Masters of Divinity Degree : Think You’ll Never Be Able To?

Getting your bachelor’s in religion, or theology, or biblical studies is one thing.  But a masters of divinity degree is a lot harder to get than people give it credit for.  For one thing, even though it’s called a ‘masters’ it’s not like any other masters program.  It takes much, much longer, and it’s many more credits.

And then, of course, it can be very competitive, depending on where you want or need to get it.  If you’re getting your masters of divinity, you almost always have a fairly limited choice of schools, because you’ll need to be accepted by a program that’s been endorsed by your denomination.  And that usually means one that’s run by your denomination.

Certain programs are highly competitive, too, because you’ll already have had to spend some time working as clergy before you can be enrolled.  This is the case with some protestant masters of divinity degree programs.  Unless your denomination thinks you’re a good candidate for ordination, you might not even get accepted.

All of these things make considering this particular degree even more complicated than most graduate degrees.  But don’t lose hope.  Education is changing.  Distance learning has changed everything–and that includes masters of divinity degree programs.

There are now many opportunities to pursue graduate school through online programs.  Some are entirely online, and some have limited, or more extensive residency requirements.  Online classes make getting your master of divinity more possible in several ways.

Even for those programs with residency requirements, you probably won’t have to consider relocating, as many of these degrees are designed for long distance students rather than commuters.  Additionally, distance-education masters of divinity degree programs are not as restrictive, in terms of available spots, as campus based programs.