Divinity

Overview

Key Features

Although the specific constituency of La Sierra University and the Richards Divinity School is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, both the University and the Divinity School welcome students from other faith traditions. The Divinity School offers five graduate programs that fall into the categories of professional and academic.

Our professional programs are tailored for those who work, or would like to work, in some aspect of Christian ministry. We offer two professional programs: the Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree program and the Graduate Certificate in Ministry (CMin) program. The MDiv is the standard degree program for professional ministry. The CMin program prepares lay persons for local church leadership.

We offer Master of Arts (MA) programs with majors in religion and Near Eastern archaeology for persons interested in focused, academic study and research in these disciplines. The Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program provides graduate-level, academic study across the broad spectrum of religious studies disciplines.

The Divinity degree program from La Sierra University is the recognized basic credential for such vocations. The program offers a structured opportunity for students to develop a thorough, discriminating understanding and personal appropriation of the heritage of the community of faith, its Scripture, traditions, doctrines, and practices in both its historical and contemporary expressions. It intends to assist students in understanding the cultural realities and social settings within which religious communities live and carry out their missions. The program incorporates the insights of cognate disciplines, such as the social sciences, the natural sciences, philosophy, and the arts. It will enable students to obtain a knowledge and appreciation of cross-cultural and global contexts of the religious tradition and practice. MDiv students will also have opportunities to develop the personal qualities that are essential for the successful practice of ministry. Although the program is especially oriented to help provide for the pastoral education needs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the region of the Pacific Union Conference—California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah—it is also prepared to serve the needs of Adventists elsewhere as well as those of other faith traditions.