Master of Theological Studies (MTS) Degree Requirements
Residence
Students must spend a minimum of three semesters in residence and earn at least fifty-one hours of credit with a cumulative grade point average of not less than 2.0. A maximum of twelve hours may be earned during the summer term. Students in good standing at other seminaries accredited by the Association of Theological Schools may, with approval, transfer up to seventeen hours. MTS students must complete a minimum of three semesters with at least thirty-four credit hours at Candler. A maximum of nine credit hours taken through cross-registration at Atlanta Theological Association schools may be applied toward the degree, counted as transfer credit. Registration for MTS 000, MTS Administrative Fee, is required each semester following completion of course work for those students completing a thesis or integrative paper.
Credit Hours
In fulfilling the fifty-one credit hours required to complete the MTS degree, students may not exceed the following limits: two credit hours for MTS 501, MTS Colloquy, two credit hours MTS 503, Integrative Paper, six credit hours MTS 502R, Thesis with Colloquy, eight credit hours for Contextual Education, ten credit hours for academic courses taken on an S/U basis (including a maximum of four hours for participation in the Candler Choraliers and/or Chapel Choir), twelve hours for summer term, nine hours for Atlanta Theological Association cross-registration (counted as transfer credit), seventeen hours for transfer credit (including A.T.A. cross-registration), and twelve hours for directed study
Requirements for MTS Standard Program
Credit hours may be earned through courses, seminars (including PhD seminars, subject to permission of the instructor), or directed study; and, may be distributed across the curriculum as the student elects, subject to approval of the program director. However, at least six hours of work must be completed in each of Areas I, II, and III, in addition to the required MTS 501, Master of Theological Studies Colloquy (credit, two hours). Students may complete the degree with course work plus a thesis or an integrative paper. Students who plan to write a thesis are required to take MTS 502R, Thesis with Colloquy, in the second year (credit, six hours maximum). There is no general language requirement. No credit toward the degree is given for modern language study.
In keeping with the flexibility of the program, no specific number of semester hours constitutes a major field. At the same time, a candidate should pursue a cluster of courses that reasonably constitutes an area of interest, planned in consultation with the director of the program. Theses should be written within this general area of interest.
Master of Theological Studies Colloquies
All students admitted to the MTS standard program pursue a core-group study, MTS 501, Master of Theological Studies Colloquy, in the first semester (credit, two hours). Taught by the MTS program director, MTS 501 focuses on group discussion, supplemented by the reading and discussion of theological texts. MTS 502R, Thesis with Colloquy, for students who plan on writing a thesis, focuses on the preparation of a thesis along the guidelines for MTS and MDiv theses. To be permitted to write a thesis, a student must have the approval of the MTS program director and at least a 3.3 grade point average at the end of the equivalent of two semesters (twenty-four credit hours) of study at Candler. Students electing to write an integrative paper enroll in MTS 503, Integrative Paper (two credit hours), after the completion of twenty-four credit hours. MTS 501 must be taken for an S/U grade; MTS 502 and MTS 503 are taken for a letter grade.
Thesis and Integrative Paper
Thesis
Following the approval of a thesis proposal and selection of a thesis director chosen in consultation with the MTS program director, the student may proceed to work on the thesis. Students who choose to write a thesis are expected to have done substantive course work with Candler faculty in the area in which they wish to write. A topic and a thesis director must be secured before MTS 502R, Thesis with Colloquy, is begun.
The completed thesis, normally fifty pages in length, is evaluated by the thesis director and a second faculty member, and is subject to approval by the MTS director. The thesis must demonstrate original research in a limited subject area. Students may receive up to six hours of credit for the thesis (letter grade only) through MTS 502R. The thesis must be submitted by the deadline stated in the academic calendar. The minimum passing grade is a B.
Integrative Paper
Following the completion of twenty-four credit hours, students electing to write an integrative paper may enroll in MTS 503, Integrative Paper (two credit hours). A paper topic is determined in consultation with the MTS director. The paper is normally twenty-five pages in length and integrates themes from the student’s full course of study. The MTS director will read the integrative paper and assign a letter grade.
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