Spirituality

Interested students must choose one of the Masters tracks or certificate programs by the time they have completed two of the core courses and/or the year-long seminar or practicum.

The following are part of the application process:

            Program Pre-requisites:

            Applicants to the program need to have earned an undergraduate BA or BS degree.

            Admission Requirements:

            Submission of the completed application, a writing sample/personal statement, and three letters of recommendation will be required with the application. The GRE is not required.                Applicants deemed appropriate for the program based on their admissions materials will be granted an interview. To enter the program, applicants must complete the required                      interview to complete the application process. Final decisions will be made after the committee reviews the applications and the interview results of all applicants.

Learning Goals

In light of the mission of the College and the Agenda for Distinction, the programs are designed to enlighten, empower and engage students so that they will be able to:

• Speak and write about Christian teaching, including the Augustinian tradition, in ways that show connections between theology and lived faith experience.
• Explain the various approaches of different world religions to contemplation, compassion and care for persons, elaborating their similarities and differences.
• Apply principles of the spiritual life for those with no specific religious affiliation.
• Develop and execute interfaith encounters that help participants relate to each other’s experience on the deeper human levels of the spiritual life.
• Listen and guide spiritual seekers through their work as spiritual directors, attentive to the religious and ethical dimensions of this work (for students in the Masters and Certificate programs in Spiritual Direction).
• Engage in lifelong exploration of and critical reflection on the spiritual dimension of human experience.

The Master of Arts in Spirituality consists in 32 credit hours distributed over the following:

• 16 core credits (required 4 four-credit courses)
  • Introduction to Spirituality (RTS5010)
  • Christian Spirituality (RTS5020)
  • Spirituality and Social Justice (RTS5030)
  • Spirituality in a Religiously Diverse World (RTS5040)
• Seminar in the Spiritual Life (RTS5600)
  • An 8-credit intensive two-semester seminar course addressing basic skills and ethics that are foundational for the spiritual life.
• 8 elective credits from the following options
  • 4 credit courses from other Merrimack graduate programs (see below*)
  • 4 credit Master’s Thesis and Seminar (RTS5700)
  • Practicum in Spiritual Direction (RTS5650) (two-semester eight credit course; the practicum is required for MA in Spiritual Direction as noted below, but an option for the MA in Spirituality)
• Credit Summary:
  • 16 core-course credits
  • 8 credits in Seminar (RTS5600)
  • 8 elective credits
  • 32 total credits

 

*Suggested elective courses from other Merrimack graduate programs that could add to the skill set of students in the proposed MA in Spirituality:

(in consultation with Prof. Azara Santiago, Director of MHC Program):

• SC 502G:  Diversity and Culture in Counseling (fall)
• CHM 506G: Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling (summer)
• CHM 510G: Trauma (fall)
• SC/CHM xxxG: Human Growth and Development (summer)
• CHM 505G: Positive Psychology (spring)