Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture
Overview
The Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture degree program is designed to equip persons in ministry who want accessible, affordable, and pedagogically robust theological education, spiritual formation, and professional leadership training in cultural contexts. The entire curriculum pathway is designed to prepare you to lead and serve like Christ, the Way.
Graduates will serve in a variety of leadership roles, such as:
- Associate pastors
- Specialized church-ministry leaders
- Parachurch leaders and activists
- Overseas missionaries and cross-cultural personnel
- Camp or campus pastors
- Bivocational ministers
- Christian business and nonprofit organizations
- Educational teachers and leaders
- Christian entrepreneurs
- Neighborhood chaplains
The Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture curriculum is designed around leadership theory and practice courses, biblical and theological foundations courses, and spiritual formation courses. The study of leadership involves exposure and training in disciplines such as team building, conflict resolution, reconciliation skills, cross-cultural awareness, organizational systems studies, strategic change processes, and individual and social transformation processes. The spiritual formation courses give the student exposure to the development of deep moral and spiritual values, spiritual disciplines, and self-awareness and self-management skills.
Program Competencies
The MA in Leadership and Culture program will equip and form students to think with clarity like Christ, live with integrity in Christ, and serve with the heart of God for Christ.
To think with clarity like Christ students will
- Analyze ancient sources and contextualize meaning
- Examine Information value
- Engage interdisciplinary research
To live with integrity in Christ students will
- Embrace identity & belonging in Christ
- Deepen self awareness for Christ
- Embody listening and discernment with the Holy Spirit
To serve with the Heart of God for Christ students will
- Steward one’s calling
- Form communities of shalom and grace
- Create healthy systems and environments
- Lead as a servant influencer to a sustainable future
Degree Outcomes
Students will:
- Develop capacity for critical and constructive biblical and theological reflection.
- Practice habits of authentic disciplines for living holistically in today’s world.
- Demonstrate the character and skills necessary for spiritually guiding or leading others in the Christian tradition.
- Function as skilled leaders in various settings for developing flourishing communities with meaningful purposes
- Support the just transformation of local communities and societies
- Increase skill in the design, implementation, and assessment of various leadership environments
Admission Requirements
Applicants seeking admission to the Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture program must hold a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university,* with a minimum GPA of 3.0. In addition, applicants must complete the following to be considered for admission to the program:
- Submit Portland Seminary application and application fee
- Submit one official transcript from each college/university attended
- Resumé
- Personal mission statement and statement of faith
- Three letters of reference (as specified in admissions materials)
- An interview
*Applicants who do not hold a four-year baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university may apply to the university and will be required to submit additional documentation to be considered for admission.
Transfer Credit
Transfer of up to 23 hours credit is allowed toward the Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture program from ATS-accredited graduate schools. Students must have earned a grade of B or better for a course to be considered for transfer. In addition, only courses taken elsewhere within 10 years of the date of matriculation to the Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership program will be considered for transfer. Transferability of credits earned at this institution and transferred to another is at the discretion of the receiving institution. Consult the registrar's office for information on eligibility of transfer credit.
Residence Requirements
Residence, as described in this section of the catalog, does not refer to the time a student spends on campus. It refers to the portion of a degree program that students are required to earn with Portland Seminary, as compared to transfer credits and credit applied as advanced standing. With regard to the MA in Leadership and Culture program, students are required to complete half of the degree (23 semester hours) directly with Portland Seminary. A leave of absence is valid for up to one year, after which the student must reapply to the program. Reinstatement to the program after withdrawal requires Admissions Committee action and may subject the student to additional requirements for the degree.
Course Requirements
The Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture program can be completed in two years, though most students take three years with 46 semester hours of coursework required as a minimum for graduation. Of the total hours required for the degree, 18 are in leadership courses, 4 in spiritual formation courses, 18 in biblical and theological foundations courses, and 6 in elective hours which may be taken in any discipline area. Students will either complete an Interdisciplinary Concentration or a Spiritual Formation Concentration.
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate with the Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture degree students must:
- Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 46 semester hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
- Achieve no grade lower than a C- in all courses. If a grade lower than a C- is received, that course must be retaken (for more specific information, please refer to the student handbook).
- Successfully complete each milestone
- Be admitted to candidacy for the degree
- Be recommended by the seminary faculty for graduation from George Fox University
Other Degree Requirements
Each masters student will undergo an initial personality assessment with a licensed mental health practitioner upon matriculation to identify strengths and areas for growth. The seminary faculty will conduct a first semester review of this assessment for newly matriculated students each fall semester and take it into consideration alongside conversations regarding the student’s performance during the semester. At times, the faculty may recommend, or require counseling in order to better identify areas of personal growth in order to maximize one's potential for flourishing and capitalize on discovered strengths through one’s seminary career. For more specific information, please refer to the student handbook.
Curriculum Plan
Choose one of the following:
Choose one of the following:
Complete the following:
Complete the following:
Complete the following:
Students must complete 3 credits in one of the internship options listed below. An internship is either Apprenticeship, Mentoring, or Spiritual Direction Training†. All students complete an internship.
†Students who plan to complete the Spiritual Formation Concentration must complete the Spiritual Direction Training internship option (SFAD 571).
Apprenticeship
Mentoring
Spiritual Direction Training†
Students completing Spiritual Direction Training will take the following Spiritual Formation course.
†Students who plan to complete the Spiritual Formation Concentration must complete the Spiritual Direction Training internship option (SFAD 571).
Master of Arts in Leadership and Culture students must complete 6 credits of electives. Students completing the Interdisciplinary Concentration can choose any combination of courses from the subject areas listed below: Biblical Studies, Christian History and Theology, Leadership, and Spiritual Formation†.
†Students completing the Spiritual Formation Concentration must complete SFAD 572 and 3 additional SFAD credits from the listed Spiritual Formation course options listed below.
Spiritual Formation Courses
Note: Students completing the Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Concentration must complete SFAD 572† and choose 3 additional credits from the listed Spiritual Formation course options listed below (for a total of 6 SFAD elective credits).