BACHELOR OF ARTS IN MINISTRY AND LEADERSHIP Features of the Program •   Earn a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Ministry and Leadership from a regionally accredited college •   Pursue your degree without leaving your place of work and ministry or uprooting your family •   Study on campus in San Dimas one night a week or online anywhere in the world •   Complete your degree in 18 months •   Study with a cohort of like-minded students preparing for ministry Program Goals Upon completion of this program a student should be able to: •   Exhibit a depth of understanding of biblical content, theological synthesis, and hermeneutical practice, •   Possess the skills necessary for ministry to people inside and outside of the local church, particularly pastoral care-giving, •   Demonstrate leadership skills, especially applicable to the local church, with an understanding of how to acquire God-given vision and encourage others toward that vision, and possess fundamental resources and tools necessary to identify, guide, and develop potential leaders, and •   Integrate education, spiritual life, and life-experience into a consistent pattern of personal spiritual growth affecting character and values, and possess the desire and foundation necessary to be a lifelong learner. PROGRAM STRUCTURE The program requires that students complete 120 units in order to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ministry and Leadership. Students must transfer in 75 units, 60 upon entrance. The curriculum will consist of 45 units offered in a lockstep structure over 18 months. Students will fulfill the additional 15 units through either other college work or prior learning credit. CLASS STRUCTURE AND TIME COMMITMENT ON CAMPUS Five week classes, one session a week for four hours with breaks. Students should expect to put at least 12 hours a week into their coursework outside of the class. ONLINE Five week classes, students should expect to put at least 12-16 hours a week into their coursework. There will be no residency requirement for students in the online program. PACE AND LENGTH The program will be offered in an accelerated cohort model. It will consist of 15 courses offered one at a time, for five weeks each. Students will enter the program with a cohort of 12-20 other students and take each course in sequence according to a pre-designed schedule. The entire program (45 units) will take 18 months to complete. CHANGE OF COHORT Students who are unable to maintain their cohort's schedule will be allowed to resume their program with subsequent cohorts, or to miss up to three classes while remaining with their original cohort and making up those classes after their cohort has completed the program. ALTERNATIVE CREDIT Students will be able to apply for credit for prior learning experience. Credit will be determined by a committee based on the student portfolio created in the first course of the program, Foundations for Leadership. Students will also be able to receive credit through Advanced Placement, CLEP and DANTES. MINISTRY FORMATION All students in the Degree Completion Program will participate in Ministry Formation. For each term, students participate in leading a group of five or more individuals. Students will complete a short paper reflecting on their ministry experience in light of their coursework. A pastor's/mentor's assessment of the student's growth in ministerial skills and spiritual/character development and formal feedback from a peer and the people they lead will be required along with each paper. Program Overview     |     Program Goals     |     Curriculum / Courses