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Program of Study

A dark blong person wearing a lavender sweater raises her hand. She is facing a person with grey hair wearing a green sweated.

Our M.Div. program is designed to support the holistic formation of each student, guided by the Catholic Church’s standards set forth in Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord and The Program for Priestly Formation. All formation in the program happens in the context of intentional community, while at the same time being personalized according to the needs of each student.

Intellectual formation

M.Div. students have the privilege of taking academic theology courses within the department ranked No. 1 in the world for three of the past five years. The M.Div. program has been carefully designed to include both a set of core academic courses that students take with their cohort along with significant elective opportunities.

Pastoral formation

Two young men walk and talk on a paved path at the University of Notre Dame. One wears a black clerical shirt and silver cross necklace. The other wears a blue and white striped button-down shirt and khaki pants. Green shrubbery and trees line the path.

All students take a series of pastoral courses that help them develop their pastoral skills over the course of the program. At the center of pastoral formation is field education. In year one, students work in a ministry of presence among a vulnerable population; in year two, they take up a ministry related to catechesis and evangelization; in year three, they typically take on more of a leadership role, a ministry related to their future vocation. Every field education placement is accompanied by close supervision and mentorship as well as a field education seminar in which students reflect theologically upon their ministry experience as a community.

Human and spiritual formation

Notre Dame offers the most comprehensive human and spiritual formation for lay ecclesial ministry in the country. At its heart, this formation involves our conforming ourselves ever more closely to God. Structurally, the human and spiritual formation program includes weekly community formation nights, program retreats and days of reflection, individual personal formation plans, regular one-on-one formation meetings with the director of human and spiritual formation, and guided spiritual direction.

Global and intercultural formation

A group of Notre Dame students smiles and poses with local children on the steps of a brightly painted building in a Latin American community. Some children hold small paper cups.

M.Div. students are challenged to explore their ministerial identity and vocational calling in light of our diverse, global Church. Students encounter diverse perspectives and cultures in their cohorts, classes, and field education experiences. They also have the opportunity to participate in summer ministry placements and fully funded annual pilgrimages that broaden their experience of the Church in today’s world. Recent pilgrimages include Mexico City, Italy, El Salvador, and South Dakota.