Students in the Master of Arts in Public Ministry program aspire to fulfill their Christian vocations to love God and serve neighbor through public ministries of advocacy, organizing, and justice-making in collaboration with other communities of faith and conscience. In particular, this program equips laity serving in community, social, or justice-oriented organizations who seek to enhance their public work by engaging with theological education and formation.
The Master of Arts in Public Ministry is a 50-credit hour program. Students can complete their degree as a residential student (primarily in-person courses on Garrett’s campus) or as a hybrid student (primarily online courses). All courses will be offered in-person and online with the exception of required in-person cohort retreats in August and January that will focus on orientation and formation.
Foundational Courses (24-credit hours)
Public Ministry Courses (26-credit hours)
MAPM students are required to attend each of the two yearly in-person retreats (August and January) at least two times to receive full credit.
August Retreat
This retreat will feature an orientation to Garrett and the MAPM method. It will also feature cohort building, mentorship pairings, social identity/location awareness training, development and nonviolent communication/action workshops, and more.
January Retreat
This retreat will focus on vocational discernment and career planning, a personality/spirituality types workshop, and public ministry project development.
MAPM students complete 2 semesters of field education. Combining hands-on experience with peer group discussions, you will come to know approaches to ministry leadership, cultivate practical skills in context as you do the work of ministry with skilled church and community leaders, and engage in critical reflection on the Christian leaders you are called to be.
The Public Ministry Project is a capstone project that you will develop in the final year of your program. The project The project integrates your experiences in field education and your degree coursework.
MAPM students can complete their degree as a residential student (primarily in-person courses on Garrett’s campus) or as a hybrid student (primarily online courses).
Students in the Master of Arts in Public Ministry degree can choose between three concentration tracks that each have a prescribed set of courses. Concentration tracks and courses include:
Ecological Regeneration Track Courses
Child Advocacy Track Courses
Racial Justice Track
Students can round out their Master of Arts degree with the Master of Divinity degree. The MDiv/MA allows students to become specialists in the area of their MA degree while broadening their theological, spiritual, and leadership foundations through the Master of Divinity.
Garrett offers courses in a variety of course modalities to meet a variety of scheduling needs. Course options include in-person, online, hybrid, and more. While the program is taught by faculty of Garrett, students may also take courses at Northwestern University and at any of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS) in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Check out this in-depth interview with Rev. Dr. Timothy Eberhart about the importance of public ministry and how the MAPM can help students pursue a variety of different vocational paths.
Graduates of this program will be able to:
Garrett-Evangelical accepts applications from students with a minimum GPA of 2.5 in a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or from an AETH-certified Bible institute. Because our primary language of instruction is English, applicants be able to show English proficiency, as evidenced by a previous degree in English or completion of either the Duolingo or Test of English as a Foreign Language test.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. International student applications are due by March 1st.