SCU’s Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries will begin offering a new youth and young-adult ministry emphasis for master’s degree students, strengthening the program’s alignment with the Jesuit Order’s Apostolic Preferences.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., February 11, 2021—Santa Clara University’s Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries (GPPM) will expand its Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries degree with an emphasis in Youth and Young Adult Ministries beginning in fall 2021. The emphasis will prepare students to begin or enhance careers as parish or diocesan youth ministers; religious educators in the parish, elementary, high school or college; directors of religious education, campus ministers, teachers, university students and clergy.

“Ministry with youth and young adults is critical to the future of the Catholic Church,” says Joseph Morris, director of GPPM. Young people are increasingly dis-affiliating from organized religion and parish life. Their inclination is to address their spiritual needs from any resource that seems authentic, he added. These cultural shifts require adjustments in the practice of ministry, starting with a robust and open engagement with the theological tradition and a curriculum informed by both the needs of youth and young adults and by the realities that youth and young adult ministers face in their communities.

This emphasis aligns the program more fully with the third Universal Apostolic Preferences articulated by the Jesuit Order of priests, in February 2019, “journeying with youth.” The other three preferences, “showing the way to God,” “walking with the excluded,” and “caring for our common home,” are already well-represented in the program.

The practical components of the new curriculum—course assignments requiring theological reflection on ministry experience, opportunities for integration with SCU Campus Ministry, and the option for a capstone practicum at the close of the program—position graduates with this emphasis to strengthen their skills in practical ways that make them compelling candidates for positions in diverse settings.

The fifteen-course (60-unit) program consists of:

• Seven foundational courses in theology and Scripture (Theological Foundations for Ministry, Christology, Ecclesiology, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Theological Ethics, and Sacraments & Liturgy)
• Five emphasis courses (Evangelization & Discipleship; Reimagining Youth Ministry; Reimagining Young Adult Ministry; Community, Ritual, and Mission: Nourishing the Christian Life; Family, Relationships and Ministry)
• Three electives
• A capstone portfolio or practicum

Nearly four decades old, the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries is a comprehensive and practical training program for ministry. The program provides the opportunity for students from seven dioceses across California—San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland, Monterey, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and San Diego—to earn degrees. While courses are currently delivered fully online due to COVID-19, a plan to return to the fully in-person or hybrid teaching models will be reinstated once it is safe to do so.  

“As individuals, communities, their families, and friends continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on every facet of our lives, competent leaders committed to the mercy and healing Jesus lived becomes a vital necessity,” says Morris. “This program seeks to train leaders to accompany youth and young adults as they seek to be transformed by Jesus’ inclusive ministry.”

An online panel, “Reimagining Youth and Young Adult Ministry,” discussing the challenges and path forward for those engaging in youth and young adult ministries will take place Tuesday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Scholarships and financial aid assistance are available.

About the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries

Founded in 1983, the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries at Santa Clara University offers small classes in both face-to-face and online blended formats for those pursuing a master's degree in Pastoral Ministries. Tailored to students’ ministry goals, the program provides a strong theological foundation to an international body of students. Learn more at www.scu.edu/pastoralministries

About the College of Arts and Sciences at Santa Clara University

The College of Arts and Sciences is the heart of Santa Clara University. Our faculty integrate transformative teaching and innovative scholarship to engage students in the processes of learning, discovery, and reflection as members of a community of scholars. For more information, visit www.scu.edu/cas.

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121