The Advanced Master of Divinity is based upon the assumption that a person has had significant undergraduate preparation in biblical or religious studies culminating in the attainment of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of similar theological persuasion. The program allows your Christian Studies work at the College at Southeastern, or similar school, to place you into advanced electives in those fields, thus removing unnecessary curricular repetition. The Advanced Master of Divinity is designed to prepare pastors, missionaries and other Christian workers for a life of effective kingdom service and requires a minimum of 60 hours of course work. The Advanced Master of Divinity fulfills the prerequisite degree requirements for persons seeking to further their education through the Master of Theology (ThM), Doctor of Ministry (DMin), Doctor of Education (EdD), or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. Please consult with each advanced degree office to confirm prerequisite requirements.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the Advanced Master of Divinity will be determined after a thorough evaluation of the applicant’s transcript in light of the prerequisite undergraduate preparation necessary for the program. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the baccalaureate classes required for their major to be accepted into the Advanced Master of Divinity. To demonstrate writing ability applicants must submit a graded research paper from their baccalaureate studies. If no such paper is available, applicants will be asked to write an essay demonstrating their writing/research ability and discussing why they are qualified to participate in the Advanced Master of Divinity. Due to the substantial academic prerequisite for admission, students who are 5 years removed from their baccalaureate graduation are not eligible for admission to the program. These students are welcome to make application to the traditional Master of Divinity program.
Undergraduate Prerequisites - 27 Hours
Substantial undergraduate* preparation shall consist of the following classes and number of semester hours:
*Any graduate-level courses taken as prerequisites for admission into the Advanced M.Div. will not count in the degree itself (i.e., no “double-dipping” of credits).
- Old Testament - 6 semester hrs.
- New Testament - 6 semester hrs.
- Christian Theology - 6 semester hrs.
- Hermeneutics - 3 semester hrs.
- Church History - 3 semester hrs.
- Evangelism - 3 semester hrs.
Students are invited to contact the Registrar’s Office (registrar@sebts.edu) for more information about the following curricular details:
- Because these admission prerequisites grant advanced standing towards the MDiv Core, thus shortening the degree plan, Advanced MDiv students are not eligible to receive Southeastern Collegiate Partnership (SCP) credits by exam. Instead, where eligible for SCP credit by exam, students would only be eligible to course replace with an upper level course of the same prefix.
- For example, students who took six hours of Greek and/or Hebrew at the undergraduate level may be eligible to course replace the biblical language requirements with upper-level language courses.
- While Advanced MDiv students are ineligible for SCP credit by exam or any other form of advanced standing beyond the admission prerequisites, they are still eligible to transfer in graduate credits and should consult the Academic Policies section of the catalog regarding credit transfer processes and policies.
SEBTS and Cedarville University
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Cedarville University are pleased to offer the dual Advanced Master of Divinity/Master Business Administration program. The Advanced MDiv/MBA program integrates theological education with a foundation in business administration. This dual degree program is for students seeking to serve in a ministry leadership position in the local church, on the mission field, or in a parachurch organization who desire business management training in addition to theological education.
The joint program can be completed in 85 credit hours. Students can apply 9-hours of MBA credit to fulfill the 6-hours of elective requirements and the Mentored Internship requirement for the Adv MDiv. Also, the MIS5100 Introduction to Missions from the Adv MDiv degree can be used toward 3-hours of electives in the MBA program. A full-time student can expect to complete the program in four years.
The MBA program will allow you to study business through a biblical lens that emphasizes:
- Excellence in personal standards and discernment
- Stewardship of God-given talents and resources
- Leadership with a servant’s heart
- Kingdom influence through serving others
The MBA program will help you:
- Develop skills in managing and motivating people
- Become proficient in interpreting financial statements and more effective financial decision making
- Learn how to market your ministry and business enterprises
- Develop strategic planning and decision-making skills
Admissions
Applicants must meet the admissions requirements for both Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Cedarville University. Students should apply first to the Southeastern MDiv/MBA program, and once they have earned 18 hours of credit with 2.75 GPA or higher, they can apply for admission in the MBA program through Cedarville University’s admissions page.
Degree Requirements
For Cedarville University (CU) course descriptions, visit Cedarville University’s Academic Catalog.
Continued Enrollment
If a student is not actively enrolled in classes at Southeastern for a year, their account will become inactive. In order to avoid this while taking the Cedarville portion of the degree plan, students must be enrolled in a Continuous Enrollment course. Students should inform the Registrar’s Office (registrar@sebts.edu) when they are taking courses at Cedarville and not actively taking courses at Southeastern.
