MDIV 510 Communication Skills for Chaplaincy (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

This course equips students with the fundamental skills necessary for relating with others in the context of professional chaplaincy. Students explore such topics as basic attendance, active listening, body language, nonviolent communication, teamwork, giving and receiving feedback, conflict resolution and group process.

MDIV 515 Groups, Systems, and Chaplaincy (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

This course expands knowledge and skills gained in MDIV 510, teaching students how to effectively relate with groups and systems. Students explore such topics as mediation, diversity, responsibilities and task accomplishment, roles and relationships, and communication patterns. Certain topics introduced in MDIV 510 will also be explored in greater depth here, including group process and conflict resolution.

MDIV 525 Chaplaincy Roles and Competencies (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

This course introduces students to the field of professional chaplaincy, and the values, standards, competencies, and responsibilities involved in working in various clinical settings. Students will study the history of as well as the prerequisites for work in various chaplaincies. Special attention will be given to familiarizing students with current trends and issues across the field.

MDIV 530 Interfaith Chaplaincy (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

This course provides students with the necessary spiritual/cultural competency to be effective chaplains in the diverse religious landscape of twenty-first century North America. Through practicums, lectures and discussions, students are provided with the necessary awareness and tools to work within the multi-cultural and multi-religious environment of today’s hospitals, prisons, universities, etc. Students will also explore how to relate the professional imperatives of chaplaincy with the imperatives of a Buddhist faith.

MDIV 535 Practical Psychology for Chaplains (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

The course equips students with the psychological tools and information necessary for professional chaplaincy work. Special attention will be paid to identifying mental illness and working with psychoses.

MDIV 540 The Use of Sacred Texts in Spiritual Care and Counseling (3)

Prerequisites: Admission in M. Div. Program

This course is designed to serve the Buddhist practitioner working in professional chaplaincy. It provides Buddhists with a macroscopic view of sacred texts and their contents, as well as resources for further exploration. Special attention is given to helping students develop some degree of comfort working with religious texts in the context of Buddhist chaplaincy.

MDIV 545 Spiritual Care and Counseling (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

The course will introduce students to theories and practices for clinical spiritual care and counseling work. Special attention will be paid to literature in the field of healthcare chaplaincy about medical ethics, measuring effective care, and working in diverse settings.

MDIV 550 Pastoral Theology (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

The course will introduce students to pastoral theology--its history, its key texts, and its practice. Students will obtain the background and the methods necessary to make their own contributions to this area of writing. Under the supervision of the professor, students will also explore important texts for the particular chaplaincies in which they work.

MDIV 555 Spiritual Formation for Buddhist Chaplains (3)

Prerequisites: Admission in M. Div. Program

This course looks at the ways influential thinkers have understood stages of transformation in spiritual development. In particular, the works of the Buddhists Caroline Brazier, Thich Nhat Hanh, Jack Kornfield and Chögyan Trungpa are explored. James Fowler’s analysis of spiritual transformation in the Judeo-Christian tradition is also examined. Students explore the ways in which this material may deepen their own personal practice as well as their approach to chaplaincy.

MDIV 565 Buddhist Homiletics: Writing and Giving Dharma Talks (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

The course introduces students to the art of writing and giving Dharma talks. Various styles and kinds of Dharma talks will be studied and considered. Working closely with the professor and their colleagues, students will find particular styles and methods to help them in their own homiletic work.

MDIV 570 Spiritual Leadership (3)

Prerequisite: Admission into M. Div. Program

The course will introduce students to spiritual leadership, and consider values, responsibilities, functions, and resources for spiritual leaders. Special attention will be given to looking at examples and archetypes of spiritual leadership in the Buddhist traditions. Students will also look at spiritual leadership in the context of professional chaplaincy practice.