The Graduate Diploma in Biblical Ministry is a professional qualification designed to:
- be appropriate for students in Christian ministry
- reflect VCI’s unique Competency-Based Theological Education (CBTE) approach of Integrated Leadership Development (ILD)
- provide a graduate qualification for people in Christian ministry whose first degree is not necessarily in theology.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to practice independently as Christian ministers or ministry leaders with skills defined in terms of particular cultural milieus and areas of gifting. In particular, they will be able to:
- form an overview of Scripture so that their theology can be based on an understanding of the overall message of all the Bible books
- do exegesis of exposition/exhortation and narrative as the major types of literature applied to the New Testament (NT) epistles, the Pentateuch and Old Testament (OT) historical books using a practical form of semantic discourse analysis and compare their findings with that of leading commentaries
- discern the absolutes of a passage on which exegesis has been done and apply them to their local ministry context that they have analyzed
- apply the biblical absolutes in such a way that a biblical worldview is cultivated
- develop a number of ministry skills that are effective in their own ministry setting.
These five main learning goals are taught in an interdisciplinary fashion, weaving them together as strands through an integrated educational approach. Students are required to integrate spiritual development during the completion of each competency unit.
Duration
The student learning outcomes of the Foundation Training are incorporated in the Graduate Diploma. Therefore, if students have achieved these learning outcomes before enrollment, the Graduate Diploma will typically be done over four trimesters.
Should VCI decide to offer a Graduate Diploma program for which prior completion of the Foundation modules is not required, this material must then be covered in the program itself, which will likely result in extending the typical program duration by additional trimesters.
As the degree program is offered within a cohort, students who do not complete within the four trimesters will need to obtain special permission to continue to work on the qualification and be required to pay a continuous enrollment fee.
Students who have not completed the program before applications close for the next MA program, will not be able to continue their studies with their current cohort. Instead, they will be required to apply to join a subsequent cohort.
Prerequisites
To be considered for admission, a student should have all of the following:
- a bachelor’s degree in any discipline (or its equivalent)*,
- a suitable position in Christian ministry.
- satisfactorily completed the first two non-formal VCI Foundation Training modules as the basic educational skills acquired through the Foundation Training are presupposed and further developed in the Graduate Diploma.
Successful facilitation of the Foundation Training modules will be considered a commendation for admission.
For general requirements: See General Admission Policies and Procedures in the Catalog.
* Persons who meet all other admission requirements but who do not have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent can apply for pre-admission status if they demonstrate that they are likely to successfully complete the Graduate Diploma. To gain pre-admission status, students may be requested to submit a portfolio that provides: details of ministry experience; details of communication and computer literacy; written exegesis and hermeneutics of a passage from Paul's letters, and a passage of Old Testament narrative. The portfolio will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- skills in oral communication
- skills in written communication
- ability to think across cultural contexts
- ability to think in sequential logic.
Persons granted pre-admission status may participate in the intensives for the first five units of the Graduate Diploma. They may be formally admitted as Graduate Diploma students if they achieve a minimum grade of B for all five units within the required time.
Persons who meet all admissions requirements but who are not considered as prepared by VCI for some reason, e.g., the applicant lacks certain skills such as technology skills, can apply for provisional admission status during which time they get the opportunity to demonstrate that they have mastered the lacking skills to successfully complete the Graduate Diploma.
Persons granted provisional admission status may participate in the program for the first trimester of the Graduate Diploma. They may be formally admitted as Graduate Diploma students if they achieve a minimum grade of B for all the units of that trimester within the required time.