This spring, the first student enrolled in a joint Master of Divinity program graduated from Regent College, armed with a diploma from the Vancouver School of Theology, and a degree from Regent.
Richard Watson is the first to take advantage of an initiative to mesh courses required for ministry in the Presbyterian Church with the program offered by the more evangelical Vancouver seminary.
Previously, students who graduated from Regent would be required to take 15 additional courses — which were usually spread over a year and a half — at one of Canada’s three Presbyterian colleges before they could be accepted as ministers in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The requirement has been a constant source of frustration to students, according to Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, dean of St. Andrew’s Hall, VST’s Presbyterian college.
The concurrent program is aimed at alleviating some of that frustration; students can take Presbyterian-specific courses at VST and count the credits toward their Regent degree.
“In practice, we are talking about a little over three years of study in total rather than four and a half years,” Farris said. “A student in the joint program receives a thorough grounding in the evangelical understanding of the Christian church and also exposure to the theology and practice of the PCC as a whole.” — C.Purvis
