Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership

Credits

36

Format

Entirely online

Length

As few as two years

Tuition

$500 per credit; a 50% discount for degree-seeking students

The program

The Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership (MAGL) is a 36-credit graduate degree intended to prepare individuals for effective Christian leadership in business, government, and civil society (which includes community, non-profit, cultural, and educational organizations or institutions). The degree is designed for those who are not seeking formal ministerial recognition or status in a church, but who seek to serve God in the world through their vocation.

Like all programs at NSBT, the MAGL seeks to increase biblical, historical, and theological understanding in ways that are integral to personal formation and leadership in diverse global contexts. Course work is offered in English with tutorial and translation support for candidates who are not serving in contexts where English is their dominant language. Candidates for the degree can expect to acquire knowledge and skills that will increase their effectiveness in service in the world. Graduates are expected to be able to apply their faith more effectively in the world. The degree is offered entirely online and can be completed in as few as two years.

Who the degree is for

The MAGL is a graduate-level degree. Applicants possess a bachelor’s degree (BA or BS) or its equivalent earned from an appropriately accredited institution. In limited and exceptional circumstances, NSBT may admit an applicant to the MAGL who does not hold a qualifying bachelor’s degree, where the applicant can reasonably be expected to successfully complete the program. Such exceptions are limited and require documentation of a clear and justifiable rationale.

Candidates will also be expected to be able to articulate in a manner that is appropriate to their own experience and faith tradition an understanding of what Christian leadership entails in business, government, or civil society.

Third, candidates will be expected to currently belong to a faith community. Candidates will not be asked to provide a reference from a ministerial leader, but are welcomed to do so.

Applications will be received at any time. Those who complete the application process and are accepted into the MAGL will be allowed to begin the program with the next scheduled beginning class session (see the academic calendar).

Curriculum

The MAGL is a 36-credit degree designed to be completed in as few as two years. Courses are offered in eight-week sessions throughout the year (see the Academic Calendar) and are designed to be taken in sequence. Taking the courses in sequence is not a requirement of the program. Students who must take a leave of absence for one or more sessions and seek to return to the program may do so even if it means being out of sequence with the courses. They will eventually have to make up all courses, however, to graduate.

Candidates must complete ten online courses in all. To graduate they must also complete three credits of field education that incorporates mentoring experience over the course of 24 weeks in a site of their choosing and a final 3-credit Completion Paper of approximately 50 pages that is written under the direction of a faculty reader and integrates experience and learning. Students are expected to register for the Capstone after they have completed their practicum learning experience, unless otherwise permitted to do so by the Director of Field Education and the Dean.

The two degrees are distinguished not by separate course sections but by the way each student engages the shared courses, through discussions, essays, field education, and a Capstone Paper framed around the student’s own program. Non-credit class experiences that will be available include a tutorial for online learning, a library orientation, and the Research Skills and Writing Center. The degree must be completed within five years of initial enrollment, and the typical completion timeframe is approximately three years for most master’s degree students.

Field education

Field education is a graduation requirement for both the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry and the Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership, and no degree is conferred in either program without it. In the Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership, field education is a mentored practicum requiring a minimum of 200 hours of leadership work experience across 24 weeks, which is three academic sessions, at a placement site approved by NSBT, where the candidate works in a mentoring relationship rather than a supervisory one and either serves as a mentor to another or is mentored by another.

The Capstone

The Capstone is the final completion paper that is required for graduation with the Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership degree. The paper is expected to be approximately fifty (50) pages in length (not counting the bibliography), and must demonstrate an ability to integrate biblical, historical, contextual, and practical aspects of theological understanding as these relate to the practices of leadership, with attention paid to the role of mentoring. The paper is also expected to reflect the commitments of NSBT to public theology and cultural engagement.

The Capstone is developed over multiple rounds of revision with the faculty reader.

Program learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership, candidates will be able to:

• Interpret various biblical texts in light of the overall context of the Bible itself, and in light of the present contemporary cultural context;
• Evaluate the broader historical and theological contours of Christian faith and practice in ways that inform effective ministry in the contemporary world;
• Engage contemporary global cultural contexts and public life in ways that are transformational in leadership;
• Integrate spiritual and moral dimensions of Christian faith with transformational leadership;
• Demonstrate mentoring practices grounded in biblical and theological perspectives.

Faculty

NSBT has three faculty of record, who carry the teaching of both graduate programs. Every faculty member teaching in them holds an earned doctoral degree and demonstrates expertise in the subject field taught.

Every course is built around the teachings of Dr. A. R. Bernard, Sr.

Cost

NSBT applies a 50% tuition discount to all degree-seeking students, so tuition is $250 per academic credit, $750 per 3-credit course, and $9,000 per degree. Students enrolled under this discount keep the discounted rate through completion of their program. An ending date for the discount will be announced when it is available.

Apply online