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United Methodist Studies Online

Seeking ordination in The United Methodist Church? Looking for a way to fulfill your United Methodist studies educational requirements online? Combining the convenience of online education with rigorous academics, these classes set the hallmark of United Methodist studies in an online format.

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is proud to offer all six courses prescribed in the Book of Discipline in an online format. These courses explore topics critical to the contemporary church through a variety of perspectives and voices, and will equip you for congregational leadership in the 21st century.

Designed and taught by our core United Methodist faculty members, this is not a MOOC (massive open online course). Through these online courses you will receive individual attention, be stretched theologically, and exposed to new models of ministry. Contributors include senior faculty members in the fields of United Methodist studies, evangelism, liturgy, and church leadership. Combining the convenience of online education with rigorous academic, these classes set the hallmark of United Methodist studies in an online format.

Have questions? Contact the Admissions Office at getadmitted@garrett.edu or call 1.800.SEMINARY (outside of Chicago) or 847.866.3945.

Ready to Enroll?

Garrett-Evangelical has agreements with institutions affiliated with a number of denominations to assist students who are seeking ordination in The United Methodist Church. If you are a student in one of the following institutions, please click here for more information on how to enroll.

  • Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
  • Brite Divinity School
  • Eden Theological Seminary
  • Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
  • Sioux Falls Seminary
  • The University of Chicago Divinity School

Enrolled degree students at Chicago Theological Seminary are eligible to enroll in courses using the normal Association of Chicago Theological Schools cross-registration procedures

All other students should contact Garrett-Evangelical's Admission's Office by email at getadmitted@garrett.edu or call, 1.800.SEMINARY (outside of Chicago) or 847.866.3945.

Technical Requirements

Technical Requirements

  • Operating System
    • Mac: OS X 10.5 or higher, 450MHz PowerPC G3 processor or higher recommended
    • PC: Windows XP w/ Service Pack 2 or later, Vista, 7, Home, or Student.
    • Other: Red Hat® Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 or later, openSUSE® 11 or later, Ubuntu 7.10 or later, or Solaris™ 10.
  • Ram: 1 GB (gigabyte) or more
  • Hard Drive: 10 GB or more
  • The capacity to watch multiple video formats:
  • Soundcard and speakers (or headphones)
  • Display: 15” monitor or larger (Some 13” will work); resolution should be 600 X 800 pixels or higher.
  • Current version of Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash player
  • Web Browsers: Moodle is optimized for Firefox but works well with most browsers.
    • Internet Explorer 7
    • Firefox 3.6.6
    • Google Chrome 2.0
    • Safari 3.0
    • Opera 9.5
    • AOL 9.0
  • Broadband is highly recommended and is defined as:
    • Upload transfer  rate of at least 1.0 megabits/second (or higher), and
    • Download rate of 2.0 - 4.0 megabits/second (or higher)
  • Cookies must be enabled.
 

United Methodist History
2 Credit Hours
Offered Every Fall & Spring

In this course, students learn about the origins of the Wesleyan tradition and its expressions in the UMC. It explores the roots of the movement in the Anglican Church, the Wesleyan Revival of the 18th century, and the history of the institutional and theological development of the American Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren traditions.

  

United Methodist Doctrine
2 Credit Hours
Offered Every Fall & Spring

This course helps familiarize students with the theology of John Wesley, specifically through the exploration of his sermons. The sermons are a starting point for understanding Methodist theology, which seeks to contextualize the Christian faith in a connectional structure within the church.
     
Polity   Worship

United Methodist Polity
2 Credit Hours
Offered Every Fall & Spring

This course uses the Book of Discipline of the UMC to explore the ecclesiological forms, configurations of governance, and issues of church membership, as they are expressed in United Methodist polity.

  

United Methodist Worship
3 Credit Hours
See Course Schedule

The authorized worship resources of the UMC, with attention to their history, theology, and practice will be utilized in this course. In particular, we explore the shape and practice of Christian prayer, liturgical time, the relationship of word and sacrament, and the liturgical pastoral offices of the Church.
     
Evangelism   Mission

Theology of Evangelism
3 Credit Hours
See Course Schedule

Students in this course will be equipped to formulate their own conceptualizations of evangelism. They will do so by examining various theologies and biblical teachings, coming to understand evangelism as a practice of the church.

  

Global Christianity in an Interfaith World
3 Credit Hours
See Course Schedule

The course offers an introduction to Christianity as a worldwide movement. We will study factors that contributed to and sustain Christianity’s current shape, reach, and impact by examining cultural, ethical, and theological challenges facing mission and ministry in a world church.