Master of Divinity in Interreligious Chaplaincy—Islamic Focus

The MDiv in Interreligious Chaplaincy—Islamic Focus program prepares you to provide interreligious and intercultural spiritual care with a focus on serving Muslims in interreligious contexts. Graduates of this program can pursue careers in chaplaincy in a variety of contexts as well as pastoral and spiritual care within religious and spiritual communities. This program is offered in partnership with The Islamic Seminary of America.

Concentration Learning Outcomes

In addition to achieving the core MDiv degree learning outcomes, a graduate of this Islamic theology degree program will be able to:

• demonstrate an informed understanding of the sīra, Islamic law and Usul al-Fiqh, Islamic spirituality and Aklaq, and the history of Islam in America;
• demonstrate an informed understanding of the fields of ʿulūm al-Qur’ān and ʿulūm al-Ḥadīth;
• demonstrate skills for effective, professional, ethical, and compassionate pastoral and spiritual care to a diversity of persons;
• craft, deliver, and reflect on a sermon or public address that demonstrates effective speaking form/style and content based on a selected context;
• articulate effective strategies for pastoral/spiritual care and counseling with a person or group of a given cultural identity that demonstrate an informed understanding of the student’s own culture(s) and theology, as well as the behavioral and social sciences;
• articulate effective strategies for providing spiritual care in a given interreligious setting;
• incorporate an informed understanding of trauma into describing its impact on the spiritual well-being of individuals, families, and communities;
• articulate their own theology/spirituality of trauma informed pastoral care, particularly as it relates to their ministerial/vocational path; and
• identify appropriate specific strategies for trauma healing that they can incorporate into their practice as a spiritual/pastoral care provider.

United’s MDiv at a Glance

• 72 credits
• Twenty-four 3-credit courses, including one field experience
• A final thesis or project is not required, but you can choose to complete a thesis as an elective course
• Can be completed in approximately three years if you take a full-time course load of 9 credits per trimester
• United courses in this concentration can be completed entirely via distance learning; some courses provided by The Islamic Seminary of America (TISA) require one weekend in Dallas, TX

To apply for this program, visit The Islamic Seminary of America’s (TISA) application page. >

Employment as a chaplain requires completion of additional CPE units beyond United’s degree requirements and endorsement by a recognized religious authority. BCCI certification, which is a common employment requirement, requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and an additional 2,000 hours of chaplaincy work experience after CPE.