Purpose and Outcomes
The Master of Divinity/Master of Business Administration is awarded jointly by the School of Ministry and the Rinker School of Business. The goal of the M.Div./M.B.A. Joint Degree is to educate students to assume responsibilities as executive and administrative ministers for churches or para-church organizations. The program is directed toward providing didactic and experiential education to students that will allow them to:
- develop the biblical, theological and historical knowledge to assist leading and administering a church or para-church organization; and,
- design and implement strategies and policies that produce effective management practices within a ministry context.
Course Schedule/Structure
There are a variety of scheduling options for successfully completing the M.Div./M.B.A. Joint-Degree coursework. The time required will depend upon the student’s initiative in scheduling business courses while still completing M.Div. courses, either during summer sessions or during a fall or spring semester.
To increase the likelihood of success and preventing students from overextending themselves academically, each student will be required to design a complete course sequence for both M.Div. and business courses by the end of his/her first semester. This plan must be formulated in consultation with and authorized by the student’s M.Div. advisors and the Director of the M.B.A. program.
Admission Requirements
Admissions requirements for the Master of Divinity/Master of Business Administration Joint Degree may be found in the Admissions section of the Graduate and Pharmacy Catalog.
Degree Requirements
A total of 82 credit hours are required. As part of the Joint Degree, students must successfully complete include 52 credit hours of M.Div. coursework, 27 credit hours of graduate business coursework, and 3 credit hours of integrated graduate coursework. When completed separately, the traditional M.Div. program at PBA requires 72 credit hours and the M.BA. program at PBA requires 48 credit hours.
Upon admission to the joint- degree program, students are able to enroll in both M.Div. and M.B.A. courses during the same semester as time and schedules permit. No degree is awarded until the student completes the entire program and meets all requirements of the M.Div./M.B.A. Joint Degree.
Students with a bachelor’s degree in a non-ministry major are required to complete up to 24 hours of specific pre-requisite coursework on the undergraduate level before beginning graduate coursework. Pre-requisite courses in which grades below “C-” have been earned are unacceptable. Prerequisite courses for the M.Div. degree: Biblical Hermeneutics, Old Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Systematic Theology, Spiritual Formation, Evangelism and Apologetics, History of Christianity, and one practical ministry elective.
Students are limited to no more than seven (7) total credit hours of Directed and Independent Study coursework over the course of their degree program.
Curriculum Requirements
82 Credit Hours