芝加哥洛约拉大学

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) degree program prepares students for ministerial service in a variety of contexts. Embracing four areas of development—human, spiritual, intellectual, and ministerial—the program guides students in the development of their own pastoral identity through an integrated exploration of theology and pastoral practice.

Through graduate coursework, focused contextual experiences, and an integration project, students explore and work to develop those personal qualities necessary for faithful service, spiritual practices grounded in God's Trinitarian life, theological knowledge and intellectual skills, and the pastoral abilities appropriate to their gifts and ministerial context. The MAPS degree at the Institute of Pastoral Studies offers students a systematic and broad foundation for a variety of ministries and the tools necessary to engage critically and constructively the challenges and opportunities of our contemporary context.

Courses are available online, in person at Loyola's downtown Chicago campus, or in Rome, Italy. Students who enroll in the master's degree can study under the general MAPS program or focus their studies in one of four areas of concentration: church management, digital communication, health care chaplaincy, and religious education.

Program Concentrations

• MAPS - Church Management
• MAPS - Digital Communication
• MAPS - Health Care Chaplaincy
• MAPS - Religious Education

This concentration emerges from reflection on the gap in skill sets among the leaders of many churches today, Catholic and Protestant. Members of church staff, comprised increasingly of laypersons with degrees in pastoral ministry, education, counseling, and theology, find themselves engaging in activities related to budgeting, project management, human resources, organizational development and change, and more. There is a need for parish leaders and pastoral ministers to have the education, training, and skills associated with these areas.

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) degree offers a concentration in Digital Communication. This degree concentration will allow students at Loyola's Institute of Pastoral Studies to hone their communication skills and learn best practices for using digital media in the dissemination of parish/congregation/diocese news, events, and the message of the Gospel in order to reach a wider audience through social media, the Web and video, in addition to conventional print media. The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies - Digital Communication degree requires 36 credit hours.

The IPS Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) offers a unique Health Care Chaplaincy concentration to prepare students for the entire process to be certified as a Board Certified Chaplain (BOC) with The National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC). This 36-credit hour degree program consists of the eight Core Courses of the MAPS degree, three health-care related electives, four units of CPE, two workshops, and the Health Care Integration Project.

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) degree program offers a concentration in Religious Education. This program develops the practices of thinking, acting, and teaching necessary for service in today’s culturally, generationally, and theologically diverse church. Students in this concentration cultivate the practice of considering every problem and situation through theological lenses, so that the outcome or solution is infused with the principles of faith. These habits prepare students of the Religious Education concentration to engage, catechize, and educate all age groups in a variety of contexts.