Master of Pastoral Studies

The Master of Pastoral Studies (MPS) is a twenty-credit program that allows students to specialize in one of three areas: Social Ministry, Pastoral Care or Worship and Preaching. The MPS prepares graduates to be leaders in lay ministry, careers in the non-profit sector and a variety of ministry settings.

Graduates of the Pastoral Care stream are eligible to be certified with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care as pastoral care providers, community-based pastoral care workers and chaplains.

The MPS program consists of a total of 20 credits and may be completed purely on a part-time basis and up to eight years for completion. It is possible to combine the MPS with the MDiv or MRE programs.

What would I study? Quick Glance

Required Courses: Old Testament I, New Testament I, History of Christianity I, Context and Ministry, Theology I, and electives in the following areas: Pastoral Theology, Spirituality, Social Ministry, Pastoral Counselling, Worship I or Homiletics I.

Social Ministry Stream: Integrative Paper, Contextual Education, Christian Ethics in Context, Mission and Religious Pluralism, and electives in the following areas of study: Christian Education, Social Ministry, Social Ethics, Social Ministry and two open electives.

Pastoral Care Stream: Integrative Paper, Contextual Education, Supervised Pastoral Education (SPE), Christian Ethics in Context, Mission and Religious Pluralism, and electives in the following areas of study: Christian Education, Pastoral Care, Life Stage Ministry (e.g. Gerontology, Youth Ministry, or Spirituality),and an option for additional SPE units.

Worship and Preaching: Integrative Paper, Contextual Education, Songs of the Church, Mission and Religious Pluralism and electives in the following areas of study: Worship, Homiletics, Christian Education and open electives.


MPS Program Requirements from the Emmanuel Handbook PDF

Glossary of Terms for Emmanuel College programs

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the MPS, graduates will:

Religious Faith and Heritage
• Demonstrate knowledge of religious heritage, and articulate clearly their own theological positions (as related to pastoral practices).
• Interpret scripture and religious texts using a variety of methods, sources, and norms.
• Identify and respect the diversity of theological viewpoints and practices within their religious tradition.


Culture and Context
• Demonstrate critical understanding for one’s area of specialization of the relationship between faith practices and cultural contexts.
• Employ diverse methods of analysis in relating to the cultural contexts of one’s specialization (e.g., pastoral, worship and preaching or social ministry).
• Give evidence of critical self-awareness with regard to their own and other faith perspectives and practices of educational ministry.


Spiritual/Vocational Formation
• Demonstrate understanding of the variety of callings and spiritual practices within their religious tradition, and an ability to reflect critically on their own sense of call to leadership and service.
• Attend to the spiritual development and well-being of self and others.
• Display capacity for self-reflexive and spiritual practices within communities of faith.


Practices of Area of Specialization
• Demonstrate initiative, responsibility, and accountability in personal relationships and group contexts.
• Demonstrate knowledge of theories and practices relevant to leadership in their own area of specialization.
• Demonstrate skills for responsible and accountable specialized leadership in congregational and community contexts.






Prospective Students