News
Doctor of Ministry degree adds specialization in Ecology, Justice and Ministry
The Doctor of Ministry program at Methodist Theological School in Ohio will offer a new specialization in 2016: Ecology, Justice and Ministry. Those enrolling in MTSO’s D.Min. program may choose either the new specialization or Leadership for Transformational Change.
The next cohort of Doctor of Ministry students will begin studies July 25 with a week of classes on campus. The application deadline is May 31. More information and an application form are at www.mtso.edu/doctorofministry.
“At MTSO, we see a growing emphasis on ecology, coupled with our long-term historic commitment to social justice as a theological school,” said Professor Diane Lobody, director of the Doctor of Ministry program. “For us to offer a D.Min. track that links those two seemed to be the next important step.”
D.Min. students in Ecology, Justice and Ministry will take specialization courses including Creation and New Creation in Christian Tradition; Environmental Theology and Ethics; Justice and the Practices of Ministry; and Ecology, Place and Justice.
Lobody said MTSO is uniquely suited to offer the new specialization in a number of ways, including the presence of Seminary Hill Farm, a campus-based organic farm that produces food served on campus and provided to many community partners.
“It would be easy to theorize about things like how land is used and how you make a network of organizations and farms, but what we have here is a living laboratory of that – on our campus,” Lobody said. “It’s not a rented farm that’s somewhere else. It’s integrated into our campus life and connected with other organizations in Central Ohio. That kind of resource is tremendously valuable and very rare in the United States.”
The Doctor of Ministry program at MTSO offers flexible, cohort-based study with an ecumenical focus. D.Min. students experience small classes, are taught by full-time and affiliated faculty, interact with a national, ecumenical student base, and work with attentive project advisors.
Classes meet on campus in two intensive sessions per year – one week each in mid-summer and January – for 3 1/2 years. The remainder of students’ work toward the D.Min. can be done off-campus.
MTSO’s D.Min. degree is offered through a Joint Doctor of Ministry Program with Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. MTSO students in the program receive their degrees from MTSO while having the benefit of working with faculty from both schools.
Methodist Theological School in Ohio prepares leaders of many faith traditions for lives of lasting significance in service to the church and the world. In addition to the Master of Divinity degree, the school offers master’s degrees in counseling ministries, theological studies and practical theology, along with a Doctor of Ministry degree.
CONTACT:
Danny Russell, director of communications
drussell@mtso.edu, 740-362-3322