University adding MDiv degree to offerings

Carson-Newman University’s School of Biblical and Theological Studies expands its degree options in August of 2022 with the addition of a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv). This comes pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

“The MDiv has for several decades been the standard academic degree for training for ministry and prepares students for a wide range of professional ministry contexts,” said Dr. Ryan Stokes, director of Graduate Theological Studies. “Since Carson-Newman’s inception, it has prepared students for Christian ministry at the undergraduate level and for the last decade at the graduate level through its Master of Arts in applied theology,” he said, adding that the new program is a natural extension of the work with which the school has long been engaged.

Stokes says the decision to add an MDiv degree will better serve those in the region.

“Currently, numerous church interns and ministry staff in Knox County and surrounding counties face the dilemma of either uprooting their families and leaving their ministries to pursue in-person training or enrolling in a less desirable online program,” Stokes said. “Carson-Newman partnered with several Knoxville area churches to design an imaginative and unique curriculum that prepares students for real ministry in real churches.”

Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christian liberal arts-based university affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The University is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, among the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The University offers 50 undergraduate majors, as well as associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.