The Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies integrates the study of Scripture, theology, culture, and missions strategy to prepare you for leadership roles in cross-cultural settings or in multicultural ministry in your home country. The coursework in this program will give you a firm foundation of hermeneutics, exegesis, and theology. Practical studies follow with an emphasis on prayer, evangelism, discipleship, teaching skills, leadership principles, teamwork, cultural anthropology, and understanding world religions. Upon receiving this degree, you can pursue a doctoral degree or begin working as a missionary or a in a ministry or career that requires an international skillset.
The MA in Intercultural Studies is solidly grounded in Bible and theology, yet it is also intensely practical. You will receive competent training in biblical interpretation, theology, linguistics, original languages, culture, and cross-cultural ministry strategy. Then, as a culmination of this program, you will put your classroom training to the test in a 6-week (minimum) cross-cultural internship.
This program starts with 29 core credits. If your focus is cross-cultural ministry in general, you will want to choose the additional 15 credits for the Theology and Missions Strategy concentration. This concentration deepens your understanding of theology and provides you with the experience of ministering in a foreign culture.
The concentration in Biblical Translation and Linguistics is an additional 24 credits, with several of the courses being taught by translation consultants and linguists in summer modules. If you feel called to a ministry of Bible translation or linguistics, your internship will take place in a setting where a translation project is in progress. Leading up to this capstone experience, you will receive extensive training in Greek and Hebrew, as well as in various aspects of linguistics and translation.
RESIDENCE
LIVESTREAM
ONLINE
MODULE
EVENING FLEXResidential courses extend over the Fall and Spring semesters with a break in the middle of each semester. To make these courses available for distance students, many classes are live-streamed. Because the courses are offered in various formats, this degree is accessible to you wherever you live. Both concentrations can be completed without living in the Greenville area and will involve at least a 6-week cross-cultural internship.
(Click icons for more information.)
Residential, module, and evening flex classes are often live-streamed, making it possible for students to interact live with a classroom from virtually anywhere in the world. Because the courses are offered in various formats, this degree is accessible to you wherever you live. Both concentrations can be completed without living in the Greenville area and will involve at least a 6-week cross-cultural internship.
Online courses allow the convenience of working in an asynchronous program, meaning that students do not typically meet at prescribed times; rather, most tasks take place on a week-by-week basis over the seven-week period. Some online courses, such as Greek and Hebrew, are covered over fourteen weeks. Because the courses are offered in various formats, this degree is accessible to you wherever you live. Both concentrations can be completed without living in the Greenville area and will involve at least a 6-week cross-cultural internship.
Module weeks are offered during the Fall and Spring semesters and sometimes during the summer. Each module contains one week in residency, preceded and followed by six-weeks of distance course work. The one week in residency is often offered through live-stream as well. Because the courses are offered in various formats, this degree is accessible to you wherever you live. Both concentrations can be completed without living in the Greenville area and will involve at least a 6-week cross-cultural internship.
Students with day jobs can take classes on Monday or Thursday evening. Five credits of class can be possible on both Monday and Thursday evenings, with two-credit classes meeting for one hour and three-credit classes meeting for two hours. Many of the classes are live-streamed as well. Because the courses are offered in various formats, this degree is accessible to you wherever you live. Both concentrations can be completed without living in the Greenville area and will involve at least a 6-week cross-cultural internship.
