Martin Luther University College

• Faculty/Staff
• Programs
• Relation with the University
• General Admission Requirements
• General Graduate Students
• Note on Courses Contained in Graduate Calendar
• Advanced Standing and Credit Transfer
• Audit Policy
• Leave of Absence
• Termination of Registration
• Withdrawal from Luther
• Contextual Education
• Internship
• Supervised Pastoral Education
• General Program Requirements
• Diaconal Training
• Course Offerings

• Master of Arts in Theology
• Master of Divinity
• Master of Arts in Theology / Master of Divinity
• Master of Divinity / Master of Social Work
• Doctor of Philosophy in Human Relationships
• Diploma in Theology
• Diploma in Multifaith Spiritual Care and Counselling
• Diploma in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy

As a federated college of Wilfrid Laurier University and a member of the university Graduate Faculty Council, Martin Luther University College (Luther) maintains close ties, especially with the Department of Religion and Culture and the Faculty of Social Work. These ties are maintained through co-operation between Martin Luther and religion and culture faculty members, and through the sharing of a common pool of graduate courses with the Department of Religion and Culture. This means that Martin Luther University College and Wilfrid Laurier University graduate students take courses with faculty based in both Waterloo Lutheran University College and the Department of Religion and Culture. The ties with the Faculty of Social Work are maintained through the offering of a joint MDiv-MSW degree program.

The close relationship between Martin Luther University College and Wilfrid Laurier University also offers other advantages. All the facilities and academic, social, athletic and cultural programs of the university are available to Luther students. Moreover, such students may take additional courses in the university to make up possible deficiencies in pre-theological training or to enrich their program of theological studies.

Martin Luther University College is a fully accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools.

Eligible candidates for programs offered by Martin Luther University College (Luther) are admitted upon the approval of the Principal-Dean. The requirements for admission to any Luther program in normally include a bachelor's degree from a recognized accredited university or university college. Normally, endorsement by their church is required of students preparing for the ordained ministry. Students who do not meet requirements for admission should contact the Martin Luther University College Admissions Coordinator to pursue special admission options.

Students applying to the MDiv or MA programs who lack no more than two courses towards the bachelor's degree may be admitted by special action of the Luther Faculty if their past performance allows the conclusion that they will be able to complete the bachelor's requirements by the end of the first year.

Students with considerable life experience who wish to prepare for the parish ministry and who have been recommended by their church, may be admitted without a completed pre-seminary education by special action of the Luther Faculty. The total number of such students admitted without a bachelor's degree normally may not exceed 10 percent of the student body. With reference to pre-seminary education, the student should have studied in various disciplines such as science, the humanities and religion.

Applications to the master's and doctoral degree programs are submitted online. An application fee of $100 for master's programs, $125 for the doctoral program, and $250 for the joint MSW programs, is required.

Applications to the diploma and general graduate studies program are available on the Martin Luther University College website. Application instructions and supporting documentation required for each area of studies available here. Upon receipt of these documents the applicant will be informed by Martin Luther University College concerning admissibility.

Applicants whose language of instruction for an undergraduate degree was other than English must furnish evidence of proficiency in English usage prior to admission. Consult the Graduate studies website for details on English language proficiency.

Admission to the General graduate student program (GGS) requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent. General graduate students take up to five graduate courses for credit but are not enrolled in a Luther degree program. Students who obtain credits in this category and subsequently decide to apply to a degree program must meet both the admission requirements and pay fees according to their category at that time. Course credit from GGS courses may be approved by the Academic Administrative Committee as credit toward the subsequent degree. 

As far as possible, each program attempts to provide a full range of core courses and electives. However, every course listed in this Calendar is not available in every session or every year.

Students are encouraged to consult the program/department to inquire about course offerings each year.

Permission to receive advanced standing or transfer credits toward a diploma, masters or doctoral degree in Martin Luther University College (Luther) for courses taken previously at another institution on the same academic level as corresponding Luther courses may be granted at the discretion of the Academic Advisory Committee in consultation with the Luther Faculty as based on the following parameters.

A transfer credit is a course successfully completed at another institution that fulfills degree requirements in the student's current program. Normally, a course is only eligible as a transfer credit if it was not used to meet the requirements of a previously completed degree. 

Advanced standing allows a student to substitute another similar course to fulfill degree requirements because the required course overlaps significantly with a course taken previously, allowing the student to advance their learning. 

In considering transfer credits or advanced standing, the following policy will normally be used by the Academic Advisory Committee to credit students on the presumption that course hours and content are similar to those of like courses at Luther.

• If the student successfully completed the course 5 or fewer years before the start date of the student's program at Luther, advanced standing and/or transfer credit may be permitted within the parameters outlined by WLU Policy.
• If the student successfully completed the course 6 to 19 years before the start date of the student's program at Luther, advanced standing may be granted within the parameters outlined by WLU Policy.
• If the student successfully completed the course 20 years or more before the start date of the student's program at Luther, no advanced standing or transfer credit will be granted. 

The following parameters also apply to requests for advanced standing or transfer credits. 

• Students wishing to transfer from another institution and graduate from Luther must register as full-time students for at least one academic year or the equivalent thereof.
• Courses that have been credited toward a degree at WLU or any other institution cannot normally be counted again toward a Luther diploma or degree.
• Students who hold a masters degree in divinity or theology from a theological college accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada may petition the Academic Advisory Committee to receive advanced standing with the possibility of transfer credits for up to eight introductory courses in biblical studies, church history and systematic theology toward the graduate degree.
• Students who have completed graduate work directly related to their field of specialization may petition for advanced standing and/or transfer credits.
• Courses taken at the undergraduate level or as "audit" will not be considered for advanced standing or transfer credit.
• Students who are already enrolled in a Luther program may take courses at another institution for credit toward their degree or diploma provided that permission is obtained from Luther and the host institution prior to course registration. In such cases the appropriate forms are available from the Luther Office. Courses taken by Luther students in another institution or program are the financial responsibility of the student. 

Enrolled graduate students normally are not permitted to audit graduate or undergraduate courses, except with the written permission of the instructor, who will consult the Principal-Dean. An audited course would be considered as part of normal course limits of the semester and degree program, and auditing fees and strictures as outlined in Laurier's Academic Calendar would apply.

Students may petition for a leave of absence (to a maximum of three consecutive terms) at a time when circumstances prevent them from working on either their course work or their thesis. Students are normally permitted only one leave of absence. Students receiving a leave of absence must re-register for the term immediately following the end of their leave of absence. Failure to re-register for that term will be considered an act of withdrawal from Martin Luther University College.

Terms spent on leave of absence are not included in the calculation of the time to completion.

A student whose work or attendance is considered to be unsatisfactory as determined by the Martin Luther University College (Luther) faculty may be required by the Principal-Dean to withdraw at any time from particular courses, from a particular program, or from Luther. Failure to maintain continuous registration will be considered an act of withdrawal from Luther.

For a variety of reasons, such as personal, financial, academic or vocational, a student may choose to withdraw from studies at Martin Luther University College (Luther). The student is requested to contact the Principal-Dean to discuss formal withdrawal. The failure of a student to remain registered as a full-time, part-time, leave of absence or research fee student will be considered an act of withdrawal. Should students desire later to resume studies after having withdrawn, they must reapply for admission to Luther.

Students who withdraw from Luther at any time retain the final grades in courses completed prior to the date of their withdrawal.

Students who withdraw after the final date for withdrawing without failure will have the courses in their program recorded as a failure.

Students holding scholarships, loans or other indebtedness related to their tenure as Luther students, must bear responsibility for meeting obligations in returning or repaying funds.

Contextual education is an integral component of Martin Luther University College (Luther) programs which prepares students for the ordained ministry. The objective of contextual education is to provide both the context and the process wherein personal and professional growth in ministry is fostered through the student's active involvement in a local parish setting, or, as is sometimes possible and desirable, in a social service setting. This involvement is drawn into the classroom dimension of the Luther programs through the four courses in contextual ministry. Each of these courses focuses on a different aspect of student involvement and growth in the ministry setting to which they are assigned by the supervisor of contextual education.

To facilitate the student's growth in contextual education, it is expected that a learning covenant will be formulated at the commencement of the school year and in conjunction with courses in contextual ministry. This learning covenant explicitly delineates expectations, paths towards expectation fulfilment and means for evaluation.

To provide a maximum of experience, normally students will not be placed in their home congregation or in the same setting for a second year, except where such placement may be deemed absolutely essential to the growth and development of the student.

The supervisor of contextual education supervises the processes of contextual education in accord with the Luther faculty's educational policies and in co-operation with churches and agencies in the field.

Contextual education does not involve financial remuneration. It is, however, possible for a congregation and/or agency to offer a student an honorarium; when such is the case, the honorarium is not to exceed $400 for the school year.

By action of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the successful completion of a 9-12 month internship (or its equivalent) is required of all ELCIC candidates studying for the ministry. This 12-month period may include the basic quarter of SPE required by Martin Luther University College (Luther). Internship is normally a graduation requirement for the contextual stream of the MDiv degree.

Internship is in a parish setting, although, subject to Luther Faculty approval, specialized internships in non-parish settings may be permitted. In such instances, a parish component is a normal feature. Usually internship follows the third year of Luther courses.

Luther is normally responsible for the placement and supervision of all interns through the supervisor of contextual education.  Luther, however, recognizes and respects the authority of the pastor supervisor in the congregation.

Placements of interns are made by Luther after consultation with the students, pastor supervisors and church officials. Student placement takes into consideration the student's abilities, need for experience, needs of the congregation and the particular skills and personality of the pastor supervisor.

Supervision of interns by the pastor supervisor includes establishing with the student a learning covenant and setting aside regular weekly conferences for reflection-interaction. Emphasis in these sessions should focus upon ministry, relationships and evaluation of performance objectives. An internship committee comprised of representative lay people from the congregation is required.

In the process of intern placements, the supervisor of contextual education will have received from each potential intern a written application by November 30th and from each potential congregation a written application by November 30th. (These application forms are available from the supervisor. The submission of a written application guarantees neither a placement nor obtaining an intern.) The finalization of internships is usually accomplished towards the latter part of March.

In the placement of interns, Luther co-operates actively with the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon and with Lutheran seminaries in the USA.

The internship support package includes a basic stipend, housing, travel and other incidentals.

The Supervisor of Contextual Education meets with each lay internship committee once per year. Final placements are made by the Internship Placement Committee and reported to the faculty.

Students doing internships are required to have successfully completed their Supervised Pastoral Education (SPE).

Martin Luther University College (Luther) students enrolled in the MDiv program are required to complete successfully a minimum of 12 weeks of supervised (clinical) pastoral education at an agency or institution approved by CAPPE or ACPE, under a supervising chaplain holding the status of supervisor or acting supervisor within CAPPE or ACPE. The Luther Faculty reserves the right to approve a student's placement. The majority of students complete this requirement in "clinical centres" in southwestern Ontario. However, other centres in Canada and the United States may be selected if approved by the Luther Faculty. SPE should be taken by students normally after the completion of their first or second year at Luther.

The responsibility of financing this course rests with each student. Bursaries may be available.

The programs are not limited to those who wish to prepare for full-time service in the Lutheran church. The programs of study are sufficiently broad to be of interest and value for students from many denominations, whether or not they plan to enter full-time service in the church.

A Luther student is a person who has been admitted by Martin Luther University College (Luther) to one of the following: Master of Divinity; Master of Arts in theology Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work; Doctor of Philosophy in Human Relationships; Diploma in Multifaith Spiritual Care and Counselling; General Graduate Student in Theology. 

Graduation from Martin Luther University College does not automatically imply ordination.

Since ancient times, serving others has been an important diaconal ministry of the church. Martin Luther University College (Luther) is committed to the preparation of non-ordained people to serve as diaconal ministers to address the new challenges in our world whether it is addressing the justice needs for development internationally, the spiritual care and counselling needs of local communities, or the needs of agencies that provide for the essential needs of people. Normally those wishing to serve as diaconal ministers in their churches are encouraged at Luther to complete the Public Faith and Spirituality field of the Master of Arts in Theology program. Luther works closely with the ELCIC and other church certification bodies in providing the requirements to diaconal endorsement. For further information contact the Principal-Dean.