiding priestly identity, founded on Christ Jesus and in his Church; a cooperative priestly ministry, comprised of teaching, sanctifying, and leading; and an integrated priestly spirituality, embracing celibacy, simplicity, obedience, and prayer. The three elements of this mission, in turn, break out into nine outcomes towards which the Ordination and Master of Divinity Credential Programs jointly work as goals, the basic elements of the Ordination Program constituting the Master of Divinity Program.

The Master of Arts degree program is grounded in the same mission statement, incorporating the advanced elements of the Ordination Program, as well as a summative evaluation exercise. It is focused on imparting the skills of a cooperative priestly ministry, especially those of the ministry of teaching the faith.

In a priestly ministry of teaching, candidates will hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, and proclaim this faith in word and action as taught by the Gospel and the Church's tradition, a universal mission of salvation to the ends of the earth. In this mission, the Gospel becomes incarnate in the world's many cultures, reversing what is incompatible with the faith and incorporating new cultural values to the life of faith.

Accordingly, the goal for the Master of Arts degree program is that the student attain:

• either a survey knowledge or an interdisciplinary knowledge of the various theological disciplines, or a focused knowledge in a specific theological discipline (ATS E.2);
• an ability to conduct and present theological research on an advanced academic level;
• a competence for future teaching of theology at the secondary or undergraduate level;
• a competence for further graduate study.