Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Campus Life

A first-year master's of arts in Specialized Ministry degree targets a specific group of students, and the admissions staff wants everyone to know what the program is about. Southwestern offers three master's degrees on campus, which means the classes are in Winfield and meet during the day. Degrees are also offered online and at satellite campuses. The master's of arts degree in Specialized Ministry is new this year, and there are less than 10 students enrolled in the program. One of those students, Leah Rankin, said she was already in the swing of school and going to classes and decided to stay in school for one more year to get the degree. "The fact that you can finish it in one year is handy," Rankin said. "I decided to take the opportunity while I had it." For the degree, students complete five sessions of eight-week classes. The first half of the year gives students general knowledge and the second half practical knowledge of the field, Rankin said. Students do not have to be religion majors to be accepted into the master's program. Classes include theology, old and new testament, church history, ethical issues in youth ministry, faith and formation in developing adults, and theology of youth ministry. The curriculum is 36 hours. Students usually take two or three classes at a time if they want to complete the degree in a year. To complete the degree in one year, classes begin in July and students graduate in May. However, if a student wants to go on a two year track, they can. "Youth ministry as a field of study is still very new. Most of the people that are in it are not formally educated in it," Rankin said. "I think there's a lot of people out there who would find it very beneficial to them." There is no fee to apply. Stephanie Humphries, graduate admissions counselor, said she wants to get the word out about the new programs not only on campus, but to other cities and other universities and colleges. "I think there's a special niche of students who are perfect for this program. We're just trying to find them. It is a very specialized group of students who want to move on in this area," Humphries said. Rankin said she's glad she is part of the program, and said that getting a master's degree in one year is a rigorous process. "It's tough in terms of schoolwork. If you can just buckle down it's worth it," Rankin said. "It's a great program. I feel better about jumping into the world now than I did prior to this year." Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series focusing on the on-campus master's degree programs offered at Southwestern. Monica Springer is a senior majoring in journalism. You may e-mail her at monica.springer@sckans.edu.

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