Masters of Arts (MA) in Theology
The 17th General Assembly of the church, held in January 2005, passed a resolution that its educational program must be raised to Masters of Arts (MA) in Theology level, along with strengthening all the other existing educational programs. After thorough discussions and planning in the areas of nature of the program and its faculty, facilities, and finances, the proposal to begin MA in Practical Theology was presented to the Seminary Board and the Board approved its launch. Finally the program was launched in September 2011. Currently, however, the MA in Theology programme does not offer only MA in Practical Theology, but it also includes such divisions as Biblical, systematic, Missiology, and Christian-Muslim Relations (CMR).
The Objective of the MA program is educating people in graduate degree program in theological study and forming theologically skilled leaders, ministers and missionaries whose knowledge, life and ministry could impact and transform the way people live and behave in the world. The program is dedicated to intellectual interpretation and application of God's mission and purpose for the Church and the world. Therefore, it strives to produce academically competent; theologically and doctrinally reliable; and spiritually committed male and female theologian leaders and ministers. In order to effectively implement this objective, it strives to deepen and advance the student' theological knowledge through theological disciplines.
Admission Standards of MA Programme
Admission requirements can be established from a number of different forms of academic backgrounds and evidence.
Admission on common academic standard grounds
Primarily, all the candidates of MA program shall be graduates of the Bachelor Degree of Theology from recognized and accredited theological institution with minimum of 2.75 GPA. Without this GPA and clearer recommendations of the sending church bodies, candidates cannot be registered for entrance exam of the MA program. All the MA candidates shall take an entrance exam, which aims at helping the students develop their written and spoken English language skills so that they may be reckoned as capable of reading, writing, and dialogic requirements of the MA level of study. The candidates, therefore, shall take the entrance exams of Standard English, theology, and oral interview and must pass in all exams. The entrance exams shall be conducted in the month of August. While passing the entrance exam is the primary requirement for admission, those who pass the entrance exams shall fulfill the following requirements in order to be admitted to the MA study:
- Financial guarantee letter from the sponsoring body or confirmation of Self-sponsored study
- Two passport size photos
- Completed application form
- Birr application fee (non-refundable)
Supporting Document Required
- Applicant must provide a supporting letter from sending bodies (congregation, local church, or synod).
Student Services/Facilities
- Library: We have state of an art and the biggest theological collection library in the country. Our library collections include over 72 antique Ethiopian scrolls and over 30,000 volumes of different Theological and other related books.
- Accommodations: There are girls’ and boys’ dormitories with over two hundred capacities each.
- Cafeteria: there are three student dining halls with a capacity of 500 students each at a time. Besides our students’ dining hall there is an art of cafeteria that caters traditional and contemporary menu.
- Student Council: An elected body of a committee by student serve the need of students and also council the needy and the management committee of the Seminary.
- Student Club: The students council facilitates different clubs such as sport club, prayer club, art club, seminary choir, etc.