The 5-Year Dual Degree B.A. (Theology) / M.Div. Program is an attractive alternative to the traditional B.A. – M.Div. curriculum, designed for students at two or four-year liberal arts colleges or universities who have completed, or are completing their core liberal arts distribution requirements, and who want to enter a program of professional theological studies at St. Tikhon’s Seminary.
 
The dual-degree program provides opportunities for students to explore and integrate complementary interests in the liberal arts and priestly formation, and offer a unique perspective on understanding the multiple ways in which religions, societies and people interact in the sphere of theology.

The B.A./M.A. dual degree is a five-year integrated program. Students accepted will spend their first two years taking specified common courses in the Master of Divinity program and completing their baccalaureate requirements while obtaining a solid foundation in pre-theology studies. These students will then spend the third, fourth and fifth program years completing M. Div. requirements, including a summer internship between the fourth and fifth program years.


Prerequisites

To be considered for admission into the 5-year Dual Degree program, the successful applicant must:

• Show evidence of a completed secondary education, or its equivalent ;
• Have further completed 61 credits of undergraduate study (including required general education requirements) at any 2-year or 4-year accredited North American college or university (as specified below) ;
• Demonstrate a general maturity of character; adequate background, experience in, and commitment to practical Christian living; academic ability to undertake pre-theological study at the undergraduate level;
• Meet all general and specific requirements for admission into the Seminary and into the M. Div. program.

Students already enrolled in a two or four-year liberal arts program are expected to fulfill the following general education requirements distributed among core subjects prior to admission to the 5-year Dual Degree Program:

Admission

Admission to the Five-year B. A./M. Div. Dual Degree Program is selective and not automatic. No seminary scholarships are available for the undergraduate pre-professional component of this program. Upon completion of the B.A. requirements and further acceptance into the M.Div. program, the student may apply for seminary financial aid and scholarships.


Pre-Professional Curricular Goals and Performance Standards

In the pre-professional baccalaureate component, through focused study of the human experience of God and the world, including historical and contemporary statements of religious belief, exploration of the meaning of faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, as well as reflections on the nature of reality as seen through the minds of the great thinkers, the student will engage in a critical exploration of the foundations of theology and a range of perennial issues, including questions of the meaning of human life before God; the religious, social and cultural dimensions of the human community; as well as personal ethical responsibility, and will gain a firm appreciation of the richness of Christian tradition, an understanding of the vocation of Christian believers, the ability to think carefully about historical and contemporary issues, as well as the tools and skills necessary to engage in professional theological study and ministry.

The pre-professional baccalaureate component pursues the following educational aims and objectives:

• To broaden the student’s perspective in the understanding of both the human person and human culture through comparative study of religious and cultural traditions, showing the range of human responses to life problems;
• To enable the student to develop a critical knowledge of the sources, formation and coherence of the principal doctrines of the Christian faith;
• To enable the student to evaluate the coherence and adequacy of different theological positions and understandings; building a solid foundation for an integrated theological understanding and interpretation;
• To equip the student with critical, analytical and interpretative skills with which they may understand Orthodox religious tradition in an objective way;
• To prepare the student for professional and graduate study in Orthodox Theology;
• Upon completion of pre-professional study, to enable the student to achieve the goals and objectives of the Master of Divinity program.

Program completion requirements

Students who typically register for an average of 15 credits per semester, maintain good academic standing and satisfactory academic progress, and successfully fulfill all curricular, co-curricular, and residency requirements of the prescribed program will, at the end of the second year, have met the Baccalaureate equivalency required for matriculation into the M. Div. program. Upon successful completion of the fifth year, the student will receive both the Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) degree in Theology and the Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree from St. Tikhon’s Seminary. Both degrees will be awarded together at the completion of all requirements for both degrees.


Highlights

The Dual Degree Program offers the following advantages to the student over conventional B. A. programs:

• St. Tikhon’s offers the only state-certified 60-credit pre-professional major in Orthodox theology. Students get a deep exposure to religious life by living and studying in a focused and formative spiritual and academic environment for at least five years.
• By earning two complementary degrees, students become fully grounded in Orthodox tradition and ethos.
• It is more cost-effective than pursing two separate degrees sequentially.
• It allows flexibility by enabling students to balance their personal needs and educational experiences with the specific formative objectives of the Orthodox priesthood.
• Effectively reestablishes the traditional normative Five-year period of preparation for the Orthodox priesthood.