Blended Learning Program M.A.C.E.

Note: We are not currently accepting applications to the Blended Learning Program while we evaluate future possibilities.

Find your community

Busy adults with a passion for educational ministries can pursue part-time graduate study in the Master of Arts in Christian Education (M.A.C.E.) degree program from wherever they reside. In the Blended Learning Program, students engage students and professors online as well as in the classroom, blending face-to-face and online learning experiences.

Students typically take two courses per semester. The program includes one week of on-campus study in Richmond, VA, and 11 weeks of online peer discussion and assignments. During the on-campus sessions, courses meet in three-hour blocks, for a total of 18 hours of classroom work per course over six days. On-campus housing is available, and students also share worship, meals, and informal conversation with their classmates and the wider seminary community.

Students have access to Union’s William Smith Morton Library collection through the library’s digital resources and extension (mail request) service.

Educator Certification Initiative

The Educator Certification Initiative (ECI) offers Christian educators access to in-depth, graduate-level courses that satisfy the PC(USA) certification requirements in all knowledge and skill levels: biblical interpretation; Reformed theology; faith and human development; religious education theory and practice; worship and sacraments; and Presbyterian polity, program and mission.

Courses are offered in all three “campus” experiences – Richmond, Charlotte, or the Blended Learning Program. These graduate-level courses are eligible for transfer into the M.A.C.E. degree program.

For more information about ECI, contact Dr. Cindy Kissel-Ito, ECI director, at ckisselito@upsem.edu

Blended Learning Program

Contact:
Erin Burt
Director of Admissions, Richmond
804-239-0070 cell

Erin.Burt@upsem.edu

 

 

 

ECI APPLICATION PROCESS

  • APPLICATION

    • Complete the Application for Admission. You may either submit the form electronically, or you may print it out and mail it to the Admissions Office. If you submit the form electronically, please don’t forget to mail your check or money order for the application fee to the Admissions Office.

  • TRANSCRIPTS

    • Applicants must have an original transcript, showing courses and grades, sent directly from each accredited four-year college or university they have attended. A final transcript showing a bachelor’s degree and the date conferred must be on file before a student may enroll. Transcripts of all academic work beyond high school, whether or not a degree was conferred, are required. Request sealed transcripts to be sent directly from the institution and mailed to our Admissions Office. An official transcript may also be forwarded to us unopened. If available, eScripts may be sent to admissions@upsem.edu.

  • BACKGROUND CHECK

    • A background check is required of all applicants who are:

      • U.S. citizens
      • Resident aliens
      • International applicants who have lived in the U.S. for the last two years

      The Admissions Office recognizes that personal integrity, emotional health, and spiritual maturity are essential to faithful and effective ministry. Yet we affirm that even serious misdeeds have sometimes been a part of an experience of growth, transformation, and call, by the work of God’s Spirit that leads a person to seminary, and to faithful ministry. We also realize that people come to the attention of criminal justice systems for a variety of reasons-including not only the commission of crimes but also mistaken allegations, acts of civil disobedience, and systemic injustices such as racism. No charge or past offense automatically disqualifies an applicant from admission. All records will be evaluated in context, and prior to an admission decision.

      The background check consists of two parts:

      Applicants should download a Personal Disclosure Statement, disclose any information that may be found by the legal background check, sign the form, and mail it to the Director of Admissions at the address given.

      Go to www.certifiedbackground.com, click on “students,” in the Package Code box, enter “ua37,” select a method of payment for the $36.00, and complete the questions.

      Presbyterian Church (USA) students need only complete the background check once. All PC(USA) seminaries can share. Your application file is not complete until the Personal Disclosure Statement and the results of the background check have been received at Union Presbyterian Seminary.

  • APPLICATION FEE

    • An application fee of $30.00 must be included when mailing the application.

  • SUBMIT

    • Mail application and all supporting documents to Union Presbyterian Seminary, Office of Admissions, 3401 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227.

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