ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Master of Arts in Reformation Theology
M.A. credential
Explore the Reformers, their emphasis on Scripture and grace, and the churches and traditions shaped by their legacy.
Master of Arts in Reformation Theology: Your Grant Price
Applications are free. Eligible applicants receive their admission and Grant decision before any one-time program fee is requested.
Published tuition
$14,900.00
$599.00 Registry & Assessment Fee
$99
Master's Degree
2026 Life in Christ Grant is active
Ministry Experience, Evaluated Against Academic Standards.
Documented prior learning may be considered when it aligns with program outcomes; every credit decision follows academic review.
Program Overview
About this program
The M.A. in Reformation Theology sets the magisterial, radical and Catholic programmes against each other on their own terms. The sixteenth century is close enough that its arguments still set the terms of Protestant identity and far enough that almost nobody reads the actual documents. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University program does: Luther, Calvin, the radicals, the English settlement and Trent, read as texts with drafting histories and political purposes.
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Recognition of demonstrated learning in theology and ministry
Experienced ministry practitioners demonstrate competencies developed through years of service, theological study, and continuing learning. The assessment connects that learning with the published outcomes of the Master of Arts in Reformation Theology through biblical understanding, theological reflection, research, and ministry judgment.
70
Audited questions in this pathway bank
30
Questions drawn for each sitting
60 minutes
Time available for the knowledge component
24 hours
Interval before reassessment
Theological knowledge and degree outcomes
- Published bank title
- Reformation Theology - Master Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Master of Arts (M.A.) in Reformation Theology
- Question construction
- 14 pathway subject-bank sources contribute 5 questions each, producing the complete 70-question bank.
How completion is reported
- The knowledge component contributes 40% and assessed ministry experience contributes 60% to one weighted result.
- The reported result is no lower than 80%, matching the 80% degree pass mark.
- Reassessment draws a fresh question set and is included in program access, with no additional fee or limit on sittings.
- The integrated assessment covers the published degree plan; separate course assessments, a capstone paper, and a dissertation defense are not required.
Program Objectives
What you will achieve
Integrate advanced theological study, spiritual maturity, and ministry wisdom for Christian leadership
Explain the late medieval conditions that made the reformations possible
Read the principal reformers in their own writings rather than through later summaries
Compare the magisterial, radical, and Catholic reform programmes on their own terms
Assess the continuing influence of Reformation settlements on present church life
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize advanced biblical and theological evidence for clear teaching, leadership, and ministry judgment
Analyse a sixteenth-century primary text for its theological and political purpose
Compare two confessional statements on a doctrine they treat differently
Explain why a given reform movement was opposed by both Rome and Wittenberg
Trace a Reformation dispute into a live contemporary disagreement
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Church history instructor
Pastor or teaching elder
Theological writer
Denominational archivist
Major Subject Areas
The fourteen subjects you study, and the ones the ministry assessment draws on
Foundational and Major-Core Subjects
Four foundations every pathway shares, then four that belong to this field.
Advanced Biblical Interpretation
Scripture's authority as the Reformation defined it, and what sola scriptura did and did not claim once its defenders had to answer the obvious objections.
Advanced Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament in Reformation hands — covenant theology, law and gospel, and the very different uses Lutheran and Reformed writers made of the same texts.
Advanced New Testament Theology
Romans and Galatians as the sixteenth century read them, and the exegetical arguments on which the doctrine of justification actually rested.
Advanced Christian Doctrine
The doctrinal settlements themselves: Augsburg, the Thirty-Nine Articles, Westminster, and Trent, read as documents with authors, opponents and compromises.
Advanced Late Medieval Background
Conciliarism, nominalism, the devotio moderna, and late medieval penitential practice, as the conditions that made the sixteenth-century crisis possible.
Advanced Luther and the German Reformation
Luther from the indulgence controversy to the catechisms, read in his own texts, with attention to justification, the theology of the cross, and his political entanglements.
Advanced Calvin and the Reformed Tradition
Calvin's Institutes and commentaries, the Genevan experiment, and the Reformed tradition's later development in confession, polity, and covenant theology.
Advanced Radical and Anabaptist Reformations
Anabaptists, spiritualists, and rationalists: believers' baptism, separation, community of goods, and the persecution these movements drew from all sides.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Advanced English Reformation
The English Reformation's unusual course from Henry through Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, and the Puritan and conformist settlement that followed.
Advanced Catholic Reform and Trent
Catholic renewal before and after Trent, including the new orders, the council's decrees, and the ways it answered and refused Protestant claims.
Advanced Reformation Confessions
Augsburg, the Thirty-Nine Articles, Westminster, and the Catholic decrees, studied as documents with drafting histories and political purposes.
Advanced Reformation Legacy and Modern Church
What the sixteenth century settled and what it left open, followed into confessional orthodoxy, pietism, and present ecumenical conversation.
Advanced Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Reformation spirituality beyond the polemics — prayer, catechism, and household piety — and the vocation of inheriting a tradition without repeating its worst habits.
Advanced Integrative Theology and Ministry
A Reformation question researched in primary texts and argued to a conclusion that engages the current historiography.
Admission Requirements
What you need to apply
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited or recognized institution
- Official transcripts showing preparation appropriate to graduate theological study
- Statement of theological, academic, and ministry goals
- Current resume or curriculum vitae
- Two ministry, professional, or academic recommendations
Degree Completion Requirements
Requirements for the Master of Arts
Graduation Requirements
- Complete at least 36 graduate semester credits in the approved degree plan
- Pass the Competency-Based Ministry Assessment for the degree
- Satisfy every graduate-core, specialization, elective, and comprehensive requirement group
- Integrate theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience under the published result-weighting policy
- Recognize demonstrated learning against every published degree-plan requirement
Culminating Experience
Demonstrate graduate theological understanding and ministry judgment through Competency-Based Ministry Assessment, recognizing advanced learning developed through prior study and service.
Credit Distribution
| Requirement Area | Credits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate Core | 21 | 7 courses. Required advanced theory, methods, and professional competencies of the discipline. |
| Graduate Specialization | 9 | 3 courses. Focused graduate study in an approved concentration or practice area. |
| Graduate Elective | 3 | 1 course. Any master-level major course from any school that is not already part of this degree plan. |
| Competency-Based Ministry Assessment | 3 | 1 course. Integrated graduate theological knowledge and assessed ministry experience, recognizing demonstrated learning across the published degree plan. |
| Total Degree Credits | 36 | All requirements must be completed within the approved degree plan. |
Program Details
Program Length
Self-Paced
Self-Paced Learning
Total Credits
36 credit hours
Up to 18 Transfer Credits
Published Degree Plan
12 courses
Across 4 required curriculum groups
Format
Flexible Study
Assessment Format
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Selected Degree
Master
School
School of Theology and Ministry
Institutional Status
ICAS Accredited
Ready to Begin Your Accredited Reformation Theology Degree?
Applying costs nothing, and the work you have already done may count. Have a look at what this pathway asks for before you decide.