Master of Arts Religion

Eligibility and prerequisites

• Bachelor’s degree:  A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
• Religion courses:  A minimum of 12 semester hours in religion (waivers may be requested for some or all of this requirement, based on the applicant's full-time ministry experience).
• GPA requirement: A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.25  OR  for an undergraduate GPA of 2.75 to 3.24, applicants may request to e admitted on a provisional basis. A formal academic paper to demonstrate academic competency may be required of the candidate.
• Emphasis in Old Testament Studies or New Testament Studies:  Applicants to either of these emphases must have six semester hours of credit in a biblical language with a minimum grade of C. Applicants to Old Testament Studies must have six semester hours of biblical Hebrew, and applicants to New Testament Studies must have six hours of biblical Greek. This may be counted as part of the required 12 hours in religion.

Admission process

1. Graduate application:  Submit a graduate application (with non-refundable fee of $40). Apply now
2. Transcripts:  Submit official college and university transcripts. Many institutions subscribe to the convenient transcript-request service at National Student Clearinghouse, or you may also contact your institution directly. Have your transcripts sent to the Graduate and Professional Studies office (gradtranscripts@southern.edu). If you earned your prerequisite degree at Southern, you do not need to complete this step.
3. Recommendations: Submit two recommendation forms (completed by work supervisors or professors). One of these recommendations is to be from your employing conference, if employed by the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination. This should be done as part of the online application process. 
4. If you are employed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, one recommendation must be from a superior in the organization. 
5. Service record:  Submit a denominational service record (usually available from your SDA employer), if applicable, OR the Record of Service form. Download form
6. Statement of Purpose:  Candidates are to submit a written "Statement of Purpose through the Application Status Page following the guidelines provided by the School of Religion. Download PDF

Application deadlines

Applications can be accepted year-round. Due to the reading requirements for summer intensives, which must be completed in advance, students need to apply at least six weeks before the start of the summer semester to apply for a summer intensive. Online courses follow the university application deadlines. With School of Religion approval, students may take up to 12 hours of coursework on non-degree or provisional status.

International students

The MA in Religion and MMin degrees don't offer enough year-round, in-person classes to qualify international students for an F1 student visa.

Faculty

Greg King

Dean
gking@southern.edu
423.236.2975

Stephen Bauer

Professor
sbauer@southern.edu
423.236.2981

John Doh

Professor
hdoh@southern.edu
423.236.2978

Eliezer Graterol

Professor
eliezerg@southern.edu
423.236.2989

David Hartman

Professor
dhartman@southern.edu
423.236.2980

Michael Hasel

Professor
mhasel@southern.edu
423.236.2986

Jud Lake

Professor
jslake@southern.edu
423.236.2985

Alan Parker

Professor
parker@southern.edu
423.236.2683

Wilson Paroschi

Professor
wparoschi@southern.edu
423.236.2979

Barry Tryon

Professor
btryon@southern.edu
423.236.2025