General Description and Program Objective
The Master of Divinity program is designed primarily for those who expect to enter the formal ministry. The degree program lasts three academic years and contains 96 semester units, including 81 units of core courses and 15 units of electives focused in Bible studies. As many as six semester units of graduate work may be transferred in from another institution and as many as nine semester units may be met through qualifying prior experiential learning. However, the graduation requirement for those students who received the Bachelor degree and majored in Biblical Studies or Theology can be reduced up to 75 semester units by waiving some specified courses because of their advanced standing in the same theological major. The objective of the program is to prepare future professional ministers.
Admissions Requirements
The criteria for entrance to the Master’s Degree in Divinity are:
- Completion of Application Form for Admission.
- Three letters of recommendation from faculty, counselors, school administrators, employers, or church leaders.
- Possession of or candidacy for an accredited Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
- A statement of the applicant’s Christian faith.
- One recent photograph.
- Official transcripts from all schools attended including high school.
- Evaluation of personal interview with a team of faculty members.
- A sense of calling from God for Christian ministry.
- Regeneration experience and baptism with water.
- Active and fruitful church participation.
- Minimum grade of “C”, or satisfactory, on the Korean Language Proficiency Test (translation or diagnostic); minimum grade of “C”, or satisfactory, on the Korean Language Composition Test; minimum grade of “C”, or satisfactory, on the Bible Admissions Test.
- Payment of $50.00 application fee.
Method of Instruction
Classes incorporate lectures, instructional work in class, demonstrations, one-on-one tutorials, library research, and comprehensive examinations on the Bible. Except for internships and field trips, all instruction is conducted in a classroom setting.
Waiving Courses
As many as 20 units of the 96 unit program may be waived based on the following criteria: (1) The student had an undergraduate major in Biblical Studies or Theology as indicated on his or her transcript; (2) only designated courses may be waived; (3) and the student had to have taken the comparable courses in the same theological major with the satisfactory grade of B (3.0) and above.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate from the Master’s degree program of study, each student is required to have completed a minimum of 96 semester units beyond the Bachelor’s degree and pass two comprehensive exams. These can be a combination of transfer credit and course work with a Grade Point Average of 2.5 and above. At least 81 semester units must be completed at Virginia Bible University. Students must pass a written Graduation Comprehensive Exam, correctly answering a minimum of seven out of ten questions (70%) selected out of thirty study questions which are prepared in advance in the fields of Biblical Theology, Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, Theology of Mission, and Practical Theology. The graduation comprehensive examination can be substituted by a thesis or dissertation.
Exam Procedure: Upon completion of the residency requirement, the student will secure the request form to take the examination and the request shall be submitted 10 days prior to the date of the examination. The examination will be compiled by the departments involved and shall be taken at the regularly scheduled testing period. The student will be allowed to retake the examination only two times during the next scheduled testing periods. Students must also pass the Bible Comprehensive Exam, which tests the student on his/her knowledge of the Bible by written examination. To pass, the student must correctly answer a minimum of 100 out of 150 questions (75 from the Old Testament and 75 from the New Testament). Exam Procedure: To satisfy the graduation requirements, the student will secure the request form to take the examination and the request shall be submitted 10 days prior to the date of the examination. The examination shall be taken at any regularly scheduled testing period. The student will be allowed to retake the examination as many times as the student wishes.